The Shocking Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard

Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother Dee Dee Blanchard had a certain allure that couldn't be ignored.

A daughter who was afflicted with cancer, muscular dystrophy, and a variety of other maladies yet smiled every time she had, and a mother who was dedicated to giving her daughter everything she ever desired. For almost 20 years, they seemed to be the epitome of inspiration and optimism.

So, when Dee Dee was stabbed to death in her own house, and her fragile daughter went missing, the town fell into panic. They believed the girl would be unable to survive on her own. Worse, what if the person who murdered Dee Dee also abducted Gypsy Rose?

A manhunt was launched for Gypsy Rose, and she was located just a few days later, much to everyone's surprise. But the Gypsy Rose they discovered was not the same as the one who had gone away. Instead of a skinny, crippled cancer patient, cops discovered a strong young woman who could move and eat on her own.

Questions quickly arose regarding the beloved mother-daughter combination. How had Gypsy Rose altered so dramatically overnight? Had she ever actually been sick? And, more crucially, was she accountable for Dee Dee Blanchard's death?

Her Childhood

On July 27, 1991, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born in Golden Meadow, Louisiana. Her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, had split up with Rod Blanchard not long before she was born. Rod had a different narrative to tell, despite Dee Dee's portrayal of him as a heroin addict on the run who had left his kid behind.

Rod claims that when Dee Dee, then 24 years old, became pregnant with Gypsy Rose, he was just 17 years old. Even though he married Dee Dee right away after learning of her pregnancy, he quickly came to the conclusion that he "got married for the wrong reasons." Rod continued to communicate with Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee even after they broke up, and he continued to send money to them.

Dee Dee presented herself as a selfless single mother who would stop at nothing to care for her child right from the start. She also gave off the impression that she was certain her daughter had a serious problem.

Dee Dee took Gypsy Rose to the hospital when she was a baby because she thought she had sleep apnea. Dee Dee was adamant even though there were no symptoms of the illness, and she finally came to the conclusion that Gypsy Rose had an unidentified chromosomal abnormality. She watched her kid like a hawk after that, thinking that anything could happen at any time.

Then, Gypsy Rose tumbled off her grandfather's motorbike when she was about eight years old. She was treated for a little cut on her knee at the hospital after Dee Dee drove her there. Dee Dee, nevertheless, didn't think her daughter had recovered. She thought Gypsy Rose would never be able to walk again without many surgical procedures. Dee Dee agreed that Gypsy Rose would stay in a wheelchair in order to prevent additional aggravation of her knee.

Gypsy Rose's condition was questioned by Dee Dee's family, so she just moved away from them to a different town in Louisiana that was nearer to New Orleans. Living on the disability payments she received from Gypsy Rose's fictitious ailments, she found a shabby flat.

Dee Dee stated that during Gypsy Rose's admission to a New Orleans hospital, her daughter was experiencing issues with her hearing and eyesight in addition to her chromosomal condition and muscular dystrophy. She also said that the youngster was experiencing seizures. Gypsy Rose was provided anti-seizure medicine and generic pain medication by doctors despite the fact that testing did not reveal any symptoms of any of these conditions.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard relocated to Aurora, Missouri, in the north. There, the two rose to prominence as small celebrities, fighting for the rights of the sick and crippled.

In addition to receiving backstage credentials to a Miranda Lambert concert and vacations to Disney World, they were also given a wheelchair-accessible home by Habitat for Humanity and a hot tub by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

However, it wasn't just games and fun.

Why the Lies of Dee Dee Blanchard Started To Come Into Clear

Doctors around the country took notice of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard's news coverage thanks to the various charities. Experts soon began contacting Dee Dee to see whether there was anything that could be done. Bernardo Flasterstein, a paediatric neurologist from Springfield, was one of these physicians and gave Gypsy Rose a consultation at his clinic.

However, Flasterstein made a stunning discovery while she was there. In addition to not having muscular dystrophy, Gypsy Rose also lacked all of the other illnesses that Dee Dee had claimed to have.

“I don’t see any reason why she doesn’t walk,” he informed Dee Dee. He started calling physicians in New Orleans after Dee Dee dismissed him. Although Dee Dee said that all of Gypsy Rose's records had been destroyed by the hurricane, Flasterstein was able to locate physicians whose records had endured.

He started to assume that Dee Dee was the one who was ill after speaking with them and getting confirmation that Gypsy Rose was, for the most part, well. Since then, it has been proposed that Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental condition in which a carer makes up symptoms for a patient they are responsible for.

Unbeknownst to Flasterstein, Gypsy Rose had also started to worry that her mother could be badly troubled.

Gypsy Rose turned 19 in 2010, yet Dee Dee was lying to everyone about her age saying she was 14. Because she could walk by then, she realised she wasn't as unwell as her mother had said. Additionally, she had taught herself to read because of the Harry Potter novels, despite having very little formal education (she never attended school above the second grade).

Gypsy Rose tried to get away from her mother ever since she realised something wasn't right. She once begged for a lift to the hospital one evening while standing up at her neighbor's door. But Dee Dee instantly stepped in and gave a clear explanation of everything, a skill that she had presumably honed over the years.

Dee Dee would clarify that sickness had caused Gypsy Rose's mental instability if Gypsy started to wander, become self-sufficient, or hint that she wasn't just a helpless kid afflicted with a fatal illness.

She would claim that she lacked mental capacity or that her inability to understand what she was saying was due to the drugs. People fell for the falsehoods because of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee's inspiring friendship and endearing personality. Gypsy Rose, though, was growing impatient by now.

How Dee Dee's Murder Was Performed by Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Her Online Partner

Gypsy Rose started using the internet while Dee Dee went to bed in order to meet guys in online chat groups following the event with the neighbour. Gypsy Rose persisted in talking to the guys in the hopes that one of them would be able to help her, even though her mother had shackled her to her bed and threatened to hammer her fingers when she learned about her online activities.

Eventually, in 2012, at the age of around 21, she made the acquaintance of a 23-year-old Wisconsinite named Nicholas Godejohn. Godejohn had a history of mental illness and a criminal record for indecent exposure, but that didn't stop Gypsy Rose. Nicholas Godejohn paid Gypsy Rose a visit a few months after they first met, and during one of Dee Dee's few solo outings, the two had intercourse. They then started organising Dee Dee's assassination.

Nicholas Godejohn appeared to be the right guy to save Gypsy Rose, who had been waiting for someone to do so. The two plotted Dee Dee's death via Facebook conversations. Godejohn would wait till Gypsy Rose allowed him in so he could execute the job, after Dee Dee had gone to bed.

Then it was finished one evening in June 2015. Nicholas Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee 17 times in the back as she slept in her bed, Gypsy Rose listening in another room. The couple escaped to Godejohn's Wisconsin house shortly after Dee Dee passed away, and they were arrested there a few days later.

Thanks to the numerous hints that the couple had left behind, authorities soon discovered the truth, despite the original belief held by many that Gypsy Rose had been abducted by the person who killed her mother. Most famously, officials soon discovered that Gypsy Rose had written the strange statement "That B*tch is dead!" on Dee Dee's Facebook profile, which they promptly linked to Godejohn's residence.

Later on, Gypsy Rose Blanchard disclosed that the reason for her posting the message was her desire for her mother's body to be found. She most definitely didn't intend to be discovered, but her incarceration ultimately provided her with the chance to tell the world her true tale. Soon afterward, the compassion that had always surrounded Dee Dee began to focus on Gypsy Rose.

People who had previously expressed grief at Dee Dee's passing were now furious that she could handle a child in such a way. Many were also taken aback to learn that Gypsy Rose was only in her 20s since Dee Dee had drastically changed her appearance to appear younger and sicker. She had even gone so far as to shave her hair in advance of "leukaemia" treatments and to have reportedly allowed her teeth to fall out.

Gypsy Rose was eventually classified as a victim of child abuse by psychiatrists. Gypsy Rose had not only been made to pretend to be sick by Dee Dee, but she had also slapped her, ruined her belongings, confined her to her bed, and occasionally even refused her food. Later, several specialists claimed that Dee Dee's behaviour was caused by Munchausen syndrome by proxy. However, the question of Dee Dee's murder persisted even if public opinion had turned against her.

Gypsy Rose eventually admitted that, in a last-ditch effort to get away from her, she had begged Nicholas Godejohn to murder her mother. Soon after, the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard and the stormy circumstances surrounding it would provide as material for true-crime television shows, such as Mommy Dead and Dearest on HBO and The Act on Hulu.

The actual Gypsy Rose Blanchard was given a 10-year jail sentence after entering a guilty plea to second-degree murder in 2016. (First-degree murder conviction resulted in a life sentence for Nicholas Godejohn.) She was recently released and happily engaged.

Gypsy Rose, meanwhile, has accepted the violence her mother endured and done study on her illness. Although she regrets the murder, she still believes that she is a better person without Dee Dee.

In 2018, she stated, "I feel like I'm freer in prison than I am living with my mom." "Because I can finally live a normal life like a woman."

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