How could I have been so stupid? They both got divorced before Gypsy’s birth. [3], 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. Learn about the real inspiration behind the 2017 movie about the Pentagon Papers. Her daughter recalls seeing it during one of their hospital visits and becoming confused; Dee Dee told her it was a misprint. [3] Gypsy recalls that afterwards, Dee Dee smashed her computer with a hammer and threatened to do the same to her fingers if she ever tried to escape again; she also kept Gypsy leashed and handcuffed to her bed for two weeks. [19], After the disclosure of how Dee Dee had treated Gypsy all those years, sympathy for her as the victim of a violent murder rapidly shifted to her daughter as a long-term victim of child abuse. Built by Habitat for Humanity, it was painted pink and had a wheelchair ramp. 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. 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 and psychological abuse. 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. She wasn't allowed to go to school. Wearing her own red one-piece, the 'Charlie's Angels' star posed for the now-famous image in her Los Angeles backyard. The case was highly profiled and received national news coverage. 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. In a news conference, Sheriff Arnott said of the case "[Springfield is] a giving community, we surround people with love and finances that we believe that needs it. [3], Dee Dee seems to have at least once forged a copy of her daughter's birth certificate, moving her birth date to 1995 to bolster claims that she was still a teenager; Gypsy said in a later interview that for 15 years she was not sure of her real age. Gypsy's father, relatives, and friends are all interviewed along with public officials and Nicholas Godejohn.[41]. However, a lot of times we are deceived, and I think this is now so true, in this case at hand. [30][31], The CBS network talk show Dr. Phil, episode "Mother Knows Best: A Story of Munchausen by Proxy and Murder" featuring interviews with Gypsy Rose, her father and step-mother, premiered on November 21, 2017. Dr. Bennet Omalu and his battle to raise awareness about CTE is the inspiration behind the 2015 movie starring Will Smith. [3], I feel like I'm more free in prison, than with living with my mom. [32][33][34], The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) news and information series Good Morning America, segment "Mother of All Murders" aired an exclusive in-prison interview with Gypsy Rose, aired: January 5, 2018, trailer. After contacting Gypsy's doctors in New Orleans, he learned that Gypsy's original muscle biopsy had come back negative, undermining Dee Dee's self-reported diagnosis of muscular dystrophy, as well as her claim that all Gypsy's records had been destroyed by flooding. Her plea bargain agreement did not require her to testify against him. She is an American Controversial Personality and Murderer. [46] The Act premiered on March 20, 2019. [3] Godejohn had some issues of his own: a criminal record for indecent exposure and a history of mental illness, stated at times to be either dissociative identity disorder or autism. Gypsy Rose is interviewed while she is still incarcerated and during the interview, she describes her relationship with her mother. Gypsy Rose, who was born in 1991, was a baby when Dee Dee claimed her daughter had sleep apnea. Gypsy Rose Blanchard's mother, Dee Dee, falsely claimed her daughter was suffering from different illnesses until Gypsy arranged for her boyfriend to kill her mother in 2015. He resisted Clauddine's efforts to get him to return, and she took her newborn daughter to live with her family. She was confined to a wheelchair for the majority of her life even though she was a perfectly healthy person. She joined a Christian dating site, where she met Nicholas Godejohn. See photos of the real pink home that Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard lived in. While she said that Godejohn took their idle discussions of murder into reality,[d] she accepts that she committed a crime and has to live with the consequences. When Gypsy was 14, she saw a neurologist in Missouri who came to believe she was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. "Gypsy was infantilized and kept away from her peers", he said. For her child support, Rob is spending around $1,200 each month. HBO made a documentary film called "Mommy Dead and Dearest" directed by Erin Lee Carr which aired May 15, 2017. Dee Dee Falsely Claimed Gypsy Rose Had Mental Age of 7-Year-Old. The pioneering aviator disappeared while flying over the Pacific in July 1937. Gypsy Rose Blanchard, whose mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, claimed her daughter was seriously ill and wheelchair-bound since childhood, speaks in a network exclusive to ABC News … He received a sentence of 25 years on that charge, which is concurrent with the life sentence. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. [3], Woodmansee, who was among those gathered on the Blanchards' lawn, told police what she knew about Gypsy and her secret online boyfriend. She later explained she made the posts because she wanted her mother's body to be discovered. [12] 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, to the east, and they moved there. [3], Rod and his second wife regularly hoped to get to Springfield and visit, but for a variety of reasons Dee Dee would change plans. [8], In 2014, Gypsy confided to Aleah Woodmansee, a 23-year-old neighbor who, unaware that Gypsy was close to her own age, considered herself a "big sister", that she and Godejohn had discussed eloping and had even chosen names for potential children. Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born on July 27, 1991, in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, the United States to parents Rod Blanchard and Dee Dee Blanchard. He also points out that post-traumatic stress disorder is likely to be an issue in her continuing development. [5], 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. When Gypsy's teeth rotted — perhaps due to her medications, missing salivary glands or neglect — they were pulled out. When they were out in public, Dee Dee constantly held Gypsy's hand, squeezing it when she wanted her daughter to be quiet. However, she always hoped that doctors would see through the ruse, and she was frustrated that none besides Flasterstein did. However, a lot of times we are deceived, and I think this is now so true, in this case at hand." Gypsy had twice posted to the Facebook account she shared with her mother, once writing, "That b***h is dead!" [3] When the Pitres began to regularly confront her about her treatment of Gypsy and expressed suspicion about her role in her stepmother's health, she left with Gypsy for Slidell. Along with the knife that she eventually gave to Godejohn, she stole baby clothes from Walmart during a shopping trip so she could go ahead with either plan. 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) facedown in the bedroom of her house just outside Springfield,[2] lying on the bed in a pool of blood from stab wounds inflicted several days earlier. The file was closed. When she did, she told BuzzFeed reporter Michelle Dean that she had been able to research Munchausen syndrome by proxy on prison computers, and her mother had every symptom. [3], The outpouring of support included a great deal of charitable contributions. Since she could walk, she simply could've exposed Dee Dee's lies by standing up in public. The following day, police found Gypsy Rose in Wisconsin, where she had traveled with her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn, whom she had met online. [3] At some point, her mother claimed that Gypsy had muscular dystrophy, and made her use a walker. This resulted in two caseworkers visiting their home, but Dee Dee convinced them there was nothing wrong. 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 all of Gypsy's wheelchairs were still present. After she told doctors Gypsy had seizures every few months, they prescribed anti-seizure medication. Together they killed her mother Dee Dee. None of them would pay for her funeral or even pick up her ashes;[8] her father and stepmother ultimately flushed them down the toilet. Only one of the charities that had helped the Blanchards spoke after the revelations. Her head was bald only because her mother shaved off her hair. The film accepts Flasterstein's claim that he was only 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. … Both he and Gypsy surrendered and were taken into custody on charges of murder[3] and felony armed criminal action. When Gypsy was old enough to talk, Dee Dee instructed her not to volunteer information during their appointments — she was always the one relating Gypsy's fake medical history. I didn't have anyone to trust.". [3], Many people who met Gypsy were charmed by her. [2] Her mother homeschooled her after that, supposedly because her illnesses were so severe. Gypsy, who had five separate Facebook accounts,[1] and Godejohn flirted online, their exchanges sometimes using BDSM elements, which Gypsy has since claimed was more what he was interested in. Her daughter was, in essence, a hostage, and I think we can understand the crime that occurred subsequently in terms of a hostage trying to gain escape.". Hurricane Katrina also provided an excuse for missing medical files. But Dee Dee soon tracked them down via mutual friends. Meet Ken, the new fiancé of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who is in prison for her role in the 2015 stabbing death of her mother Clauuddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. They spent most of their time visiting various specialists, mostly at Tulane Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of New Orleans, seeking treatment of the illnesses Clauddine claimed Gypsy suffered from, which she now said included hearing and vision problems. A doctor there from the Ozarks suggested they relocate to her native Missouri, and the next month they were airlifted there. When Gypsy was eight years old, Dee Dee described her as suffering from leukemia and muscular dystrophy and said she required a wheelchair and feeding tube. [1], 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, a man around her age from Big Bend, Wisconsin (she said they met on a Christian singles group). It turned out to be in Wisconsin; the next day police agencies in Waukesha County raided the Godejohns' Big Bend home. The Waukesha County police department took both Gypsy and Godejohn into custody without altercation in Wisconsin. However, this doctor never reported her case to authorities. [3], According to Rod, who remained involved with his daughter at this point, by the time Gypsy was three months old, her mother was convinced that the infant suffered from 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. The truth about Gypsy and her mother only came out after Gypsy arranged for an online boyfriend to murder Dee Dee in 2015. She suffered years of abuse at the hands of her mother, including claims of cancer, muscular dystrophy, brain damage, learning disabilities, vision impairment, etc. All along, Dee Dee continued to bask in the attention she received for being a devoted caretaker. They fled to a motel outside Springfield where they stayed for a few days while planning their next move;[17] during that time they were seen on security cameras at several local stores. [35], The ABC network news magazine series 20/20, episode "The Story of Gypsy Blanchard", consisted of Gypsy Rose's first network interview from prison and it also consisted of an interview that was conducted with Nicholas Godejohn. And there are several photos of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard that really drive home just how awful this story truly is. Directed by Erin Lee Carr. Gypsy Rose Blanchard's mother, Dee Dee, falsely claimed her daughter was suffering from different illnesses until Gypsy arranged for her boyfriend to kill her mother in 2015. [4], HBO produced the documentary film Mommy Dead and Dearest directed by Erin Lee Carr about the murder and its relationship to Munchausen syndrome by proxy. 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. She told her neighbors in Springfield that Gypsy Rose'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. When phone calls went unanswered, several of them went to the house. [23] In their opening statement, prosecutors alleged that Godejohn had deliberated for over a year before the crime, while his lawyers pointed to his autism and said that Gypsy had formulated the crime and their love-struck client had just done as she had asked. [43] On January 27, 2019, a "special edition" of the film was aired that featured behind-the-scenes interviews with Harden and Skeggs. Dee Dee told local charities and … Perry argued that the jury should not have been allowed to hear that Godejohn had considered raping Dee Dee on the night of the murder, and he also argued that the state's psychologist should not have been allowed to testify while Godejohn's psychologist should have, to establish that he had diminished capacity. Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Dee Dee Blanchard. The 8-episode miniseries is based on Michelle Dean's 2016 BuzzFeed article. She explained, "I couldn't just jump out of the wheelchair because I was afraid and I didn't know what my mother would do. Whenever Gypsy said something that either suggested she was not really sick or seemed above her purported mental capabilities, Gypsy recalls that her mother would give her a very tight squeeze. Love You to Death aired on Lifetime in January 2019, dramatizing the case as "inspired by true events". [19], The news that Gypsy was safe was greeted with relief back in Springfield, where she and Godejohn were soon extradited and held on $1 million bond. While Gypsy had known she could walk and eat regular food, she had believed she had leukemia. Gypsy Rose Blanchard feels guilty for the deception her mother led, but she doesn't feel like she deceived anyone because she, too, was a victim of Dee Dee's scam. The list of medical problems that Dee Dee related about her daughter would go on to include seizures, asthma and hearing and visual impairments. Dee Dee later told Gypsy that she had filed paperwork with the police claiming that Gypsy was mentally incompetent, leading Gypsy to believe that if she attempted to go to the police for help, they would not believe her. [26][27], After four days, the case was sent to the jury. 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. In 2009, an anonymous caller[c] told the police about Dee Dee's use of different names and birth dates for herself and her daughter, and suggested Gypsy was in better health than claimed. He complimented Dee Dee for her devoted care. [11] During that time, she was arrested for several minor offenses, including writing bad checks. Experts believe Dee Dee's behavior stemmed from the mental disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy; because Dee Dee wanted to be a caretaker, she feigned and induced illness in her daughter. Joey King was cast as Gypsy Rose, and received an Emmy nomination for her performance; she shaved her head for the role. [8], Medical interventions continued. [3] 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. The pink house in The Act was a re-creation. Jurors had the option of finding Godejohn not guilty or guilty of one of three murder charges; involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder or first-degree murder. [24] The next day, prosecutors showed jurors the text messages, sometimes sexually explicit, that Gypsy and Godejohn shared in the week before the murder, often using various personas, as well as the knife which he had used to commit the murder. [14], Gypsy hid in the bathroom and covered her ears so that she would not have to hear her mother screaming. A neighbor called 911 when Dee Dee’s car hadn’t moved in days. Clauddine subsequently became convinced that Gypsy had a wide range of health issues, which she attributed to an unspecified chromosomal disorder. @.gypsy.rose.blanchard #gypsyroseblanchard gyspyrose gypsy glowups beforeandafter nick deedee foryoupage foryou fyp thenandnow The Strumbellas - Spirits - Alikhan Dee Dee told Gypsy's father, Rod Blanchard, that their daughter had a chromosomal disorder that had led to her many health issues. [2], After seeing a concerning Facebook status posted from Dee Dee's account, the Blanchards' friends suspected something was not right. At an event in 2011, she made what may have been another escape attempt that ended when her mother found her in a hotel room with a man she had met online. Gypsy Rose Blanchard wiki. And many caregivers went along with what Dee Dee wanted. Public Domain Nicholas Godejohn. Dee Dee had slightly changed her name after her family, who suspected she had poisoned her stepmother, confronted her about how she treated Gypsy Rose. "I hope they find someone wherever she chooses to settle who is willing to provide supportive psychotherapy. "Poor Gypsy", he said. No rules have fun this is only FB just created 05/10/19 [3], Feldman, in talking about Carr's documentary with Vulture, faults Carr for making Flasterstein appear to be the hero of the story. Search turns up envelope. However, when asked by Dr. Phil if she was glad her mother was dead, she stated, "I’m glad that I’m out of that situation, but I’m not happy she’s dead." Dr. Marc Feldman, an international expert on factitious disorders, stated that this was the first case he had experienced in which an abused child killed an abusive parent. [3], Godejohn still faced the more severe charge because prosecutors contended that he initiated the murder plot, and both he and Gypsy agreed that he was the one who actually killed Dee Dee. "[19], Dee Dee's family in Louisiana, who had confronted her about her treatment of Gypsy years before, did not regret her death. Due to Dee Dee's actions, Gypsy was prescribed a litany of medications and had to sleep using a breathing machine.