Cape Coral woman accused of killing mother claims to be former cult member

A woman in Cape Coral accused of stabbing her mother to death is claiming to be a former cult member.

Mariya Lynn Kelly, 21, who faces a manslaughter charge for stabbing and killing her mother, says she was a member of a cult that identifies itself as “Carbon Nation.”

Cape Coral police say Kelly stabbed her mother to death during an argument while doing the dishes at home Wednesday.

We spoke to a neighbor Friday about the murder investigation of Kelly’s mom.

“I was surprised when I found everything out,” neighbor Steven Ramirez said.

Ramirez lives down the street from Kelly.

The name of Kelly’s mom is not being shared by Cape Coral Police Department. Kelly claims her mother hit her over the head. Kelly admits to police she had a kitchen knife in her hand and used it to stab her mother.

“I had a lot of mommy issues,” Kelly shared in a social media post.

The cult Kelly claims to have been affiliated with reportedly practices polygamy and nudism. In February, Kelly posted a video on social media explaining why she left “Carbon Nation.”

“I think “Carbon Nation” was a little bit too extreme for me,” Kelly said in her post. “I just knew at that point this is not for me.”

Ramirez says nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the family.

“I didn’t know them personally, but I’ve seen them out in the street walking with the baby,” Ramirez said. “And everything seemed like a nice enough family.”

Ramirez said he met Kelly’s mother a few weeks ago.

“Very nice lady. You would never ever imagine that there was anything wrong,” Ramirez said. “The daughter was there too, and everything seemed fine.”

Kelly is in Lee County Jail on $250,000 bond.

“You can never be too safe,” Ramirez said.