Gypsy Rose Blanchard: Murderer or Victim?
The Dramatic Story of a Young Woman in a Wheelchair with Multiple Illnesses Who Landed in Prison for the Homicide of Her Own Mother
After close to a decade in prison for the murder of her mother, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was able to get an early release on December 28, 2023. For those unfamiliar with her case, Gypsy Rose pled guilty in 2016 to second-degree murder for having her boyfriend kill her mother in order for her to escape abuse.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born on July 29, 1991, and soon after, her mother, Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, convinced everyone around them that she was suffering from numerous illnesses. Shortly after her birth, while Gypsy Rose was still just a baby, Dee Dee claimed she had sleep apnea and had to sleep with a breathing machine as a result. By the time Gypsy was 8 years old, Dee Dee claimed that Gypsy suffered from illnesses like muscular dystrophy and leukemia and would even shave Gypsy's head to maintain the illusion that she was receiving chemotherapy. Dee Dee forced Gypsy to take unnecessary medications and made her use a wheelchair, despite Gypsy being able to walk. Gypsy was also forced into a feeding tube that she did not need. When family members expressed their thoughts that Gypsy didn’t appear to need a wheelchair, Dee Dee moved away with Gypsy.
The litany of illnesses Dee Dee claimed Gypsy had included seizures, asthma, cerebral palsy, cognitive disabilities, paralysis, and hearing and visual impairments. She underwent so many surgical procedures, one of which was the removal of her salivary glands. When her teeth started to rot, her mother had a dentist pull them all. However, because Dee Dee, by all outward appearances, came off as a loving and doting mother, people believed her. Dee Dee also claimed to have been a victim of Hurricane Katrina, which allowed her to have a plausible story to cover for missing medical records. They subsequently moved to Springfield, MO in 2008 into a home built for them by Habitat for Humanity. When Gypsy wasn’t in one of her numerous hospital stays, she and Dee Dee often flew across the country to concerts, celebrity meet-and-greets, galas, and even to Disney World with expenses paid by charitable organizations, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Medical tests often showed inconclusive or contradictory results regarding Gypsy’s diagnoses, but Dee Dee would stop seeing any doctors who questioned her daughter’s ailments. Many caregivers went along with what Dee Dee wanted as well because she’d had some nurse’s training, so she could accurately describe symptoms, and she sometimes gave Gypsy medication to mimic certain conditions.
Gypsy’s father, Rod Blanchard, was briefly married to Dee Dee, and she had told him that Gypsy suffered from a chromosomal disorder that was causing all of her illnesses.
In an interview with 20/20, Rod spoke about how controlling Dee Dee was during his visitations with Gypsy:
“All the visits, Dee Dee had to be there the whole time. Something never felt right about it. Dee Dee was so controlling.”
At least one doctor, Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, a neurologist in Missouri, had suspicions because no abnormalities showed up in Gypsy's blood tests and MRI scans, “The mother was not happy with that. She left the office in a storm and told my nurses that I don’t know what I’m talking about and that she’s not coming back.” Dee Dee consequently moved Gypsy’s care to Kansas City, MO, roughly 3 hours away, but Flasterstein wrote a letter to Gypsy’s primary care physician outlining his concerns that Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen by Proxy.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy, or Factitious Disorder, is when a caretaker or guardian fabricates the appearance of health issues in another person to gain attention and sympathy for themselves. This constitutes severe physical and psychological abuse. Dee Dee even fraudulently altered Gypsy's birth certificate from 1991 to 1995 to present her as younger than she truly was. She also managed to get a judge to deem Gypsy mentally incompetent to handle her care herself. ABC News reviewed medical reports belonging to Gypsy that reportedly showed she had been treated by at least 150 different doctors through the years.
By the time Gypsy had reached her teenage years, she became curious about boys and befriended a neighbor, Aleah Woodmansee. Aleah stated in interviews that Gypsy would ask her questions like how to approach boys and how to kiss a boy. “Gypsy just wanted to be a regular teen,” Aleah is quoted as saying. Dee Dee, however, disapproved of the friendship and destroyed Gypsy’s phone and computer to keep her from talking to her friend.
During this time, Dee Dee’s abuse became more intense. Gypsy had spoken about being beaten with clothes hangers, and Dee Dee would even withhold food for days at a time.
Fast forward to 2011 when Gypsy makes her first attempt to escape her mother. She ran away with a man she had met at a sci-fi convention, but her mother managed to track her down and convince the man that Gypsy was a minor, although she was actually 19 years old at the time. Dee Dee physically tied Gypsy to her bed using handcuffs and a leash before smashing both her cell phone and computer after this incident.
Gypsy managed to get back online without her mother's knowledge and joined a Christian dating site, where she met Nicholas Godejohn. The rest, as they say, is history. Nicholas had a long and concerning history of mental illness himself and a record that included indecent exposure. In a 2017 interview with Dr. Phil, Gypsy said Godejohn 'had multiple personalities that were violent and scary. He thought he was a 500-year-old vampire named Victor.'
She told Nicholas everything her mother had been doing to her and asked him to kill Dee Dee and save her. On June 12, 2015, the couple implemented their plan. Nicholas stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard 17 times while Gypsy hid in a bathroom.
“I heard her scream once, and there was more screaming but not like the kind in a horror film. Just like a startled scream, and she asked, ‘Who was it that was in the bedroom?’ And she called out to my name about three or four times. And at that point, I wanted to go help her so bad, but I was so afraid to get up. It's like my body wouldn't move. Then everything just went quiet.” Gypsy Rose, 20/20 interview.
Dee Dee's body was discovered on June 14, 2015, but Gypsy Rose was missing. The initial thought was that she had been abducted, but she and Godejohn had fled to Wisconsin to his parents' home. Gypsy, in an effort to mislead police, had made posts on her and her mother's shared Facebook account saying “That b---- is dead” in the hopes that they would make it appear to be a random killing.
Gypsy Rose pled guilty to second-degree murder in 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years, but Nicholas pled not guilty. However, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in 2018 and he was sentenced to life in prison.
As part of the update to her story, it's worth noting that she got married in June of 2022 to Ryan Scott Anderson. And to add in an extra bit of drama, by November of the same year, Gypsy is quoted in a letter as saying, “It is with a heavy heart that this morning I made a decision to go ahead and file for annulment and end my marriage with Ryan. My marriage ends with no fault to either of us. I believe we are just in different places in our lives, and find it too difficult to walk a path together, at this point.”
As of this writing, no annulment or divorce papers have ever been filed, but an alleged email exchange with former Bachelorette star Josh Seiter indicated that she was still married to Anderson:
“I don’t know who you are, or why you chose ME to try and find your 15 minutes of fame, but I have friends everywhere, and I know what lies you’ve told online,” she replied. “I am a married woman, my [husband’s] name is Ryan Anderson, and we do NOT appreciate crazy people like you spreading lies. … I may look cute, but I have a smart-a** mouth, and I’m not afraid to tell you to go f**k yourself.”
Why Gypsy Rose never told anyone about her mother’s abuse and deception is still a mystery, even to Gypsy herself. “I beat myself up about that all the time, but I have to understand my mind frame back then. I was always so afraid of her. Afraid of the consequences after.” This was the only life she ever knew. The only life she was allowed to know.
In an exclusive interview with People, Gypsy reflected: "She was a sick woman and unfortunately I wasn't educated enough to see that. She deserved to be where I am, sitting in prison doing time for criminal behavior," Gypsy said. "If I had another chance to redo everything, I don't know if I would go back to when I was a child and tell my aunts and uncles that I'm not sick and mommy makes me sick. Or, if I would travel back to just the point of that conversation with Nick and tell him, 'You know what, I'm going to go tell the police everything.' I kind of struggle with that."
Regardless of your stance on Gypsy and Nicholas's actions, it is evident that she endured significant physical and psychological abuse. We here at Wrong Speak can only hope she was provided with the proper mental health resources and can continue to heal outside of prison.
Gypsy Rose was most definitely a victim of her mother’s nuttiness, and of the myriad of people in positions of authority that could have saved her from her mother’s immense abuse. She was completely justified in doing what it took to finally be released from her mother’s talons.
Very well balanced piece, with lots of facts I never knew presented!!!