The story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard is one that has deeply shocked me. The thought of a mother hurting her own daughter for financial gain is beyond comprehension. Many are familiar with this case, including myself who followed it closely when it made headlines.
Name: Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
Date of Birth: July 27th 1991 in Golden Meadow, Louisiana.
The Story and Murder
Gypsy Rose was born in 1991 and from a young age, her mother Dee Dee claimed she suffered from various medical conditions. At the age of eight, Dee Dee claimed Gypsy had leukemia and muscular dystrophy and required a wheelchair and feeding tube. The list of ailments attributed to Gypsy by Dee Dee expanded over time to include seizures, asthma, and impairments of hearing and vision.
As a result of Dee Dee’s claims, Gypsy was given numerous medications and forced to use a breathing machine while sleeping. She underwent numerous surgeries, including eye procedures and removal of her salivary glands. Her teeth also decayed, possibly due to the medications, lack of salivary glands, or neglect, and were eventually extracted.
In reality, Gypsy was able to walk, did not require a feeding tube, and did not have cancer. Her bald head was the result of her mother shaving it. It is believed that Dee Dee suffered from a mental illness known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy (also referred to as factitious disorder imposed on another), which prompted her to falsely claim that her daughter was ill, in order to receive attention and sympathy for caring for a sick child.
Dee Dee presented herself as a charming and dedicated mother, which caused others to believe her claims.
Medical evaluations frequently produced inconclusive or conflicting results regarding Gypsy’s conditions, but Dee Dee ceased seeing doctors who raised doubts. Many healthcare providers went along with Dee Dee’s claims. She had some nursing training and could describe symptoms accurately, and would sometimes administer medication to Gypsy to simulate specific ailments. Dee Dee was known for her charm and appeared dedicated to her daughter. When Gypsy was of an age to speak, Dee Dee instructed her to remain silent during appointments and always relayed Gypsy’s fabricated medical history herself.
Dee Dee informed Gypsy’s father, Rod Blanchard, that their daughter had a chromosomal disorder causing her various health problems. He praised Dee Dee for her devoted care. When members of Dee Dee’s family observed that Gypsy didn’t appear to require a wheelchair and raised concerns, Dee Dee and Gypsy relocated.
Dee Dee claimed to be a victim of Hurricane Katrina, which allowed her and Gypsy to receive assistance to move from Louisiana to Missouri in 2005. Once in Missouri, Dee Dee continued to take Gypsy to doctor’s appointments. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina also served as a pretext for missing medical records.
Even as Gypsy entered her teenage years, Dee Dee still insisted she was ill and started to falsify Gypsy’s age.
In 2008, Gypsy and Dee Dee relocated to a new home in Springfield, Missouri. Constructed by Habitat for Humanity, it was painted pink and equipped with a wheelchair ramp. Gypsy and Dee Dee also benefited from charity-sponsored trips to concerts and Disney World. Throughout, Dee Dee continued to enjoy the attention she received for her supposed devotion as a caretaker.
When Gypsy was 14, she visited a neurologist in Missouri who suspected she was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. However, this doctor never reported the case to authorities and later stated that there wasn’t enough evidence to take action. In 2009, an anonymous complaint was made to authorities alleging that Dee Dee’s accounts of Gypsy’s illnesses had no medical foundation. This led to two caseworkers visiting their home, but Dee Dee successfully convinced them that everything was fine.
As Gypsy matured, Dee Dee started lying about her age, even altering the dates on her birth certificate to make her seem younger. However, Gypsy was becoming more difficult for Dee Dee to control.
Gypsy persuaded a man she met through the internet to murder Dee Dee.
In 2011, Gypsy attempted to escape from Dee Dee by fleeing with a man she encountered at a science fiction gathering. However, Dee Dee quickly located them through common acquaintances. She convinced the man that Gypsy was still underage, even though she was actually 19 years old. According to Gypsy, Dee Dee destroyed her computer and physically confined her to her bed after they returned home. She also claimed that Dee Dee would sometimes physically abuse her and restrict her access to food.
Gypsy eventually regained access to the internet and started using a Christian dating site where she met Nicholas Godejohn. She confided in him about her mother’s treatment of her and eventually asked him to kill Dee Dee to allow them to be together. In June 2015, Nicholas traveled to her home and carried out the stabbing of Dee Dee while Gypsy waited, covering her ears in the bathroom.
Gypsy and Godejohn were discovered by the police in Wisconsin, where Godejohn lived. Gypsy had posted twice on the Facebook account she shared with Dee Dee, once saying, “That b***h is dead!” She later explained she made the posts to ensure that Dee Dee’s death would be found.
Gypsy felt scared and felt like she didn’t have a trustworthy person in her life.
After Dee Dee’s murder, those who knew Gypsy were perplexed as to why she would take such drastic action. Despite being able to walk, Gypsy did not expose Dee Dee’s lies by standing up in public. This was because she had been trained to believe that no one would believe her. Gypsy stated, “I was afraid to simply get out of the wheelchair because I feared what my mother would do and had no one to trust.”
The truth was that Gypsy’s entire life had been dominated and monitored by her mother. She was not permitted to attend school and was made to believe that she was intellectually limited. Despite being of average intelligence, Dee Dee portrayed Gypsy as having the mental capacity of a seven-year-old to those around her. In public, Dee Dee always kept a tight grip on Gypsy’s hand and would squeeze it to signal when she wanted her to be quiet.
An expert in Munchausen syndrome by proxy, Dr. Marc Feldman, stated that Gypsy’s life was under complete control by her mother, similar to that of a hostage. He explained that Gypsy was essentially a captive, and her actions including the murder of Dee Dee can be understood as an attempt at escape from her situation.
Gypsy has expressed that she is not content with the fact that Dee Dee has passed away.
In 2016, Gypsy entered a guilty plea for second-degree murder in relation to Dee Dee’s death. This was achieved by her lawyer who utilized her medical records, which recorded the abuse she suffered, to arrange a plea deal. Gypsy received a 10-year prison sentence, with the possibility of parole starting in 2024. In 2018, Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Gypsy has said that after Dee Dee’s passing, she discovered how extensively her mother had lied to her. Although Gypsy was aware she could walk and consume regular food, she was under the impression that she had leukemia.
Dr.Phil Interview
Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard cried for assistance as a person in a clown sweatshirt mercilessly attacked her with a knife. She called out for her daughter, Gypsy Rose, who she had been forcing into receiving pointless medical procedures for years, to come to her rescue, but she didn’t realize that Gypsy had played a role in the plan. Meanwhile, Gypsy Rose simply waited for the commotion to cease.
“I covered my ears and then all became quiet,” Gypsy Rose stated in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw on his true crime podcast “Analysis of Murder.”
In 2017, Gypsy Rose was interviewed by Dr. Phil while serving her sentence at a women’s prison in Missouri. Previously unreleased portions of this interview are now being shared in his new true crime podcast, “Analysis of Murder.”
In episode 3 of the podcast, Gypsy Rose revealed that she requested Godejohn to murder her mother following a dispute regarding her feeding tube. She stated that she begged her mother to remove the tube, but Dee Dee refused and even had plans for Gypsy Rose to undergo another surgery.
Gypsy Rose revealed to Dr. Phil that over the course of her life, she underwent more than 30 surgeries, including procedures on her eyes, throat, and salivary glands.
Gypsy Rose explained to Dr. Phil that her mother forced her to use a wheelchair from 1999 to 2015, claiming it was necessary after a motorcycle accident that only resulted in a skinned knee. Despite being aware of her ability to feel her legs and walk, Dee Dee maintained that her daughter would be in a wheelchair for life.
“She claimed I had muscular dystrophy,” Gypsy Rose stated. “There were moments when I’d forget to use the walker, but my mom would catch me and tell me to use it when I started to walk.”
Gypsy Rose recounted out that she would covertly roam the house when her mother was asleep, but she was caught on several occasions. This led to verbal abuse and even beatings with a coat hanger from Dee Dee, according to her account.
“Gypsy Rose stated that Dee Dee was frequently angry with her, and would tell her that she wished she had gotten an abortion and that Gypsy Rose had ruined her life.”
Gypsy Rose revealed that her mother forced her to take unnecessary anti-seizure medication, Tegretol, which caused her to lose her teeth. Her mother claimed that Gypsy had the mind of a child and was in need of the medication.
Medications, Surgeries and Medical Equipment
- Feeding Tube.
- Rotted Teeth.
- Multiple Surgeries.
- Shaved Head.
- Wheelchair.
- Leukemia.
- Muscular Dystrophy.
- Epilepsy.
- Respiratory Issues.
- Vision and Hearing Impaired.
If you want to write to Gypsy this is her mailing address:
Gypsy R Blancharde,
Inmate ID 1302048
Chillicothe Correctional Center
3151 Litton Road
Chillicothe, MO 64601
Love, Bee xxx
The Gypsy Rose story has always been horrifying, every part of it. The murder was brutal, but what happened to Gypsy Rose… Who can really blame her?