- Gypsy Rose Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years for 2nd Degree Murder in 2016.
- It was revealed that Gypsy’s mom had been faking her daughter’s illnesses since she was a toddler.
- Dee Dee Blanchard forced Gypsy to use a feeding tub and undergo multiple procedures and treatment for illnesses she didn’t have.
- Dee Dee Blanchard was stabbed to death in her Springfield, Missouri home.
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released on Dec 28, 2023 after serving 85% of her sentence.
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard filed for divorce from her husband in April 2024.
The Gypsy Rose Blanchard case is a chilling tale that shocked the nation in 2015. A seemingly devoted mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, convinced the world that her daughter, Gypsy Rose, suffered from a myriad of severe illnesses. However, the shocking truth unveiled a twisted dynamic of manipulation and abuse that would eventually lead to murder. Read the full story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and more on the Gypsy Rose Blanchard house-turned crime scene below.
Where Did Gypsy Rose Blanchard Live?
Gypsy lived with her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, at their home in Springfield, Missouri up until the murder occurred. The Blanchard family were originally from Louisiana, but were forced to relocate to Missouri after their home was destroyed by hurricane Katrina.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard House (Crime Scene)
Gypsy Rose Blanchard House (Crime Scene)
This small, pink house was built in 2007 by Habitat for Humanity for the Blanchard family after their home in Louisiana was destroyed by hurricane Katrina. On the outside, the modest 1,080 square foot residence looks like any other humble home in the neighborhood. No one could’ve ever guessed what twisted events were unfolding behind closed doors.
Like its exterior, the 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom home was primarily coated in bright shades of pink and purple. Here, we see the small living room cluttered with several wheelchairs belonging to Gypsy Rose.
The galley kitchen was decorated with numerous decals and stickers of Mickey Mouse, appearing cheerful and cozy at first glance.
Gypsy Rose’s pink-clad bedroom featured a princess-themed design with a small four-post bed wrapped in flowers as well as artwork on the wall that resembled a majestic forest. It’s eerie to think that such an innocent-looking space was once a prison.
The home was designed to meet Gypsy’s needs, including the addition of a wheelchair accessible soaking tub that was added to help ease Gypsy’s sore muscles.
One of the most disturbing areas of the home was this storage closet – stocked top to bottom with hospital gowns, medical supplies, and a plethora of drugs that Dee Dee used to medicate Gypsy.
With the release of Hulu’s “The Act” in 2019, the real Blanchard family home saw a spike of visitors looking to catch a glimpse of the macabre residence that inspired the show. Understandably, this has not been well received by neighbors.
The home used in the series was recreated explicitly for filming, the Blanchard family home was NOT used.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Case
Warning: The details within this story involve sensitive and unsettling subject matter that may be disturbing to some audiences. Please proceed with caution.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Young
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born a healthy baby on July 27, 1991 to parents Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard and Rod Blanchard. Following her birth, her parents separated. Gypsy was growing normally and had no health issues up until she was a toddler. It was around this time that Dee Dee began telling those around her that Gypsy was sick, saying that she suffered from epilepsy and struggled with sleep issues.
By age 8, Gypsy Blanchard was allegedly battling Leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and was bound to a wheelchair, according to her mother. It became so severe that Gypsy was even forced to use a feeding tube and undergo various treatments.
Dee Dee never left Gypsy’s side, painting the picture of an incredibly devoted and concerned parent. Little did anyone know at the time her presence harbored a much darker reasoning.
Following their relocation to Missouri, Dee Dee claimed that all of Gypsy’s medical records were destroyed from the storm that claimed their home. When news spread about the Blanchard family’s story and Gypsy’s health, the mother and daughter became almost local celebrities.
The community itself not only offered gifts and donations to the family, but the Blanchards’ were also granted celebrity meet and greets as well as a vacation to Disney World via Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard
While most were convinced that Dee Dee was simply a good mom struggling to care for her incredibly ill daughter, others were beginning to ask questions regarding the validity of the Blanchards’ story. In 2007, Gypsy’s former doctor, Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, started to suspect something was off after he examined Gypsy for her alleged cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy.
According to him, the doctor found zero evidence to support the health issues Dee Dee was claiming Gypsy had.
After explaining his findings to Dee Dee Blanchard, Dr. Flasterstein said that Gypsy’s mother became angry and stormed out of his office. Feeling as though he lacked the evidence to contact Child Protective Services, however, Flasterstein instead wrote a letter to Gypsy’s current primary care physician explaining that he believed Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen by proxy.
Munchausen by proxy is a mental illness in which a caregiver or parent fakes illnesses, and even causes them, to make it appear as though their child or patient is ill. It is often seen in parent and child relationships and is carried out to elicit attention and sympathy from others.
In 2009, another of Gypsy’s former physicians contacted authorities, stating that he could not find any of the symptoms that validated Dee Dee’s claims that her daughter was ill.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Escape
Desperate to escape, Gypsy once attempted to run away in February 2011 with a 35-year-old man she met at a science fiction convention, but was caught. Blanchard had made it to the man’s hotel room before Dee Dee found them and showed forged papers stating Gypsy was 15 (she was actually 19 at the time).
According to Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Dee Dee chained her to the bed for two weeks following the incident and told those close to Gypsy that she was going through a “phase.”
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Nicholas Godejohn
In October 2012, Gypsy secretly joined a Christian dating site and began talking a man by the name of Nicholas Godejohn. The pair would begin a romantic relationship via online chats and video calls that spanned years.
She also befriended her neighbor, Aleah Woodmansee, and often chatted with her through a secret Facebook account about her relationship. According to Woodmansee, Gypsy simply longed to be a regular teenaged girl. The woman also stated that Dee Dee was very unhappy with the pair interacting and ended up destroying Gypsy’s phone and her computer.
In March 2015, Gypsy and Godejohn finally planned an in-person meeting to see the new Cinderella movie at Blanchard’s local theater. Dee Dee attended the theater with Gypsy, and the pair hoped that if Dee Dee met Nicholas in their staged meeting, she may approve of their relationship.
The couple arrived at the theater dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming, but the meeting ended up being a disaster and Dee Dee would forbid Gypsy from seeing him again. Gypsy would later reveal that she lost her virginity to Nicholas in a bathroom stall at the theater that day.
Dee Dee Blanchard Murder
On June 14, 2015, police went out to Dee Dee Blanchard’s home to check in after concerned friends alerted them to a post from Gypsy’s Facebook stating “That (expletive) is dead!” and a comment on the post from the same account (Warning: Graphic post below).
Entering the home, they found Dee Dee Blanchard face-down in her bed deceased. It was later discovered that Blanchard had been stabbed 17 times.
Using Facebook posts to track down an address, authorities were able to locate Godejohn’s address in Big Bend, Wisconsin. Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn were arrested at his family’s home.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Confession
After they were in custody, it would be revealed that on June 9, 2015, Godejohn returned to Missouri and checked into a motel, awaiting a call from Gypsy. After putting her mother to bed, Gypsy contacted Godejohn to tell him Dee Dee was asleep.
According to Gypsy Blanchard, she supplied Nicholas Godejohn with duct tape, gloves, and a knife to carry out the killing. Gypsy hid in the bathroom covering her ears as Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee to death.
Godejohn allegedly wanted to assault Dee Dee prior to killing her, but Gypsy convinced him not to and instead told him he could do the same to her (Gypsy).
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Mom
Dee Dee Blanchard, born Clauddine Pitre, grew up not far from Golden Meadow, Louisiana. In her youth, relatives recalled that Dee Dee had a penchant for stealing from family members. Speculation was that stealing was her way to retaliate after she didn’t get her way.
In adulthood, Blanchard worked as a nurse’s aide and would become pregnant at 24 with Gypsy. Gypsy’s father, Rod Blanchard, was 17 at the time and would go on to marry Dee Dee. The pair would separate shortly after Gypsy’s birth in 1991, the reason being that Rod felt he had gotten married for the wrong reason. Dee Dee would take Gypsy and move in with her family.
Rod would continue to be a part of Gypsy’s life, but would notice Dee Dee’s strange behaviors. At just 3 months old, Dee Dee told Rod that she was convinced their daughter suffered from sleep apnea. She took Gypsy to the hospital many times for testing, each time receiving the same diagnosis – that Gypsy was fine.
Dee Dee would go on to concoct numerous lies about Gypsy’s “illness” and force her to undergo years of treatments and surgeries, all of which were unnecessary .
Dee Dee Blanchard was 48-years-old at the time of her death.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Sentence
On July 5, 2016, as part of a plea deal with the Greene County Prosecutor, Gypsy Rose Blanchard pled guilty to second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was not made to stand trial.
This was the minimum sentencing for second-degree murder.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Release
Gypsy Rose Blanchard served 85% of her sentence before being released on parole on December 28, 2023.
Nicholas Godejohn Sentence
In November 2018, Gypsy Blanchard testified in Nicholas Godejohn’s trial and said that the murder was her idea and that she talked Godejohn into it. Gypsy explained that she was too squeamish to carry out the deed herself, so she sought Godejohn’s help.
Nicholas Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Dee Dee Blanchard, without the possibility of parole.
In the past, Nicholas had gotten in trouble with the law when he was caught watching X-rated videos at a McDonald’s and touching himself inappropriately. He also claimed that he had two personalities, the good one (himself) and a 500-year-old vampire named Victor.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard 2024
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is now living in Louisiana with her father and step-mother. Following her release, Blanchard maintained a large following on social media until suddenly deleting her accounts in March 2024. Before her social media was taken down, Gypsy posted a video to TikTok stating:
“I’m sorry. I’m learning. I take accountability for my part,” she continues “I did a bad thing. But I’ve also been given a second chance at life. So please give me a little grace. Let my actions match my words, and we’ll go from there.”
Gypsy also recently took part in a six-episode docuseries titled “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.”
The series premiered on Lifetime January 5, 2023.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Husband
Gypsy Rose Blanchard met former-husband, Ryan Anderson, while she was still behind bars. Anderson, a middle school special education teacher, began writing to Blanchard while she was still in prison.
They married in 2022 while Blanchard was still in prison and briefly lived together following her release from prison. In April 2024, however, Gypsy filed for divorce from Anderson and then requested a temporary restraining order.
Sources
https://people.com/gypsy-rose-blanchard-murder-case-timeline-8421449
https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2024/1/8/24024249/gypsy-rose-blanchard-timeline-murder