At first, Gypsy Rose Blanchard faced first-degree murder charges for her role in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. She later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016 and received a 10-year prison sentence. She will be released on December 28, 2023, after serving 85% of her sentence. Elsewhere, her boyfriend Nick Godejohn, who stabbed Dee Dee to death, was convicted on a first-degree murder charge and sentenced to life.
E News! reported that Gypsy and Nick plotted to murder the former’s mother. Police found her body at the Blanchards’ home in Missouri on June 15, 2015, after a disturbing post surfaced on Gypsy and Dee Dee’s shared Facebook account. That same day, Waukesha County Sheriff’s deputies arrested the duo in Wisconsin. They were charged with first-degree murder and felony armed criminal action.
The case has been a focus of numerous documentaries. The most popular being Mommy Dead and Dearest. Moreover, Lifetime recently announced the early 2024 premiere of a documentary titled The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. A Hulu series titled The Act, starring Joey King, has also previously revisited the same.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard court case, explained
According to People Magazine, after police arrested Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her then-boyfriend, Nick Godejohn, a shocking truth surfaced. The revelation was that Dee Dee Blanchard had fabricated all of Gypsy’s medical issues. The mother had convinced her friends, family, and community that her teen daughter was terminally ill and had the mind of a 7-year-old. She also claimed that the girl suffered from muscular dystrophy, leukemia, and other ailments.
Dee Dee reportedly suffered from Proxy Syndrome. She would exaggerate or induce illness in her daughter for attention and sympathy. Gypsy later alleged her mother also stopped her from speaking during medical appointments.
E News! stated that Gypsy admitted to giving Godejohn gloves, duct tape, and a knife to commit the crime on June 14, 2015. After this, she made concerning posts on the mother-daughter duo’s shared Facebook page. One read, “That Bitch is dead!” A second post said, “I f–ken SLASHED THAT FAT PIG AND RAPED HER SWEET INNOCENT DAUGHTER…HER SCREAM WAS SOOOO F-KEN LOUD LOL.”
Gypsy admitted to making the posts because she “couldn’t stand the thought of her [Dee Dee] just there, because what happens if it would have taken months to find her? So I wanted her found so she could have a proper burial.”
The outlet reported that since Gypsy was a victim of abuse, prosecutors offered her a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for her role in her mother’s murder in 2016 and received a 10-year prison term. She also testified at Nick Godejohn’s 2018 trial. A jury found the accused guilty of first-degree murder and felony armed criminal action. He received a mandatory life sentence for the murder count and a concurrent 25-year term for the second count.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Nick Godejohn have since separated. In fact, the former’s family friend told People Magazine in April 2019 that she was engaged to Ryan Scott Anderson. Entertainment Tonight confirmed that she met Anderson as a pen pal while in jail and tied the knot with him on June 27, 2022. Her release date is December 28, 2023.
