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((Short description|2015 matricide in Missouri, U.S.))
((merge from|Gypsy-Rose Blanchard|date=January 2024))
((Use mdy dates|date=March 2019))
((Infobox event
| title       = Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard
| image       = Dee Dee Blanchard.jpg
| image_size  = 200
| caption     = Blanchard, ((circa|2010))
| date        =  ((start date and age|2015|06|10)) (murder)<ref>((Cite news |date=2024-01-02|title= A Timeline of Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Murder Case and Release from Prison |language=en|url= https://people.com/gypsy-rose-blanchard-murder-case-timeline-8421449 |access-date=2023-12-28))</ref><br>((start date and age|2015|06|14)) (body discovered)
| time        = 
| location    = [[Springfield, Missouri]], U.S.
| coordinates = ((coord|37.2668|-93.3182|region:US-MO_type:event|display=inline,title))
| type        = [[Murder]] by [[stabbing]], [[matricide]]
| convicted   = [[Gypsy-Rose Blanchard]]<br>Nicholas Godejohn
| motive      = *For Gypsy-Rose to escape [[Child abuse|abuse]] by Dee Dee
*[[Homicidal ideation|Murderous fantasies]] of Godejohn
| fatalities  = 1
| injuries = 1 (alleged)((efn|Gypsy Rose alleged that Godejohn raped her following the attack.<ref name=people/><ref name=variety/>))
| verdict     = '''Gypsy-Rose Blanchard:'''<br>[[Plea]]ded guilty<br>'''Nicholas Godejohn:'''<br>[[Guilt (law)|Guilty on both counts]]
| convictions = '''Gypsy-Rose Blanchard:'''<br>[[Murder in Missouri law#Second-degree murder|Second-degree murder]]<br />'''Nicholas Godejohn:'''<br>[[Murder in Missouri law#First-degree murder|First-degree murder]], armed criminal action
| sentence    = '''Gypsy-Rose Blanchard:'''<br>Ten years in prison; [[Parole#United States|paroled]] after eight years<ref>((Cite news |date=2023-12-28 |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard released early from US prison |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67833339 |access-date=2023-12-28 |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228165726/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67833339 |url-status=live))</ref><ref name="Rolling Stone story"/><br /> '''Nicholas Godejohn:'''<br>[[Life imprisonment in the United States|Life imprisonment]] without the possibility of [[parole]] plus 25 years
))
On June 14, 2015, sheriff's deputies in [[Greene County, Missouri]], United States, found the body of '''Clauddine''' "'''Dee Dee'''" '''Blanchard''' (''née'' '''Pitre'''; born May 3, 1967, in [[Chackbay, Louisiana]]) face down in the bedroom of her house just outside [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]],<ref name="News–Leader roundup story">((cite news|last=Keegan|first=Harrison|title=Gypsy Blanchard: Everything you need to know about the case|url=http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/2017/05/10/gypsy-blanchard-everything-you-need-know-case/101499166/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=May 10, 2017|access-date=June 2, 2017|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226124946/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/2017/05/10/gypsy-blanchard-everything-you-need-know-case/101499166/|url-status=live))</ref> lying on the bed in a pool of blood from stab wounds inflicted several days earlier. There was no sign of her daughter, [[Gypsy-Rose Blanchard|Gypsy-Rose]], who most people thought was 19. She knew her real age was 23 and had made others aware that she was an adult.<ref>((Cite web |last=Sorren |first=Martha |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Real Age Is Actually A Huge Plot Point In "The Act" |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/03/226947/how-old-gypsy-rose-blanchard-age-birthday-the-act |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=www.refinery29.com |language=en))</ref> It was claimed that Gypsy had chronic conditions including [[leukemia]], [[asthma]], and [[muscular dystrophy]] and who had the "mental capacity of a seven-year-old due to brain damage" as the result of [[premature birth]].

After reading troubling [[Facebook]] posts earlier in the evening, concerned neighbors notified the police, reporting that Dee Dee might have fallen victim to foul play and that Gypsy-Rose, whose wheelchair and medications were still in the house, might have been abducted. The next day, police found her in [[Wisconsin]], where she had traveled with her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn, whom she had met online. When investigators announced that she was actually an adult and did not have any of the physical and mental health issues her mother claimed she had, public outrage over the possible abduction of a disabled girl gave way to shock and some sympathy for her.<ref name="BuzzFeed story">((cite news|last=Dean|first=Michelle|author-link=Michelle Dean|title=Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom To Be Murdered|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom|website=[[BuzzFeed News]]|publisher=BuzzFeed Entertainment Group|location=New York City|date=August 18, 2016|access-date=May 28, 2017|archive-date=January 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109043015/https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom|url-status=live))</ref>

Further investigation found that some of the doctors who had examined Gypsy-Rose had found no evidence of the claimed disorders. One physician suspected that Dee Dee had [[factitious disorder imposed on another]], a mental disorder in which a parent or other caretaker exaggerates, fabricates, or induces illness in a person under their care to obtain sympathy or attention. Dee Dee had changed her name for various reasons. After her death her family claims this was due to them, confronting her about suspecting she had poisoned her stepmother and how she treated Gypsy. Nonetheless, many people accepted her situation as true, and the two benefited from the efforts of charities such as [[Children's Mercy Hospital]], [[Habitat for Humanity]], [[Ronald McDonald House]], and the [[Make-A-Wish Foundation]].

Dee Dee had been making her daughter pass herself off as younger and pretend to be disabled and chronically ill, subjecting her to unnecessary surgery and medication, and controlling her through [[physical abuse|physical]] and [[psychological abuse]]. Marc Feldman, an international expert on factitious disorders, said this was the first case he knew of in which an abused child killed an abusive parent.<ref name="N-L Marc Feldman story">((cite news|last=Keegan|first=Harrison|title=Munchausen expert says Gypsy Blanchard case is unprecedented|url=http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2016/07/06/munchausen-expert-says-gypsy-blanchard-case-unprecedented/86763054/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=July 6, 2016|access-date=June 2, 2017|archive-date=August 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813174745/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2016/07/06/munchausen-expert-says-gypsy-blanchard-case-unprecedented/86763054/|url-status=live))</ref> Gypsy-Rose pleaded guilty to [[second-degree murder]] and served eight years of a ten-year sentence. She was granted parole in September 2023 and was released from prison on December 28, 2023.<ref name="Rolling Stone story">((cite news|first=Laura|last=Barcella|title='Mommy Dead and Dearest' Doc on Gypsy Blanchard: What We Learned|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/mommy-dead-and-dearest-doc-on-gypsy-blanchard-what-we-learned-109542/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]|publisher=Wenner Media LLC|location=New York City|date=May 15, 2017|access-date=January 21, 2023|archive-date=January 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121081234/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/mommy-dead-and-dearest-doc-on-gypsy-blanchard-what-we-learned-109542/|url-status=live))</ref><ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2023/09/28/gypsy-rose-blanchard-will-be-released-from-missouri-prison-in-december/70991647007/|title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard will be released from prison on parole this December|website=Springfield News-Leader|access-date=September 28, 2023|archive-date=September 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929021211/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2023/09/28/gypsy-rose-blanchard-will-be-released-from-missouri-prison-in-december/70991647007/|url-status=live))</ref> After a brief trial in November 2018, Godejohn was convicted of [[first-degree murder]] and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.<ref name="Godejohn conviction">((cite news|first=Harrison|last=Keegan|title=Nicholas Godejohn found guilty in Blanchard murder|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/16/nicholas-godejohn-found-guilty-blanchard-murder/2027186002/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=November 16, 2018|access-date=November 18, 2018|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128125736/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/16/nicholas-godejohn-found-guilty-blanchard-murder/2027186002/|url-status=live))</ref>

==Dee Dee's background==
===Early life and marriage of Dee Dee Blanchard===
Dee Dee Blanchard was born Clauddine Pitre in [[Chackbay, Louisiana]], near the [[Gulf Coast]] in 1967, and grew up with her family in nearby [[Golden Meadow, Louisiana|Golden Meadow]].<ref>((Cite web|first=Jennifer|last=Silvey|url=https://fox4kc.com/2018/11/17/wisconsin-man-convicted-in-stabbing-a-mother-who-forced-daughter-to-feign-illnesses/|title=Wisconsin man convicted in stabbing a mother who forced her daughter to feign illnesses|date=November 17, 2018|website=FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV|language=en|access-date=March 25, 2019|archive-date=March 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325161708/https://fox4kc.com/2018/11/17/wisconsin-man-convicted-in-stabbing-a-mother-who-forced-daughter-to-feign-illnesses/|url-status=live))</ref> She was the youngest of five children of Claude Anthony Pitre Sr. and Emma Lois Gisclair.<ref>((Cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/lafourche/obits/1997/f9706.txt|title=Obituaries of JUNE 1997 Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, La.|date=1997|access-date=March 25, 2019|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225213855/http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/lafourche/obits/1997/f9706.txt|url-status=live))</ref> Her siblings recalled in the documentary, Gypsy’s Revenge, that growing up Dee Dee’s mother would keep Dee Dee inside and stated she had [[Heart murmur|Heart Murmur]] and emulated a lot of the same behaviors that Dee Dee would later do to Gypsy. In 1986 Dee Dee was in a local beauty pageant ball.<ref>((Cite web |last=Romano |first=Aja |date=2017-05-15 |title=HBO's Mommy Dead and Dearest is a perfect storm of true crime, pageantry, and Southern gothic tropes |url=https://www.vox.com/2017/5/15/11435792/hbo-mommy-dead-and-dearest-review-southern-gothic |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=Vox |language=en))</ref>

Relatives claim that she had a habit of stealing from her family, which they speculated was a form of retaliation when "things didn't go her way." Her mother died in 1997, in interviews later on her family expressed suspicion that Dee Dee was neglecting Emma and might have killed her own mother by denying her food.<ref name="Cosmo article">((cite magazine|last=Jung|first=Helin|title=The 10 Most Disturbing Reveals From HBO's True-Crime Documentary ''Mommy Dead and Dearest''|url=http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a9659096/mommy-dead-and-dearest-dee-dee-blanchard-documentary-recap/|magazine=[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]|publisher=[[Hearst Corporation]]|location=New York City|date=May 16, 2017|access-date=May 28, 2017|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225192243/https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a9659096/mommy-dead-and-dearest-dee-dee-blanchard-documentary-recap/|url-status=live))</ref>

At some point early in her adult life, she worked as a nurse's aide along with Kristy Blanchard and Laura Pitre.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /><ref name=":2">((Cite book |last1=Blanchard |first1=Gypsy-Rose |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzLoEAAAQBAJ |title=Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom |last2=Moore |first2=Melissa |last3=Matrisciani |first3=Michele |date=2024-01-09 |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=978-1-63774-587-8 |pages=6 |language=en))</ref>

When she was 24 she met Rod Blanchard, then age 17 in a bowling alley bar.<ref>((Cite book |last1=Blanchard |first1=Gypsy-Rose |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzLoEAAAQBAJ |title=Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom |last2=Moore |first2=Melissa |last3=Matrisciani |first3=Michele |date=2024-01-09 |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=978-1-63774-587-8 |pages=24 |language=en))</ref> They got married on  December 27, 1990.<ref name=":1">((Cite book |last1=Blanchard |first1=Gypsy-Rose |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzLoEAAAQBAJ |title=Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom |last2=Moore |first2=Melissa |last3=Matrisciani |first3=Michele |date=2024-01-09 |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=978-1-63774-587-8 |pages=94 |language=en))</ref> Shortly before Gypsy's birth in July 1991, the couple separated when Rod realized on his 18th birthday that he "got married for the wrong reasons".<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> He resisted Dee Dee's efforts to get him to return, and she took her newborn daughter to live with her family.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> They named their daughter Gypsy-Rose because Dee Dee liked the name Gypsy and Rod was a fan of [[Guns N' Roses]].<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

=== Gypsy's childhood ===
According to Rod, who remained involved with his daughter at this point, by the time Gypsy was three months old, Dee Dee was convinced that Gypsy had [[sleep apnea]] and began taking her to the hospital, where repeated overnight stays with a sleep monitor and other tests found no sign of the condition. Gypsy says that one of her earliest memories is her holding a Barney the dinosaur and walking along with her mom.<ref>((Cite web |last=Rubenstein |first=Janine |date=2024-01-07 |title=Read PEOPLE's Cover Story on Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Prison Release After Murdering Mom: 'Ready for Freedom' |url=https://people.com/gypsy-rose-blanchard-people-cover-story-exclusive-interview-8423037 |website=People |language=en-US |access-date=2024-02-06))</ref> Dee Dee subsequently became convinced that her daughter had a wide range of health issues, which she attributed to an unspecified [[Chromosome abnormality|chromosomal disorder]].<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> At some point, Dee Dee claimed that Gypsy had [[muscular dystrophy]] and made her use a walker.<ref name=":0">((Cite web |last=Flinders |first=Polly |date=November 21, 2017 |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard Claims Mom Convinced Everyone She Was Ill and Disabled Since Childhood |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gypsy-rose-blanchard-claims-mom-080327729.html |access-date=2021-02-07 |website=Yahoo! News |language=en-GB |archive-date=February 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214090118/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gypsy-rose-blanchard-claims-mom-080327729.html |url-status=live ))</ref>

Gypsy's book claims that when she was five years old her grandfather made her and Dee Dee take a bath with him.<ref name=":2" />

Gypsy said that, when she was seven or eight, she was riding on her grandfather's motorcycle when they were involved in a minor accident where she suffered an [[abrasion (medical)|abrasion]] on her knee. Dee Dee said that doctors had given her a wheelchair she would need to use.<ref name=":0" />

Gypsy often went with her parents to [[Special Olympics]] events. In 2001, Dee Dee claimed Gypsy was eight (she was actually ten), she was named the honorary queen of the [[Krewe]] of Mid-City, a child-oriented parade held during [[Mardi Gras]] in [[New Orleans]].<ref name="2001 Daily Comet story">((cite news |title=Local girl to serve as queen for a day |url=http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20010224/NEWS/102240307?p=1&tc=ar |newspaper=The Daily Comet |language=en-US |location=Thibodeaux, LA |date=February 24, 2001 |access-date=June 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824022810/http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20010224/NEWS/102240307?p=1&tc=ar |archive-date=August 24, 2016))</ref> Gypsy describes herself as being an animal lover with four cats and that she spends a lot of time with her grandfather who is her "best friend".<ref>((Cite web |title=Local girl to serve as queen for a day |url=https://www.houmatoday.com/story/news/2001/02/24/local-girl-to-serve-as-queen-for-a-day/26791116007/ |website=The Courier |language=en-US |access-date=2024-02-05))</ref> Dee Dee had a leg injury said to have been from a car accident, which required being in hospital for two months. Gypsy and Dee were living at Dee's father Claude's house for 10 months. Claude is now being accused by Gypsy of abusing both her and Dee while they lived there.<ref>((Cite book |last1=Blanchard |first1=Gypsy-Rose |last2=Moore |first2=Melissa |last3=Matrisciani |first3=Michele |date=2024-01-09 |title=Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom |url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=jzLoEAAAQBAJ |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=978-1-63774-587-8 |language=en))</ref> This is the year they began to attend [[Science fiction convention|science fiction and fantasy conventions]]<ref name="2001 Daily Comet story2">((cite news |date=February 24, 2001 |title=Local girl to serve as queen for a day |url=http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20010224/NEWS/102240307?p=1&tc=ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824022810/http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20010224/NEWS/102240307?p=1&tc=ar |archive-date=August 24, 2016 |access-date=June 2, 2017 |newspaper=The Daily Comet |location=Thibodeaux, LA |language=en-US))</ref> sometimes in costume, since Gypsy could blend into their diverse and inclusive communities in her wheelchair.

Gypsy seems to have stopped going to school after [[second grade]],<ref name="Rolling Stone story" /> possibly even as early as [[kindergarten]].<ref name="News–Leader roundup story" /> Her mother [[homeschooling|homeschooled]] her after that, supposedly because her illnesses were so severe; this was later believed to have been an attempt to [[isolation to facilitate abuse|isolate Gypsy to further her abuse]]. Gypsy claims that she managed to learn to read on her own through the [[Harry Potter|''Harry Potter'' books]].<ref name="Rolling Stone story" />

Gypsy's father had remarried,<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> and Dee Dee moved in with her father Claude and stepmother Laura. Family members later said that when preparing food for her stepmother, Dee Dee poisoned it with [[Glyphosate#Monsanto response and campaign|Roundup]] [[herbicide|weed killer]], leading to Laura's chronic illness during this period.<ref name="Bustle story">((cite web |last=Bowman |first=Sabienna |date=May 26, 2017 |title=The One 'Mommy Dead & Dearest' Detail That Makes The Story So Much Creepier Than You Realized |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/the-one-mommy-dead-dearest-detail-that-makes-the-story-so-much-creepier-than-you-realized-60332 |website=Bustle |location=New York |access-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030652/https://www.bustle.com/p/the-one-mommy-dead-dearest-detail-that-makes-the-story-so-much-creepier-than-you-realized-60332 |url-status=live))</ref> During that time, Dee Dee was arrested for several minor offenses, including writing [[bad check]]s.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> The Pitres claim that when they began to regularly confront Dee about her treatment of Gypsy and expressed suspicion about her role in Laura's ill health, Dee Dee left with her child for the New Orleans suburb of [[Slidell, Louisiana|Slidell]]. Laura's health is said to have returned to normal shortly afterward.<ref name="Bustle story" />

In Slidell, the pair lived in [[public housing]]; they paid their bills with Rod's child-support payments and [[public assistance]] Dee Dee had been granted due to her daughter's supposed medical conditions. They saw various specialists, mostly at [[Tulane Medical Center]] and the [[Children's Hospital of New Orleans]], seeking treatment for the illnesses Dee Dee claimed Gypsy had, which now included hearing and vision problems. While a [[muscle biopsy]] found no sign of the muscular dystrophy Dee Dee insisted Gypsy had, she was successful in securing treatment for other purported issues. After she told doctors Gypsy had [[seizure]]s every few months, they prescribed [[anti-seizure medication]]. Several surgeries were performed on her during this time and Dee Dee regularly took Gypsy to the emergency room for minor ailments.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> One of the doctors who saw Dee and Gypsy in New Orleans was Dr Robert Beckerman, who is said to have treated her for 10 years.<ref>((Cite web |last=Pokin |first=Steve |date=2015-06-16 |title=Pokin Around: The house? The wheelchair? All a scam? |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/16/pokin-around-house-wheelchair-scam/28837205/ |website=Springfield News-Leader |language=en-US |access-date=2024-02-05))</ref><ref>((Cite web |date=2019-02-07 |title=Springfield mom and daughter caught up in apparent fraud that ended in death made frequent trips to KC ((!)) The Kansas City Star |url=https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article25032529.html |access-date=2024-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207202314/https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article25032529.html |archive-date=February 7, 2019 ))</ref>

After [[Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans|Hurricane Katrina devastated the area]] in August 2005, the pair left their ruined apartment for a shelter in [[Covington, Louisiana|Covington]] set up for people with [[special needs]]. They are said to have lived in the shelter for three months.<ref>((Cite web |title=Treasures - Summer 2009 - Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/6901894/treasures-summer-2009-childrens-mercy-hospitals-and-clinics |website=Yumpu |language=en |access-date=2024-02-06))</ref> Dee Dee said Gypsy's medical records, including her birth certificate, had been destroyed in the flooding. A doctor there from the [[Ozark]]s suggested they relocate to her native [[Missouri]], and the next month they were airlifted there.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

===Move to Missouri===
At first, Dee Dee and Gypsy lived in a rented home in [[Aurora, Missouri|Aurora]], in southwestern Missouri. During their time there, Gypsy was honored by the Oley Foundation, which advocates for the rights of feeding-tube recipients, as its 2007 Child of the Year.<ref name="Archived Oley Foundation page">((cite web|title=2007 Award Winners|url=http://www.oley.org/2007Award_Winners.html|publisher=Oley Foundation|access-date=May 30, 2017|archive-date=June 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618234428/http://www.oley.org/2007Award_Winners.html))</ref><ref name=":3">((Cite web |date=2019-10-08 |title=Apparent fraud discovered after daughter's arrest in Mo. mother's death ((!)) The Wichita Eagle |url=https://www.kansas.com/news/state/article25107196.html |access-date=2024-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008055703/https://www.kansas.com/news/state/article25107196.html |archive-date=October 8, 2019 ))</ref> In 2008, [[Habitat for Humanity]] built them a small home with a wheelchair ramp and hot tub as part of a larger project on the north side of [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], to the east, and the two moved there. The story of a single mother with a severely disabled daughter forced to flee Katrina's devastation received considerable local media attention, and the community often pitched in to help the woman who now went by Clauddinnea Blancharde, and whom they knew as Dee Dee.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> Dee Dee would set up an outdoor cinema at their habitat home and charge people $1 or $5.<ref name=":3" />

In "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy-Rose," Gypsy says she suffered from a pain pill addiction from the age of 16.<ref name="people" />

In the summer of 2009 Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics published a story featuring the reunion of Dee, Gypsy and Dr Robert Beckerman after a coincidental appointment at the Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center.<ref>((Cite web |last=Yumpu.com |title=Treasures - Summer 2009 - Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/6901894/treasures-summer-2009-childrens-mercy-hospitals-and-clinics |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=yumpu.com |language=en))</ref>

The outpouring of support included many charitable contributions. In Louisiana, mother and daughter had at most availed themselves of occasional stays in [[Ronald McDonald House]]s during medical appointments; in Missouri, they received free flights to see doctors at [[Children's Mercy Hospital]] in Kansas City, free trips to [[Walt Disney World]], and backstage passes to [[Miranda Lambert]] concerts (where she was frequently photographed with Lambert) via the [[Make-A-Wish Foundation]]. Rod Blanchard also continued to make monthly [[child support]] payments of $1,200, as well as sending Gypsy gifts and occasionally talking to her on the phone (during one call, on her 18th birthday, he recalls Dee Dee telling him not to mention her daughter's real age since "she thinks she's 14").<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

Rod and his second wife hoped to get to Springfield and visit, but for a variety of reasons, Dee Dee changed plans. She told her neighbors in Springfield that Gypsy's father was an abusive drug addict and alcoholic who had never come to terms with his daughter's health issues and never sent them any money.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />
[[File:Gypsy Rose Blancharde appearing disabled.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.75|Gypsy (unknown date)|alt=A young woman sitting upright in a bed, her legs under the blanket and the headboard and pillows behind her. She holds a large doll in front of her and is wearing a T-shirt, large glasses and a red baseball cap while smiling broadly]]
Many people who met Gypsy-Rose were charmed by her. Her ((convert|5|ft|cm|adj=on)) height,((efn|The [[Missouri Department of Corrections]] lists her as one inch shorter, or 148&nbsp;cm, and weighing ((convert|100|lb))<ref name="MODOC Gypsy page">((cite web|title=Missouri Department of Corrections Offender Search|url=https://web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb/offenderInfoAction.do?photoFile=130204814802.jpg|publisher=[[Missouri Department of Corrections]]|date=June 1, 2017|access-date=June 2, 2017|archive-date=December 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231050011/https://web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb/welcome.do|url-status=live))</ref>)) nearly toothless mouth, large glasses, and high, childlike voice reinforced the perception that she had all the problems her mother claimed she did. Dee Dee regularly shaved Gypsy's head to mimic the hairless appearance of a [[chemotherapy]] patient, allegedly telling her daughter that since her medication would eventually cause her hair to fall out, it was best to shave it in advance; Gypsy often wore wigs or hats to cover her baldness. When they left the house, Dee Dee often took an oxygen tank and feeding tube with them; Gypsy-Rose was fed the children's liquid nutrition supplement [[PediaSure]] well into her 20s.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

Dee Dee used physical abuse to control Gypsy, always holding her hand in the presence of others. When she said something that suggested she was not genuinely sick or seemed beyond her purported mental capacity, she recalls that her mother would squeeze her hand very tightly. When the two were alone, Dee Dee struck her with her open hands or a coat hanger.<ref name="Cosmo article" />

Medical interventions continued; Dee Dee had some of Gypsy's [[saliva gland]]s treated with [[Botox]], then extracted altogether, to control her purported drooling. Gypsy-Rose later claimed her mother induced drooling by using a [[topical anesthetic]] to numb her gums before doctor visits.<ref name="20/20 story">((cite news|last1=Diaz|first1=Joseph|last2=Smith|first2=Jenner|last3=Valiente|first3=Alexa|title=How a young woman forced to used a wheel chair, treated for several illnesses ended up in prison for her mother's murder|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/young-wheelchair-bound-woman-treated-illnesses-ended-prison/story?id=52138979|newspaper=[[ABC News]]|date=January 4, 2018|access-date=January 25, 2018|archive-date=January 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126185113/http://abcnews.go.com/US/young-wheelchair-bound-woman-treated-illnesses-ended-prison/story?id=52138979|url-status=live))</ref> The lack of salivary glands coupled with side effects of the anti-seizure medication she was given caused her already few teeth to decay to the point that the majority of her front teeth were extracted and replaced with a [[bridge (dentistry)|bridge]]. Tubes were implanted in her ears to control her myriad purported ear infections.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

===Suspicions of deceptive behavior===
In 2007<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> Bernardo Flasterstein, a [[neurology|pediatric neurologist]] who saw Gypsy in Springfield, became suspicious of her muscular dystrophy diagnosis. He ordered [[MRI]]s and [[blood test]]s, which found no abnormalities. "I don't see any reason why she doesn't walk," he told Dee Dee on a follow-up visit after seeing Gypsy stand and support her own weight.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> Flasterstein noted that Dee Dee was not a good historian. After contacting Gypsy's doctors in New Orleans, he learned that her original muscle biopsy had come back negative, undermining Dee Dee's reported diagnosis of muscular dystrophy, as well as her claim that all her records had been destroyed by flooding. He suspected the possibility of a factitious disorder imposed on another. Dee Dee contrived to gain access to Flasterstein's notes and subsequently stopped taking Gypsy to see him.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

Flasterstein did not follow up by reporting Dee Dee to [[social services]]. He said other doctors had told him to treat the pair with "golden gloves" and doubted the authorities would believe him anyway. In 2009, an anonymous caller((efn|Flasterstein denies it was him.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />)) told the police about Dee Dee's use of different names and birthdates for herself and her daughter, and suggested Gypsy was in better health than claimed. Officers who performed the resulting wellness check accepted Dee Dee's explanation that she used the misinformation to make it harder for her abusive ex-husband to find them, without talking to Rod, and reported that Gypsy seemed genuinely mentally disabled. The file was closed.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

===Growing independence of Gypsy===
Dee Dee seems to have at least once forged a copy of Gypsy's birth certificate, changing her birthdate to 1995 to bolster claims that she was still a teenager; Gypsy said in a later interview that for 14 years she was not sure of her real age.<ref name="20/20 story" /> Dee Dee sometimes also claimed that the original had been destroyed during the post-Katrina flooding.<ref name="E! Online story">((cite news|last=Bricker|first=Tierney|title=Victim or Villain? The Horrifying Truth Behind the Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Escape From Her Mother|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1025245/victim-or-villain-the-horrifying-truth-behind-the-story-of-gypsy-rose-blanchard-s-escape-from-her-mother|newspaper=[[E!]]|date=March 26, 2019|access-date=July 2, 2019|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703024257/https://www.eonline.com/news/1025245/victim-or-villain-the-horrifying-truth-behind-the-story-of-gypsy-rose-blanchard-s-escape-from-her-mother|url-status=live))</ref> Dee Dee did keep another copy with Gypsy's real birthdate. Gypsy recalls seeing it during one of their hospital visits and becoming confused; Dee Dee told her it was a misprint.<ref name="Esquire story">((cite magazine|last=Kirkland|first=Justin|title=Everything You Need to Know About ''The Act'' and Gypsy Rose Blanchard|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a26871968/the-act-hulu-true-story-gypsy-rose-blanchard/|magazine=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|date=March 20, 2019|access-date=July 2, 2019|archive-date=September 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925113619/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a26871968/the-act-hulu-true-story-gypsy-rose-blanchard/|url-status=live))</ref>

In February 2011, at a sci-fi convention, Gypsy made an escape attempt that ended when her mother found her with a man named Dan, whom she had been speaking to online and met at the convention. There are two versions of this story. In one version, people at the convention who knew Gypsy and Dee Dee became concerned after finding Gypsy was in a man's hotel room due to them believing that Gypsy was 15 and the man was 35. The neighbors claimed that Dee Dee produced paperwork giving a false birth date and threatened to inform the police and that the man let her go.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> The other version of the story says that Gypsy had found out she was really 19 and had made a plan with Dan to run away to Arkansas. She says that she left a note for Dee Dee saying she wanted to be an independent woman and hitch hiked a lift at 2am to Dan's friend's house. When she got there she found that Dan was on parole and was not permitted to leave the state. Gypsy says that Dee Dee found her because she had left her phone behind and Dee Dee had managed to track her down. Gypsy says that she left willingly because Dee Dee had told her she could continue her relationship with Dan.<ref name="people" /> Gypsy says afterward, Dee Dee smashed her computer and phone with a hammer and threatened to do the same to her fingers if she ever tried to escape again. Gypsy claims she was leashed and handcuffed to her bed<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> and Dee Dee <ref name="people" />  starved her <ref name="people" /> for two weeks. Dee Dee later told her that she had filed paperwork with the police claiming that she was mentally incompetent, leading her to believe that if she attempted to go to the police for help, they would not believe her.<ref name="Rolling Stone story" />

Shortly after being freed from the bed, Gypsy had unsuccessfully attempted to escape from the house again by shooting her mother 10 times with a [[BB gun]], which she initially believed was a real gun.<ref name="Huff Post story">((cite news|last=Moorhouse|first=Drusilla|title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard Reveals She Had Shot Her Mom Years Before The Murder|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gypsy-rose-blanchard-shooting-revelation_n_65988440e4b0f9f6621cb969|newspaper=[[Huff Post]]|date=January 7, 2023|access-date=January 10, 2023|archive-date=January 10, 2024|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20240110170111/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gypsy-rose-blanchard-shooting-revelation_n_65988440e4b0f9f6621cb969|url-status=live))</ref>

When Gypsy was 20 she shared explicit images online and says that she did this to make her feel good about herself. <ref>((Cite book |last1=Blanchard |first1=Gypsy-Rose |url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=jzLoEAAAQBAJ |title=Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom |last2=Moore |first2=Melissa |last3=Matrisciani |first3=Michele |date=2024-01-09 |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=978-1-63774-587-8 |pages=79 |language=en))</ref>

In February 2012, police were called shortly after Dee and Gypsy had been caught shoplifting arts and craft items worth $21.53 from a [[Hobby Lobby]]. The items were hidden in the wheelchair under her legs. Dee told the police that they had returned from Disneyland and planned on making a scrapbook. Dee said that they had no intention to steal, that it was a mistake and they had forgot to put the items back.<ref>((Cite web |last=Herzog |first=Stephen |title=Stealing case backs up claims of Blanchardes' fraud |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/18/blanchardes-run-police-three-years-ago/28933441/ |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=Springfield News-Leader |language=en-US))</ref>

Sometime around 2012, Gypsy, who continued to use the Internet after her mother had gone to bed to avoid her tightened supervision, made contact online with Nicholas Godejohn (Nick), from [[Big Bend, Waukesha County, Wisconsin|Big Bend, Wisconsin]], whom she said she had met on a Christian singles website.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> Nick, who describes his life as lonely before he began talking to Gypsy,<ref>((Cite web |date=2019-07-13 |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Former Boyfriend Nick Godejohn Opens Up About His Childhood |url=https://www.oxygen.com/killer-couples/crime-time/gypsy-roses-former-boyfriend-nick-godejohn-childhood |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=Oxygen Official Site |language=en-US))</ref> was arrested on March 11, 2013 at a McDonald’s for [[indecent exposure]]. He was charged on April 17, 2013 for carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, which carries a combined maximum sentence of one year in prison, $11,000 in fines, or both.<ref>((Cite web |date=2013-04-19 |title=Pornography at McDonald's Leads to Customer Complaints, Police Say |url=https://patch.com/wisconsin/waukesha/pornography-at-mcdonald-s-leads-to-customer-complaint7dc2c90fcd |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=Waukesha, WI Patch |language=en))</ref> He has a history of mental illness, sometimes reported as [[dissociative identity disorder]] and also has [[Autism spectrum|autism spectrum disorder]].<ref name="Cosmo article" />

In 2014, Gypsy, who had five separate Facebook accounts,<ref name="Rolling Stone story" /> confided to 23-year-old neighbor Aleah Woodmansee that she and Nick flirted online and that their exchanges had [[BDSM]] elements, which Gypsy claims was more of his interest. Aleah considered herself a "big sister" but later found out they were a similar age. Nick and Gypsy had discussed eloping and had even chosen names for potential children. Aleah tried to talk her out of it, thinking she was too young and possibly being taken advantage of by a sexual predator.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> She considered Gypsy's plans just "fantasies and dreams," and believed that "nothing like this would ever really take place." Despite Dee Dee's efforts to prevent her from using the Internet, which went as far as destroying her daughter's phone and laptop, as well as allegedly locking her in a backyard shed,<ref name="20/20 story" /> she maintained contact with Aleah, who saved printouts of her posts, until 2014.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

The next year, she arranged and paid for Nick to meet her mother in Springfield. Her plan was for him to just casually "bump into" her while she and Dee Dee were at a movie theater, both of them in costume,<ref name="20/20 story" /> and apparently strike up a relationship that way, and then later for her to introduce him to her mother. As soon as they did meet in person for the first time in March 2015 when Gypsy, along with her mother, went to watch ''[[Cinderella (2015 American film)|Cinderella]],'' Nick says Gypsy led him to the bathroom handicap stall, where the two had sex.<ref name="Cosmo article" /> This is disputed by Gypsy, who stated that the two did not have sex and that Nick had pulled out his penis but was unable to get erect.<ref>((cite web|title= Gypsy Rose Describes Intimate Moment With Boyfriend In Men's Bathroom|date= December 30, 2023|url= https://theblast.com/567043/gypsy-rose-describes-intimate-moment-with-boyfriend-in-mens-bathroom/|access-date= January 11, 2024|archive-date= January 11, 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240111043838/https://theblast.com/567043/gypsy-rose-describes-intimate-moment-with-boyfriend-in-mens-bathroom/|url-status= live))</ref> The two continued their Internet interactions and began developing their plan to kill Dee Dee.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

==Murder==
After receiving stolen money sent by Gypsy in the mail<ref>((Cite web |date=2018-11-17 |title=Wisconsin man convicted in stabbing a mother who forced her daughter to feign illnesses |url=https://fox4kc.com/news/wisconsin-man-convicted-in-stabbing-a-mother-who-forced-daughter-to-feign-illnesses/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV ((!)) News, Weather, Sports |language=en-US))</ref> to purchase a bus ticket,<ref>((Cite web |last=Keegan |first=Harrison |title=Nicholas Godejohn sentenced to life in prison for murder of Dee Dee Blanchard |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2019/02/22/nicholas-godejohn-sentenced-life-prison-blanchard-murder/2949249002/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=Springfield News-Leader |language=en-US))</ref> Nick returned to Springfield in June 2015, arriving while Gypsy and her mother were at the ER to have her feeding tube replaced.<ref>((Citation |title=20/20 : KGO : January 27, 2018 10:00pm-11:00pm PST |date=2018-01-28 |url=http://archive.org/details/KGO_20180128_060000_2020 |access-date=2024-02-06 |others=KGO))</ref> After they had returned home and Dee Dee had gone to sleep, he went to the Blanchard house. Gypsy let him in and allegedly gave him duct tape, gloves, and a knife with the understanding that he would use it to murder Dee Dee.<ref name="20/20 story" />

Gypsy hid in the bathroom and covered her ears so that she would not have to hear her mother screaming. Godejohn then stabbed Dee Dee 17 times in the back while she was asleep.<ref name="Cosmo article" /> Afterward, Nick claimed that the two had [[sexual intercourse]] in Gypsy's room, and that she also performed [[fellatio]] on him.<ref name="20/20 story" /> Gypsy alleged that Nick had raped her and that the sexual activity was nonconsensual. She alleged that Godejohn told her he would rape her because she did not allow him to rape Dee Dee before the murder as he had previously fantasized about. Gypsy said that she had called out for help from her deceased mother during the rape.<ref name=people>((cite web|title=The Biggest Revelations from The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard|url=https://people.com/the-prison-confessions-of-gypsy-rose-blanchard-biggest-revelations-8421990|access-date=January 11, 2024|archive-date=January 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111044433/https://people.com/the-prison-confessions-of-gypsy-rose-blanchard-biggest-revelations-8421990|url-status=live))</ref><ref name=variety>((cite web|title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard Docuseries Revelations: Pill Addiction, a Voodoo Hex, Sexual Abuse Allegations and More|date=January 8, 2024 |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/gypsy-rose-blanchard-docuseries-pill-addiction-sexual-abuse-allegations-1235860595/amp/|access-date=January 11, 2024|archive-date=January 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110103645/https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/gypsy-rose-blanchard-docuseries-pill-addiction-sexual-abuse-allegations-1235860595/amp/|url-status=live))</ref> They took over $4,400 in cash<ref name=":4">((Cite web |date=2024-01-03 |title=What did authorities seize from Blancharde home? |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/24/authorities-seize-blancharde-home/29230145/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103050646/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/24/authorities-seize-blancharde-home/29230145/ |archive-date=January 3, 2024 ))</ref> that Dee Dee had been keeping in the house, mostly from Rod's child support checks. They fled to a motel outside Springfield, where they stayed a few days while planning their next move;<ref name="People story">((cite news|first=Harriet|last=Sokmensuer|title=Inside the Online Romance That Led an Abused Girl to Kill Her Mom and Escape Her Life of Lies|url=http://people.com/crime/gypsy-rose-blanchard-online-relationship-mom-murderer-nick-godejohn/|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|date=May 13, 2017|access-date=May 31, 2017|archive-date=June 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603015643/http://people.com/crime/gypsy-rose-blanchard-online-relationship-mom-murderer-nick-godejohn/|url-status=live))</ref> during that time, they were seen on security cameras at several stores. Gypsy said at that point she believed the two had gotten away with their crime.<ref name="20/20 story" />

They mailed the murder weapon back to Nick's home in Wisconsin to avoid being caught with it,<ref name="N-L murder weapon mailing story">((cite news|first=Harrison|last=Keegan|title=That knife Blanchard suspect said he mailed to Wisconsin? Search turns up envelope. And $4,400|url=http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/18/search-warrant-provides-new-details-blancharde-case/28958433/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=New York City|date=June 19, 2015|access-date=June 3, 2017|archive-date=June 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613014348/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/18/search-warrant-provides-new-details-blancharde-case/28958433/|url-status=live))</ref> then took a bus there. Several witnesses who saw the pair on their way to the Greyhound station noted that Gypsy wore a blonde wig and walked unassisted.<ref name="News–Leader roundup story" />

==Investigation and arrests==
After seeing concerning Facebook statuses posted from Dee Dee's account, the Blanchards' friends suspected something was amiss. When phone calls went unanswered, several friends and neighbors went to the house. While they knew that the two often left on medical trips unannounced, they saw Dee Dee's modified car still in the driveway, making this unlikely. Protective film on the windows made it hard to see inside in the low light. No one answered the door, so the gathered friends called [[9-1-1]]. When the police arrived, they had to wait for a [[search warrant]] to be issued before they could enter, but they allowed one of the neighbors present to climb through a window, where he saw that the inside of the house was largely undisturbed and that Gypsy's wheelchairs were all still present.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

Crime scene photos shown in ''Mommy Dead and Dearest'' show a stuffed Barney doll found in the bed near Dee Dee's head and her nails painted pink.<ref name=":4"/> The documentary ''Gypsy's Revenge'' shows Gypsy at an unknown age holding what may be the same doll; her nails are also painted pink.<ref>((Citation |last=Vile |first=Jesse |title=Gypsy's Revenge |date=2018-11-06 |type=Documentary |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9239778/ |access-date=2024-02-15 |others=Dee Dee Blanchard, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Rod Blanchard |publisher=Lightbox, Trilogy Creative Studios))</ref>

When the warrant was issued, police entered the house and found Dee Dee's body. A [[GoFundMe]] account was set up to pay for her funeral expenses and possibly Gypsy's. All who knew the Blanchards feared the worst—even if Gypsy had not been harmed, they believed she would be helpless without her wheelchair, medications, and support equipment like the oxygen tanks and feeding tube.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

Woodmansee, who was among those gathered on the Blanchards' lawn, told police what she knew about Gypsy and her secret boyfriend. She showed them the printouts she had saved, which included his name. Based on that information, police asked Facebook to trace the [[IP address]] from which the posts to Dee Dee's account had been made. It turned out to be in Wisconsin, and the next day police agencies in [[Waukesha County, Wisconsin|Waukesha County]] raided Nick's home in [[Big Bend, Waukesha County, Wisconsin|Big Bend]]. Nick and Gypsy surrendered and were taken into custody on charges of murder<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> and felony armed criminal action.<ref name="N-L arrest story">((cite news|last=Keegan|first=Harrison|title=Sheriff: 'She can walk,' daughter in murder case suspected of fraud|url=http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/16/daughter-boyfriend-charged-murder-dee-dee-blancharde/28803189/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=June 16, 2015|access-date=June 3, 2017|archive-date=January 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121214701/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/16/daughter-boyfriend-charged-murder-dee-dee-blancharde/28803189/|url-status=live))</ref>

The news that Gypsy was safe was greeted with relief in Springfield, where she and Godejohn were soon extradited and held on $1 million [[bail in the United States|bond]]. But, in announcing the news, [[Greene County, Missouri|Greene County]] [[Sheriff]] Jim Arnott warned, "things are not always what they appear." The media in Springfield soon reported the truth of the Blanchards' lives: that she had never been sick and had always been able to walk, but her mother had made her pretend otherwise,<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /><ref name="N-L arrest story" /> using [[physical abuse]] to control her.<ref name="Cosmo article" /> Arnott urged people not to donate money to the family until investigators learned the extent of the fraud.<ref name="N-L arrest story" />

An unsealed search warrant showed Gypsy had at least five Facebook accounts. "''Nick told investigators Gypsy had so many different Facebook accounts he could not remember all of them.''" The accounts: Nicholas Godejohn, Nicholas Bella Rose, Snowgypsy Blanchard, Gypsy's Trip, Praying for DeeDee and Gypsy, Bella Rose and Gypsy Rose were asked to be searched along with any additional Facebook accounts associated with Gypsy's email addresses. "''Previous warrants say friends told investigators Gypsy had alternate Facebook accounts under the names Emma Rose and Devona Wolf where she reportedly "liked" pictures of sadomasochism.''"<ref>((Cite web |last=Keegan |first=Harrison |title=Warrant: Gypsy had at least five Facebook accounts |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2015/07/05/warrant-gypsy-least-five-facebook-accounts/29743499/ |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=Springfield News-Leader |language=en-US))</ref>

==Trials==
After the disclosure of how Dee Dee had treated Gypsy, sympathy for her as the victim of a violent murder rapidly shifted to her daughter as a long-term victim of [[child abuse]]. While the charge of [[first-degree murder]] can carry the [[Capital punishment in Missouri|death penalty under Missouri law]] or [[life without parole]], County Prosecutor Dan Patterson announced he would not seek the death penalty for either Gypsy or Nick, calling the case "extraordinary and unusual".<ref name="News–Leader roundup story" /> After her attorney obtained her medical records from Louisiana, he secured a [[plea bargain]] to [[second-degree murder]] for Gypsy. She was so undernourished up to this point, during the year she was in the county jail, her lawyer told ''[[BuzzFeed]]'' that she had gained ((convert|14|lb)), in contrast to most of his clients who typically lose weight in that situation. In July 2016, she accepted the plea bargain and was sentenced to ten years in prison.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

Nick still faced the more severe charge because prosecutors contended that he initiated the murder plot, and he and Gypsy agreed that he was the one who killed Dee Dee. He was also more severely prosecuted due to different personal circumstances; Nick was given less sympathy and understanding due to a lack of involvement in the abuse. Gypsy's plea bargain agreement did not require her to testify against him.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> In January 2017, his trial was postponed when prosecutors requested a second psychiatric exam; his lawyers contend that he has an [[intelligence quotient]] of 82 and is on the [[autism spectrum]], suggesting that he has [[diminished capacity]].<ref name="Houma Today story">((cite news|last=Mire|first=Bridget|title=Trial delayed in Chackbay native's slaying|url=http://www.houmatoday.com/news/20170131/trial-delayed-in-chackbay-natives-slaying|newspaper=[[The Houma Courier]]|location=[[Houma, Louisiana|Houma, LA]]|date=January 31, 2017|access-date=June 1, 2017|archive-date=May 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522174656/http://www.houmatoday.com/news/20170131/trial-delayed-in-chackbay-natives-slaying|url-status=live))</ref> He initially [[bench trial|waived his right to a trial by jury]],<ref name="Times-Leader Godejohn trial story">((cite news|last=Keegan|first=Harrison|title=Gypsy Blanchard's boyfriend picks judge over jury trial|url=http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2016/10/11/gypsy-blanchards-boyfriend-picks-judge-over-jury-trial/91912034/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=October 11, 2016|access-date=June 1, 2017|archive-date=December 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208110112/http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2016/10/11/gypsy-blanchards-boyfriend-picks-judge-over-jury-trial/91912034/|url-status=live))</ref> but changed his mind in June of that year.<ref name="Godejohn jury trial story">((cite news|first=Giacomo|last=Bologna|title=Gypsy Blanchard's boyfriend changes mind, now wants jury trial|url=http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2017/06/15/gypsy-blanchards-boyfriend-changes-mind-now-wants-jury-trial/401051001/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=June 15, 2017|access-date=August 4, 2017|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110024204/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2017/06/15/gypsy-blanchards-boyfriend-changes-mind-now-wants-jury-trial/401051001/|url-status=live))</ref>

In December 2017, the judge set Nick's trial for November 2018.<ref name="Godejohn trial date set">((cite news|first=Harrison|last=Keegan|title=Judge sets trial date for next year in Nicholas Godejohn case|url=http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2017/12/07/judge-sets-trial-date-next-year-nicholas-godejohn-case/930305001/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=December 7, 2017|access-date=January 26, 2018|archive-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115044142/http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2017/12/07/judge-sets-trial-date-next-year-nicholas-godejohn-case/930305001/|url-status=live))</ref> In their opening statement, prosecutors alleged that Nick had deliberated for over a year before the crime, while his lawyers pointed to his [[Autism spectrum|autism]] and said that Gypsy had formulated the crime and their love-struck client had just done as she had asked.<ref name="Godejon trial opening arguments">((cite news|first=Harrison|last=Keegan|title=As Nicholas Godejohn trial begins, attorneys agree on the act but not the crime|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/13/gypsy-blanchard-nicholas-godejohn-murder-trial-claudine/1986351002/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=November 13, 2018|access-date=November 14, 2018|archive-date=February 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227121429/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/13/gypsy-blanchard-nicholas-godejohn-murder-trial-claudine/1986351002/|url-status=live))</ref> The next day, prosecutors showed jurors the text messages, sometimes sexually explicit, that Gypsy and Nick shared in the week before the murder, often using various personas, as well as the knife he had used to commit the murder. In some of the texts, he asked her for details about Dee Dee's room and sleeping habits. These were supplemented by video of his interview with police after his arrest, where he admitted killing her.<ref name="News-Leader trial day 2">((cite news|first1=Harrison|last1=Keegan|first2=Giacomo|last2=Bologna|title=Gypsy and Godejohn's intimate text messages shown to jury|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/14/blanchard-godejohn-trial-texts-springfield-gypsy-murder/1998077002/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Springfield, Missouri|date=November 14, 2018|access-date=November 16, 2018|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128003349/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/14/blanchard-godejohn-trial-texts-springfield-gypsy-murder/1998077002/|url-status=live))</ref>

Gypsy testified on the trial's third day. She said that, while she had indeed suggested to Nick that he kill Dee Dee to end her mother's abuse, she had also considered getting pregnant by him in the hope that once she was carrying Nick's child, Dee Dee would have to accept him. Along with the knife that she gave to Nick, she stole baby clothes from [[Walmart]] during a shopping trip so she could go ahead with either plan. However, she said, Nick never told her what he thought about the pregnancy plan.<ref name="News-Leader trial day 3">((cite news|last=Bologna|first=Giacomo|title=How Gypsy Blanchard's testimony helped — and hurt — Nicholas Godejohn|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/15/gypsy-blanchard-testifies-godejohns-murder-trial/2010754002/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|date=November 15, 2018|access-date=November 16, 2018|archive-date=January 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117023604/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/15/gypsy-blanchard-testifies-godejohns-murder-trial/2010754002/|url-status=live))</ref><ref>((cite web |author1=Townsend |first=Catherine |date=November 16, 2018 |title=Gypsy Blanchard's Bombshell Testimony At Nicholas Godejohn's Trial |url=https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/gypsy-rose-blanchard-testfies-at-nicholas-godejohn-trial |access-date=December 3, 2018 |website=Investigation Discovery |publisher=Discovery Communications, L.L.C. |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921161913/http://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/gypsy-rose-blanchard-testfies-at-nicholas-godejohn-trial |url-status=live ))</ref>

After four days, the case was sent to the jury. Jurors had the option of finding Nick guilty of one of three murder charges &mdash; [[Manslaughter|involuntary manslaughter]], second-degree or first-degree murder &mdash; or not guilty. After approximately two hours of deliberation, they returned with the verdict: guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. In February 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction, the only possible option since prosecutors had declined to seek the death penalty. Nick asked Judge David Jones for leniency on the armed criminal action charge, which carries a minimum sentence of only three years, saying that he had fallen "blindly in love" with Gypsy. He received a sentence of 25 years on that charge, which is concurrent with the life sentence.<ref name="Godejohn sentencing">((cite news|last=Keegan|first=Harrison|title=Nicholas Godejohn sentenced to life in prison for Blanchard murder in Greene County|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2019/02/22/nicholas-godejohn-sentenced-life-prison-blanchard-murder/2949249002/|newspaper=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|date=February 22, 2019|access-date=February 23, 2019|archive-date=February 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223023231/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2019/02/22/nicholas-godejohn-sentenced-life-prison-blanchard-murder/2949249002/|url-status=live))</ref>

Jones also denied a motion by Nick's lawyer, Dewayne Perry, for a new trial. Perry argued that the jury should not have been allowed to hear that Nick had considered raping Dee Dee on the night of the murder and also argued that the state's psychologist should not have been allowed to testify, while Nick's psychologist should have, to establish that he had diminished capacity. In denying the motion, Jones conceded that an appeals court could find the latter point significant and consider it a [[reversible error]].<ref name="Godejohn sentencing" /> At Nick's appeal hearing there was videos shown that show Gypsy emotionally manipulating Nick and an instruction video of how to stab Dee Dee. It was asked why these were not used in the trial.<ref name=":5">((Cite web |last=Watson |first=Frances |date=2022-08-09 |title=Greene County judge deciding motion in Nicholas Godejohn's attempt for new trial |url=https://www.ky3.com/2022/08/09/greene-county-judge-deciding-nicholas-godejohns-murder-conviction-appeal/ |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=ky3.com |language=en))</ref> Dan gave evidence at the trial that Gypsy and him had kept in contact through video chats."''He says he developed a taste of power exchange role-playing from her. He says she would send nude photos, dress up in costumes, and use various fictitious names. Glidewell says he was injured and that Gypsy visited him while he was in the hospital. She told him she wanted to go to Arkansas to restart her life''"<ref name=":5" />

In late 2023, public defender Tyler Coyle filed an appeal seeking a new trial for Nick. A timeframe has not been set for when the courts have to review the request.<ref>((Cite web |date=2024-02-04 |title=Public defenders file an appeal for a new trial for Nicholas Godejohn |url=https://www.ky3.com/2023/12/07/public-defenders-file-an-appeal-new-trial-nicholas-godejohn/#amp_tf=From%20%251$s&aoh=17075415901328&referrer=https://www.google.com&ampshare=https://www.ky3.com/2023/12/07/public-defenders-file-an-appeal-new-trial-nicholas-godejohn/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204203044/https://www.ky3.com/2023/12/07/public-defenders-file-an-appeal-new-trial-nicholas-godejohn/#amp_tf=From%20%251$s&aoh=17075415901328&referrer=https://www.google.com&ampshare=https://www.ky3.com/2023/12/07/public-defenders-file-an-appeal-new-trial-nicholas-godejohn/ |archive-date=February 4, 2024 ))</ref>

==Aftermath and reactions==
===Community response===
The Blanchards' neighbors were shocked to learn that Gypsy's illnesses were fabricated. Aleah Woodmansee, whose information about her relationship with Godejohn led police to the couple the day after Dee Dee's body was discovered, said she cried out of disbelief upon hearing that Gypsy had never been sick or disabled. Her mother recalled how everyone had accepted Dee Dee's claims without asking for proof, and wondered if the mother and daughter had been secretly laughing at their neighbors' naïveté. Kim Blanchard (no relation), who had called the deputy sheriffs to the house the night before, said, "What have I been believing? How could I have been so stupid?"<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> Over 60 people attended a [[candlelight vigil]] for Dee Dee in downtown Springfield the night after the body was discovered.<ref name="N-L arrest story" />

In a news conference, Arnott said of the case: ((nowrap|"[Springfield)) is] a giving community, we surround people with love and finances that we believe that needs it. However, a lot of times we are deceived, and I think this is now so true, in this case at hand."<ref name="N-L arrest story" /> Only one of the charities that had helped the Blanchards spoke after the revelations.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> A spokesman for [[Habitat for Humanity]], whose volunteers had built the Blanchards' house along with others on their street, said, "We are just really, deeply saddened by the whole situation."<ref name="N-L arrest story" />

===Family===
Dee Dee's family in Louisiana, who say they had confronted her about her treatment of Gypsy years before, did not mourn her. Her father, stepmother, and the nephew who first shared details of Gypsy-Rose's actual health when she first started using a wheelchair all later said that Dee Dee deserved her fate and that Gypsy had been punished as much as she needed to be. None of them would pay for her funeral, and her father and stepmother flushed her ashes down the toilet.<ref name="Cosmo article" /><ref name="Rolling Stone story" />

Rod Blanchard, Gypsy's father, is more forgiving. "I think Dee Dee's problem was she started a web of lies, and there was no escaping after," he told ''[[BuzzFeed]]''. "[I]t was like a tornado got started." He was happy the first time he saw a video of Gypsy walking under her own power.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

===Gypsy-Rose after serving her sentence===
((cquote|I feel like I'm more free in prison than with living with my mom. Because now I'm allowed to just live like a normal woman.<ref name="20/20 story" />
| author = Gypsy Rose Blanchard
| source = ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'', January 4, 2018
| width = 60%
))
Gypsy served her sentence in Missouri's [[Chillicothe Correctional Center]],<ref name="MODOC Gypsy page" /> and did not talk to the media until after she had made her plea. When she did, she told ''BuzzFeed'' reporter Michelle Dean that she had been able to research Munchausen syndrome by proxy (now known as factitious disorder imposed on another) on prison computers, and her mother had every symptom. "I think she would have been the perfect mom for someone that actually was sick", she said. She had believed Dee Dee's claim that she had cancer, even though she knew she could walk and eat solid food, leading her to assent to the regular head shavings. But she always hoped that doctors would see through the ruse, and she was frustrated that none besides Flasterstein did.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

When Dean asked her what made her want to escape her situation, she recalled the 2011 incident at the science fiction convention, which made her wonder why she was not allowed to have friends like others her age. While she said that Godejohn took their idle discussions of murder into reality,((efn|The [[probable cause]] statement submitted with the search warrant application for the Godejohn house claims Gypsy-Rose told him to stab her mother.<ref name="N-L murder weapon mailing story" />)) she accepts that she committed a crime and has to live with the consequences. Nonetheless, she has said that she hopes to help other abused victims.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />
 
Victims of Munchausen by proxy abuse often avoid doctors and hospitals in their later lives because of lingering trust issues, according to expert Marc Feldman.<ref name="N-L Marc Feldman story" /> In Gypsys book she tells Melissa Moore that when she leaves prison she wants to get a therapist, get work done on her nose, exercise and eat healthier.<ref name=":1" /> According to her family, Dean, and [[Erin Lee Carr]], a documentarian, Gypsy also exhibits at times the same [[Sociopathy|sociopathic]] [[Psychological manipulation|manipulative behaviors]] as her mother, who was for much of her life her only role model.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" /> "She is already psychologically really compromised, and she's going to need as much family underpinning and support as she can get," Feldman told ''[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]'' after viewing Carr's documentary ''[[Mommy Dead and Dearest]]'', in which he appears. He also points out that [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] is likely to be an issue in her continuing development. "I hope they find someone wherever she chooses to settle who is willing to provide supportive psychotherapy".<ref name="Vulture Feldman interview">((cite news |first=Kenny |last=Herzog |title=''Mommy Dead and Dearest'': How It Handles Munchausen Syndrome |url=http://www.vulture.com/2017/05/mommy-dead-and-dearest-munchausen-syndrome.html |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |publisher=[[New York Media]] |location=New York City |date=May 15, 2017 |access-date=June 3, 2017 |archive-date=June 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603185149/http://www.vulture.com/2017/05/mommy-dead-and-dearest-munchausen-syndrome.html |url-status=live))</ref>

On June 27, 2022, she married Ryan Scott Anderson.<ref>((cite web |last=Mehta |first=Meenal |date=July 28, 2022 |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard Weds Ryan Scott Anderson Amid 10-Year Prison Sentence |url=https://www.thetealmango.com/entertainment/gypsy-rose-blanchard-weds-ryan-scott-anderson-amid-10-year-prison-sentence/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806221311/https://www.thetealmango.com/entertainment/gypsy-rose-blanchard-weds-ryan-scott-anderson-amid-10-year-prison-sentence/ |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |website=The Teal Mango))</ref><ref>((cite web |last=Lee |first=Tionah |date=July 27, 2022 |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard Marries Ryan Scott Anderson Amid Prison Sentence |url=https://www.etonline.com/gypsy-rose-blanchard-marries-ryan-scott-anderson-amid-prison-sentence-188138 |website=Entertainment Tonight |access-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806221310/https://www.etonline.com/gypsy-rose-blanchard-marries-ryan-scott-anderson-amid-prison-sentence-188138 |url-status=live ))</ref><ref>((cite web |last=Evans |first=Jakob |date=July 28, 2022 |title=Convicted murderer Gypsy Rose Blanchard marries Lake Charles man |url=https://www.kplctv.com/2022/07/28/convicted-murderer-gypsy-rose-blanchard-marries-lake-charles-man/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728023445/https://www.kplctv.com/2022/07/28/convicted-murderer-gypsy-rose-blanchard-marries-lake-charles-man/ |archive-date=July 28, 2022 |website=KPLC))</ref>

On September 29, 2023, the Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed that Gypsy had been granted parole, and she was released on December 28, 2023,<ref>((cite web |last=Heller |first=Corinne |date=September 29, 2023 |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard Granted Early Release From Prison Amid Sentence for Mom's Murder |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1386741/gypsy-rose-blanchard-granted-early-release-from-prison-amid-sentence-for-moms-murder |website=EOnline |access-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030223547/https://www.eonline.com/news/1386741/gypsy-rose-blanchard-granted-early-release-from-prison-amid-sentence-for-moms-murder |url-status=live ))</ref> after serving 85% of her sentence, per state law.<ref>((cite web |title=Section 558.019, RSMo. Minimum Prison Terms |url=https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=45441 |website=Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission |access-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030223546/https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=45441 |url-status=live))</ref>

===Medical community===
Flasterstein, the pediatric neurologist who believed Gypsy was capable of walking on her own and wrote in his notes that he suspected Munchausen by proxy, says it was only the second such possible case he had ever come across. He learned of Dee Dee's murder later in 2015 when a former nurse emailed him the news story. "Poor Gypsy," he said. "She suffered all those years, and for no reason." He told Dean he wished he could have done more.<ref name="BuzzFeed story" />

Feldman, in talking about Carr's documentary with ''Vulture'', faults Carr for making Flasterstein appear to be the story's hero. "[H]e had a gross misunderstanding of his obligations as a physician, as well as the legal requirements to report suspected abuse or neglect," Feldman said. The film accepts Flasterstein's claim that he was only [[mandatory reporting|required to make a report]] to [[Child Protective Services]] in the latter instance, but according to Feldman, once he had included Munchausen by proxy in his list of possible diagnoses, he was obligated to make a report. "This conundrum arises in case after case, where innumerable doctors have evaluated the patient, perhaps had questions they kept to themselves, and just proceeded to treat or make referrals and ditch the case that way."<ref name="Vulture Feldman interview" />

While a formal diagnosis of Munchausen by proxy for Dee Dee is impossible, Feldman told the ''[[Springfield News-Leader]]'' after Gypsy's guilty plea that he could confidently say Dee Dee had it based on what he knew about the case. "Gypsy was infantilized and kept away from her peers," he said. "She was little more than a tool for Dee Dee to navigate through the world the way she wanted to." He said it was "unprecedented" in the 24 years he had been researching the disorder for an abused child to have killed the abusive parent as Gypsy did.<ref name="N-L Marc Feldman story" />

==In popular culture==
===Films===
[[HBO]] produced the documentary film ''[[Mommy Dead and Dearest]],'' directed by [[Erin Lee Carr]], about the murder and its relationship to factitious disorder imposed on another. The film includes interrogation footage and exclusive interviews with Nick Godejohn and Gypsy; it premiered on May 15, 2017.<ref>((cite web |author1=BIO STAFF |title='Mommy Dead and Dearest' Explores Bizarre Mother-Daughter True Crime Story |url=https://www.biography.com/news/mommy-dead-and-dearest-dee-dee-gypsy-rose-blancharde |website=Biography |access-date=December 4, 2018 |language=en-us |date=May 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327222833/https://www.biography.com/news/mommy-dead-and-dearest-dee-dee-gypsy-rose-blancharde |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |url-status=dead ))</ref><ref>((cite news |author1=Lowry |first=Brian |date=May 12, 2017 |title=HBO's 'Mommy Dead and Dearest' is true crime at its best |work=Cable News Network |publisher=Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/12/entertainment/mommy-dead-and-dearest-review/index.html |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204151703/https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/12/entertainment/mommy-dead-and-dearest-review/index.html |url-status=live ))</ref>

===Television===
On August 13, 2017, The [[Sony Entertainment Television]] channel series ''[[CID (Indian TV series)|CID]]'' aired an episode titled "Death on Social Media" based on the case, but the setting for the episode was changed to India; the characters Aria and Aanchal were based on Gypsy and Dee Dee Blanchard, respectively<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.sonyliv.com/details/episodes/5540061626001/13-August-2017---CID---Death-On-Social-Media|website=Sony LIV|title=CID: Death on Social Media|access-date=2019-05-08|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508124523/https://www.sonyliv.com/details/episodes/5540061626001/13-August-2017---CID---Death-On-Social-Media|url-status=dead))</ref>

On November 21, 2017, The [[CBS]] network talk show ''[[Dr. Phil (talk show)|Dr. Phil]]'', episode "Mother Knows Best: A Story of Munchausen by Proxy and Murder" featuring interviews with Gypsy, her father and stepmother.<ref>((Cite web |title='Dr. Phil' Exclusive: The Gypsy Rose Blanchard Jailhouse Interview |date=2017-11-15 |url=https://www.drphil.com/videos/dr-phil-exclusive-the-gypsy-rose-blanchard-jailhouse-interview/ |access-date=2023-03-17 |archive-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105172423/https://www.drphil.com/videos/dr-phil-exclusive-the-gypsy-rose-blanchard-jailhouse-interview/ |url-status=live ))</ref><ref>((cite web |title=Mother Knows Best: A Story of Munchausen by Proxy and Murder ((!)) Dr. Phil |url=https://www.drphil.com/shows/mother-knows-best-a-story-of-munchausen-by-proxy-and-murder/ |website=drphil.com |publisher=Peteski Productions, Inc. |access-date=December 4, 2018 |date=November 21, 2017 |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204153305/https://www.drphil.com/shows/mother-knows-best-a-story-of-munchausen-by-proxy-and-murder/ |url-status=live ))</ref><ref>((cite web |title=Mother Knows Best: A Story of Munchausen by Proxy and Murder |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7642168/ |publisher=IMDb.com, Inc. |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308034654/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7642168/ |url-status=live ))</ref>

On January 5, 2018, The [[American Broadcasting Company]] (ABC) news and information series ''[[Good Morning America]]'' aired an exclusive in-prison interview with Gypsy, in a segment entitled "Mother of All Murders".<ref>((cite web |title=Good Morning America ((!)) Gypsy Rose Blanchard speaks out from prison on murder conviction |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gypsy-rose-blanchard-speaks-prison-murder-conviction-52149021 |website=ABC News |access-date=December 4, 2018 |language=en |date=January 5, 2018 |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204151508/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gypsy-rose-blanchard-speaks-prison-murder-conviction-52149021 |url-status=live ))</ref>

That same day; the ABC network [[news magazine]] series ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'' episode "The Story of Gypsy Blanchard". It consisted of Gypsy's first network interview from prison as well as an interview with Nick Godejohn.<ref>((cite web |title=ABC News' '20/20' Has First Network Interview With Gypsy Rose Blanchard From Prison, Airing Friday, January 5 |url=https://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/pressrelease/abc-news-2020-has-first-network-interview-with-gypsy-rose-blanchard-from-prison-airing-friday-january-5/ |website=disneyabcpress.com |publisher=ABC Television |location=New York City |access-date=December 4, 2018 |date=January 3, 2018 |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204195118/https://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/pressrelease/abc-news-2020-has-first-network-interview-with-gypsy-rose-blanchard-from-prison-airing-friday-january-5/ |url-status=dead ))</ref><ref>((cite web |title=20/20 ((!)) Season 40, Episode 15 The Story of Gypsy Blanchard |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/20-20/episode-15-season-40/the-story-of-gypsy-blanchard/191340/ |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=December 4, 2018 |language=en |quote=... keeping her daughter wheelchair-bound and claiming her daughter had multiple medical problems she never had. |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204151645/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/20-20/episode-15-season-40/the-story-of-gypsy-blanchard/191340/ |url-status=live ))</ref><ref>((Citation |title=20/20 : KGO : January 5, 2018 10:01pm-11:00pm PST |date=2018-01-05 |url=http://archive.org/details/KGO_20180106_060100_2020 |access-date=2024-01-30 |others=KGO))</ref>

On January 29, 2018, The [[Investigation Discovery]] channel series ''James Patterson's Murder is Forever'' episode "Mother of All Murders", season&nbsp;1, episode&nbsp;2.<ref>((cite news |author1=Holman |first=Gregory J. |date=January 18, 2018 |title=Best-selling author James Patterson puts Gypsy Blanchard case in spotlight |language=en |work=[[Springfield News-Leader]] |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2018/01/18/best-selling-author-james-patterson-puts-gypsy-blanchard-case-spotlight/1044421001/ |access-date=December 4, 2018 |quote=... series premieres at 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22 with the Blanchard episode, "Mother of All Murders," airing at 9 p.m. Jan. 29. |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103064738/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2018/01/18/best-selling-author-james-patterson-puts-gypsy-blanchard-case-spotlight/1044421001/ |url-status=live ))</ref><ref>((cite web |title=Mother of All Murders ((!)) James Patterson's Murder is Forever |url=https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/james-pattersons-murder-is-forever/full-episodes/mother-of-all-murders |website=investigationdiscovery.com |publisher=Discovery Communications, LLC. |location=New York City |access-date=December 4, 2018 |date=January 29, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003246/https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/james-pattersons-murder-is-forever/full-episodes/mother-of-all-murders |url-status=live ))</ref>

On November 6, 2018, [[Investigation Discovery]] aired a two-hour documentary titled ''Gypsy's Revenge''. Gypsy was interviewed while incarcerated. During the interview, she describes her relationship with Dee Dee. Rod, various relatives, friends, public officials and Godejohn are all interviewed.<ref>((cite news|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article221031980.html|title=Investigation Discovery's 'Gypsy's Revenge' documentary|last=Cain|first=Brooke|date=November 2, 2018|newspaper=[[The News & Observer]]|publisher=[[The McClatchy Company]]|location=Raleigh, North Carolina|access-date=December 4, 2018|language=en|archive-date=December 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204151751/https://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article221031980.html|url-status=live))</ref>

On January 26, 2019, ''[[Love You to Death (2019 film)|Love You to Death]]'' aired on [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]], dramatizing the case as "inspired by true events". [[Marcia Gay Harden]] starred as Dee Dee, [[Emily Skeggs]] as Gypsy, Brennan Keel Cook starred as Nick, and [[Tate Donovan]] starred as Rod. Skeggs had to wear a bald cap for most of the scenes where her character was hairless.<ref>((cite web|title=Love You To Death|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9165664/reference|website=IMDB|access-date=January 26, 2019|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408225840/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9165664/reference|url-status=live))</ref> "[W]hen I think about it, every teenager wants to murder their parents at some point," Harden told ''[[TV Insider]]''.<ref name="TV Insider interview">((cite interview|last=Harden|first=Marcia Gay|subject-link=Marcia Gay Harden|last2=Skeggs|first2=Emily|subject-link2=Emily Skeggs|interviewer=Michael Maloney|title=Marcia Gay Harden on Playing a Twisted Mom for Lifetime & Her Possible 'Law & Order: SVU' Return|url=https://www.tvinsider.com/744824/love-you-to-death-marcia-gay-harden-law-order-svu-return/|date=January 15, 2019|website=[[TV Insider]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|location=San Francisco, California|access-date=February 20, 2019|archive-date=February 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220122756/https://www.tvinsider.com/744824/love-you-to-death-marcia-gay-harden-law-order-svu-return/|url-status=live))</ref>

On March 20, 2019, the streaming service [[Hulu]] announced the [[true crime]] series ''[[The Act (TV series)|The Act]]''. The eight-episode miniseries is based on [[Michelle Dean]]'s 2016 ''BuzzFeed'' article.<ref name="Savannah Morning News">((cite news |last1=Rigsby |first1=G.G. |title=Filming of Hulu true crime series may prompt ordinance |url=https://www.savannahnow.com/news/20181127/filming-of-hulu-true-crime-series-may-prompt-ordinance |access-date=December 4, 2018 |newspaper=[[Savannah Morning News]] |publisher=[[GateHouse Media]] |location=Savannah, Georgia |date=November 27, 2018 |quote=The show being filmed for Hulu will start out with eight episodes based on writer Michelle Dean's 2016 Buzzfeed article "Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter to Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom to Be Murdered." |archive-date=December 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203014016/https://www.savannahnow.com/news/20181127/filming-of-hulu-true-crime-series-may-prompt-ordinance |url-status=live ))</ref> Dean was an executive producer and writer for the first season. [[Joey King]] played Gypsy and received an [[Emmy]] nomination for her performance; she shaved her head for the role.<ref>((cite news |url=https://www.wtvq.com/2018/10/09/actress-joey-king-shaves-her-head-again-for-role-as-gypsy-rose-blanchard/ |title=Actress Joey King shaves her head ... again for role as Gypsy Rose Blanchard |work=ABC 36 News |access-date=December 4, 2018 |date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626190915/https://www.wtvq.com/2018/10/09/actress-joey-king-shaves-her-head-again-for-role-as-gypsy-rose-blanchard/ |url-status=live ))</ref> [[Patricia Arquette]] played Dee Dee and won an [[Emmy]] for her performance.<ref>((cite web |first=Cydney |last=Contreras |title=See Joey King's Transformation Into Murderer Gypsy Rose Blanchard |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/974960/joey-king-s-transformation-into-convicted-murderer-gypsy-rose-blanchard-will-give-you-chills |website=[[E! Online]] |access-date=December 4, 2018 |date=October 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204151616/https://www.eonline.com/news/974960/joey-king-s-transformation-into-convicted-murderer-gypsy-rose-blanchard-will-give-you-chills |url-status=live ))</ref><ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/entertainment/the-act-review/index.html|title='The Act' spins deadly mother-daughter story into Hulu series|last=Lowry|first=Brian|date=March 20, 2019|work=[[CNN]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|access-date=2019-03-23|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103193659/https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/entertainment/the-act-review/index.html|url-status=live))</ref>Kristy Blanchard, one of Gypsy’s neighbors, claims that Michell Dean told her on the phone that Blanchard would get a 50% cut of the money that was made from the show itself.<ref name=":6">((Cite web |author1=Alexis Jones |date=2019-04-05 |title=Gypsy Rose Blanchard Doesn't Benefit Financially From 'The Act' |url=https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a27044756/gypsy-rose-blanchard-money-the-act-hulu/ |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=Marie Claire Magazine |language=en))</ref>Despite this, Gypsy, appearing to be upset about the show, threatened to sue over not having the consent to use her name and life story, no legal action was taken and it is reported that Gypsy said that out of anger.<ref name=":6" />

On July 13, 2019, [[Oxygen (TV channel)|Oxeygen network]] aired [[Snapped: Killer Couples]] Gypsy Rose & Nick: A Love to Kill For,  season 12 episode 1. It examines the relationship of Gypsy and Nick and features an interview with Nick from prison.<ref>((Cite web |last=Holman |first=Gregory J. |title=In new TV interview, Nick Godejohn says he and Gypsy Blanchard will be 'together in the end' |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2019/07/09/nick-godejohn-tv-interview-life-gypsy-air-saturday/1680864001/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Springfield News-Leader |language=en-US))</ref>

September 27, 2019 [[Netflix]] [[Web television|web television series]] ''[[The Politician (TV series)|The Politician]]'', the characters Infinity Jackson, Ricardo, and Dusty Jackson are respectively based on Gypsy Blanchard, Nicholas Godejohn and Dee Dee Blanchard.<ref>((cite magazine |first=Madison |last=Feller |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a29321826/the-politician-gypsy-rose-blanchard-the-act/ |title=Is ''The Politician'' Connected to Gypsy Rose Blanchard? |magazine=[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]] |date=October 1, 2019 |access-date=December 16, 2019 |archive-date=November 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104051509/https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a29321826/the-politician-gypsy-rose-blanchard-the-act/ |url-status=live ))</ref>

On January 5, 2024, about a week after Blanchard’s prison release, [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] TV network released a six part docu-series titled "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard".<ref>((Cite web |title=Watch Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard |url=https://www.mylifetime.com/shows/the-prison-confessions-of-gypsy-rose-blanchard |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Lifetime |language=en))</ref>

==See also==
* [[Julie Gregory]], an Ohio woman who wrote a memoir in 2003, ''Sickened'', about her mother's Munchausen by proxy abuse of her, which she tried to report to various health professionals
* [[Wendi Michelle Scott]], a Maryland woman with Munchausen by proxy who injected her four-year-old daughter with magnesium in 2007 and was sentenced to prison in 2008
* [[Murder of Garnett Spears|Garnett Spears]], a New York boy whose mother also had Munchausen by proxy, leading her to fatally poison him with table salt in 2014
* [[Shauna Taylor case|Shauna Taylor]], a Florida woman with Munchausen by proxy who deliberately destroyed her child's liver with over-the-counter drugs in 2013

==Notes==
((notelist))

==References==
((reflist))

==External links==
* ((cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpfE3o8IriQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/JpfE3o8IriQ| archive-date=2021-11-18 | url-status=live|title=Gypsy Rose Part 1: Mom says daughter suffered from illnesses and needed wheelchair, feeding tube|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=2018-01-06))((cbignore))
* ((cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mDCbVy3Xp8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/-mDCbVy3Xp8| archive-date=2021-11-18 | url-status=live|title=Gypsy Rose Part 2: Woman allegedly suffering from multiple illnesses arrested for mom's murder|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=2018-01-06))((cbignore))
* ((cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysUtZexaZTI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/ysUtZexaZTI| archive-date=2021-11-18 | url-status=live|title=Gypsy Rose Part 3: Gypsy Blanchard on what happened the night mom was stabbed to death|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=2019-03-13))((cbignore))
* ((cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie4LQWlx4mo| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/ie4LQWlx4mo| archive-date=2021-11-18 | url-status=live|title=Gypsy Rose Part 4: Woman once praised for battle with illness revealed to have never been sick|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=2019-03-13))((cbignore))
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