Gypsy Rose Blanchard will be released from prison on December 28, three years earlier than expected. The Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed the news, bringing to a close a case that drew national attention. Gypsy was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2016 for her role in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, who had Munchausen syndrome by proxy. In 2015, Gypsy’s then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, murdered Dee Dee.
Gypsy Rose
Who is Gypsy Rose?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was named after the well-known entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee. Gypsy’s life took a dramatic turn on July 27, 1991, when her mother, Dee Dee, began a pattern of falsely claiming Gypsy had health issues at the age of three months. Dee Dee fabricated a number of illnesses for Gypsy over the years, including a chromosomal disorder, epilepsy, and paralysis. Gipsy was subjected to a repressive and abusive environment in which any curiosity about the wider world resulted in negative consequences. Physical abuse began in 2011, progressing to Dee Dee hitting Gypsy with a coat hanger. Despite her fear, Gypsy attempted to flee, resulting in her confinement to a bed with bells on the doors to deter further attempts.
What did Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s mother do to her?
Dee Dee Blanchard was suffering from Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which a caregiver feigns or induces illness in another in order to gain attention. She persuaded doctors that her daughter, Gypsy, had a variety of health issues, resulting in unnecessary treatments, medications, and procedures. Gipsy, who did not require a wheelchair or an oxygen tank, was forced to shave her head and use a feeding tube. Following Hurricane Katrina, the Blanchards relocated to Aurora, Missouri, with Dee Dee claiming that medical records had been destroyed. They received charitable assistance, including a wheelchair-accessible house, donations, and gifts from local organizations and the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and even met Miranda Lambert.
