Dee Dee Blanchard Case Timeline

Dee Dee was 24 when she became pregnant and hadDee Dee married Rod Blanchard out of necessity.Dee Dee married 17-year-old high school student Rod Blanchard. They dated about six months before getting married. Rod said he realized he married too soon, less than a year later.

I woke up on my birthday, my 18th birthday, and realized I wasn't where I was supposed to be. I did not love her; I married for the wrong reasons.

Rod split from Dee Dee before Gypsy Rose was born.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born July 27, 1991. Authorities doubted Gypsy's birthdate because Dee Dee falsified the birth certificate. They needed Rod, Gypsy's father, to confirm the dates. Rod said Dee Dee got the name because she liked 'Gypsy'.Rod was a Guns N' Roses fan, and he liked the name Gypsy.Rod was a Guns N' Roses fan.

Bobby Pitre, Dee Dee's nephew and Gypsy's cousin, said in an interview he recalls Gypsy was perhapsRod also confirmed Gypsy was perfectly healthy as a newborn.When Gypsy was five, Dee Dee claimed her daughter could not walk. Pitre recalls Gypsy suffered a small accident when she fell off her grandfather's motorcycle.

When Gypsy was five, Dee Dee claimed her daughter could not walk. Pitre recalls Gypsy had a minor accident when shePitre recalls two times he questioned Dee Dee's claims about Gypsy's health: once when Gypsy pushed her cousins in her wheelchair, and again when she jumped on the trampoline with them.suffered on her grandfather's motorcycle. Dee Dee's exaggerations turned a small scrape on Gypsy's knee into full paralysis.

Pitre recalls two times he questioned Dee Dee's claims about Gypsy's health: once when Gypsy pushed her cousins in her wheelchair, and again when she jumped on the trampoline with them.

The test results came back negative. Dee Dee kept telling other doctors Gypsy had the disease. Dee Dee fabricated Gypsy's medical records, claiming flooding from Hurricane Katrina destroyed the real ones. Only pediatric neurologist Bernardo Flasterstein noted Gypsy's weakness did not match muscular dystrophy.

Doctors at Tulane University Hospital tested Gypsy forFollowing Hurricane Katrina, Dee Dee took Gypsy to a special-needs shelter in Covington, LA.muscular dystrophy in 2001. Although the test results were negative, Dee Dee told other doctors Gypsy had the disease. Dee Dee made up Gypsy's medical records, saying the real ones were lost from flooding during Hurricane Katrina. Few doctors wanted to challenge her claim. Only pediatric neurologist Bernardo Flasterstein noted Gypsy's weakness did not match muscular dystrophy.

Doctors performed surgeries on Gypsy for supposed eye muscle weaknesses, among other operations, including installing a feeding tube, removing the salivary gland, and pulling teeth.

After Hurricane Katrina, Dee Dee took Gypsy to aspecial-needs shelterin Covington, LA. Dee Dee showed photos of their doomed apartment and claimed flooding ruined all of Gypsy's medical records. Shelter doctor Janet Jordan cried seeing Gypsy, and the young girl replied, "It's okay, you're only human."

Dr. Jordan suggested the pair move to Missouri, where they gotmedia attentionHabitat for Humanity built a wheelchair ramp in front of their new Springfield home. The pair also got free trips to Disney World, a specialized car for wheelchairs, and gifts from the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Gypsy told a local Ozarks news outlet.Gypsy told a local Ozarks news outlet.Gypsy told a local Ozarks news outlet, "Love is stronger than any hurricane."

Only one doctor noted the possibility of Munchausen by proxy.One doctor noted the possibility of Munchausen by proxy.Pediatric neurologist Bernardo Flasterstein noted that Gypsy might be the target of Munchausen by proxy. Flasterstein saw that Dee Dee claimed Gypsy had muscular dystrophy, but the girl's weaknesses did not match the disease.

He noted, "There is a strong possibility of Munchausen by proxy, with maybe some unknown cause to explain her symptoms."

Other doctors missed Dee Dee's lies or failed to see their suspicions. Most doctors liked the mother-daughter pair. Sleep doctor Robert Beckerman called Gypsy and Dee Dee his "favorite mother-daughter patient" and put Gypsy's treatment in a hospital newsletter.

In 2009, an anonymous caller contacted the Springfield Police Department.The anonymous caller reported.The caller reported that Gypsy might not be as sick as her mother claimed. A police officer visited the Blanchard home to check the claim. Dee Dee said Gypsy's records had inconsistencies because the pair tried to avoid Dee Dee's ex-husband, whom she claimed to fear.

The officer checked a social security card and saw Gypsy was 18, not 14 like her mother said. In his report, the investigator wrote that Gypsy "does suffer from some type of mental handicap."

When Gypsy found her Medicaid card, she started to.Gypsy began to suspect.Gypsy suspected her mother lied about her age. Dee Dee told Gypsy she was born in 1995. Her Medicaid card showed Gypsy's birth year was actually 1991.

Gypsy was 19 then, though she thought she was 15.

Gypsy met an unnamed man at a sci-fi convention and started talking to him online. The pair returned to the man's hotel room.At that time, the man was 35, and Gypsy was 19, even though everyone thought she was 15.The man was 35; Gypsy was 19, even though people thought she was 15.

Dee Dee got so angry about the incident she broke the family computer. In the HBO documentary, Gypsy recalls Dee Dee.

Dee Dee became furious about the incident and smashed the family computer. Gypsy appeared in the HBO documentary.After Dee Dee bought a new computer, she let Gypsy use it only with her watching.Before Nicholas Godejohn met Gypsy online, he was.Nicholas Godejohn was arrested.

After Dee Dee bought a new computer, she let Gypsy use it only under her watch.

Nicholas Godejohn met Gypsy online after he was.Police arrested Nicholas Godejohn.Godejohn was arrested for reportedly watching adult media and pleasuring himself at a McDonald's. The manager reported Godejohn's disorderly behavior to the police.

Police found a concealed switchblade without a permit on Godejohn when they took him into custody.

Nicholas Godejohn and Gypsy met on a Christian dating site in 2013. Godejohn introduced her to adult practices involving kink. This prompted Gypsy to pose with knives and post submissive Facebook statuses to fake accounts, aiming to avoid her mother's detection.

Gypsy posted in one post.Gypsy wrote, "I am embracing my role and duitys [sic]... I live and breath [sic] to serve my Master."

Godejohn claimed multiple personalities. Gypsy crafted aGypsy adopted a romantic and intimate persona.to placate each one—"Kitty" was a young girl; "Candy" was promiscuous.

Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn communicatedThey met online.for two years. They arranged to meet at a showing ofThey met at a showing of "Cinderella".in 2015. Gypsy wanted her mother to meet Godejohn so the pair could be open. Dee Dee hated Godejohn and his relationship with her daughter.

The pair were intimate in a bathroom stall during the film. Dee Dee became furious and stopped Gypsy from seeing Godejohn.

Learning her mother's dislike for her boyfriend, Gypsy felt she hadGodejohn and Gypsy had two options.: become pregnant with Nicholas Godejohn's baby or slay Dee Dee. Gypsy thought a baby would make Dee Dee accept Godejohn. Godejohn refused. Soon after, they started planning to end Dee Dee's life.

Gypsy took hundreds of dollars from Dee Dee to pay for Godejohn's transport to Springfield. Gypsy also gave him the knife and gloves to kill Dee Dee. Gypsy hid in the bathroom with her hands over her ears while Godejohn jabbed Dee Dee with the blade. GypsyGodejohn saidof the experience:

You think hearing a slaying sounds like a horror film. It is not. You can watch a horror film, but hearing someone actually being slain is terrifying. It creates a nauseous feeling in your stomach. You only think about how afraid you are.

After the killing, Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn fled to his house in Wisconsin. They posted aThe Facebook status showed this.The Facebook status read, "That b*tch is dead!". Friends of the Blanchards called police. Police got a search warrant that evening.

They found Dee Dee's body in the bedroom and started looking for the missing Gypsy.

OfficialsOfficials traced them.the IP address of the Facebook status to Nicholas Godejohn's home. He surrendered fast. Gypsy walked out of the house, shocking those who thought she was physically disabled.

Gypsy soon told people Dee Dee lied about her illnesses and inability to walk. Family friend Kim Blanchard said of the discovery, "At that point, it really became: 'I don't know anything about this person. What have I been believing? How could I have been so stupid?'"

The courts spent about a month getting Gypsy'sMedical records show this.Dee Dee held power of attorney. This meant she controlled Gypsy's medical choices even after Gypsy turned 18. The judge finally accessed the records. He arranged a plea deal because the situation was too complex.

Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide. She got the minimum sentence: 10 years, in July 2016. Gypsy can apply for parole in 2023; she will be 32 then.

Gypsy testified for the defense during Nicholas Godejohn's trial in November 2018. GypsyGodejohn admitted.Gypsy admitted persuading Godejohn to kill her mother. She told the jury and prosecution that, then, she thought this was the only way to escape Dee Dee's mistreatment. Gypsy also claimed she loved Godejohn and often imagined starting a family with him.

The defense argued.They argued.Godejohn's actions stemmed from love and a desire to shield Gypsy from her mother. They also claimed his autism diagnosis made him "incapable of deliberation."

A jury found Nicholas Godejohn guilty of first-degree homicide in February 2019.Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree homicide.. He got a life sentence without parole. Godejohn's lawyer sought a new trial based on a psychiatrist's testimony. That testimony claimed Godejohn had diminished capacity and could not be held responsible for his actions.

A judge denied the new trial. However, the judge saw the psychiatrist's opinion would likely help as Godejohn's case went through appeals.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard got early parole in September 2023.got an early paroleand will leave prison in December 2023. By then, she will have served 85% of her 10-year sentence. Her time in the Greene County Jail before sentencing counted toward the total.