Facts About Dee Dee Blanchard's Munchausen Case

Blanchard used the fake sick child story to take Gypsy in a wheelchair. The toothless girl needed a feeding tube, got eye surgeries repeatedly, and had Botox injected into her salivary glands before removing them totally.Gypsy believed she had leukemia.She received chemo treatments and used an oxygen tank daily. Until she grew up, Gypsy thought she was "paralyzed from the waist down.She needed a wheelchair.

Blanchard reportedly controlled and taught her daughter, keeping her home because she was too sick for school. Family friends saw Blanchard physically control her daughter around others. Psychologists later suggestedBlanchard.Blanchard showed domineering behavior.Blanchard used this behavior to stop her daughter from exposing her fraud. An expert on Munchausen explained in an HBO documentary on Gypsy Rose that the abuser controls Gypsy both physically and mentally.

Dee Dee Blanchard changed her last name spelling when moving from Louisiana. Dee Dee and former husband Rod Blanchard separated after a short marriage. Rod was not the distant, cruel, or negligent father Blanchard presented him as. Rod took Gypsy on trips while she was young. He kept pleasant phone talks with his ex. Rod paid Blanchard $1,200 monthly in child support for medical costs, even after Gypsy turned 18.

Rod did not know how much Blanchard made Gypsy's health problems. Rod said Gypsy was healthy until she was three months old. Then Blanchard became certain the infant had...sleep apnea and seizures.Blanchard started talking about Gypsy's chromosomal defect and used medical terms from her time as a nurse's aid, seeming to know the subject. Rod believed her.

In aA 2016 interview withBuzzFeedRod explains his ex's possible motives:

Dee Dee’s problem started a web of lies. Escaping became impossible after that. She got so caught up that a tornado started. She had to cover one lie with another, and another. That was her life.

Doctors trusted Blanchard's view of Gypsy's weak health, even when the facts did not match. As a fraud, Blanchard moved around, changing Gypsy's doctors and avoiding a clear medical record. Many doctors liked the pair; one even called them their "favorite mother, daughter patient.

Some doctors felt suspicious. One doctor saw Gypsy tested negative for muscular dystrophy, even though the mother insisted she had it. Another doctor saw Blanchard and Gypsy's relationship showed "a strong possibility of Munchausen by proxy," which means someone makes another person sick to get attention and sympathy. Blanchard stopped seeing those doctors.

Professionals conclude thatBlanchard likely had MSBP.She was not examined before she died.

On June 14, 2015, a disturbing post appeared on 48-year-old Dee Dee Blanchard'sThe assailant posted 'That B*tch Is Dead!' on Facebook.: "That B*tch Is Dead!" Friends and family immediately posted worried messages. They did not know if they should call the police or whom to notify. Then, another comment showed up on the status, posted again from Blanchard's Facebook account:

The assailant slashed that fat pig and raped her sweet innocent daughter. Her scream was incredibly loud.

A family friend tried to reach Blanchard and called the police after she sawGypsy had an abandoned wheelchair.at the residence. Later that night, police obtained a search warrant and found something unexpected.

After police found Blanchard, Aleah Woodmansee, a 23-year-old claims investigator close to Gypsy came forward. Woodmansee revealed the missing teen had a secret online romance. Woodmansee named Gypsy's boyfriend 25-year-old Nicholas Godejohn. Reportedly, Gypsy also communicated with Woodmansee on a private Facebook account using the nameEmma Rose., because Blanchard did not want her daughter on social media.

Woodmansee's tip led investigators to determine Gypsy met Godejohn in a Christian singles chatroom and communicated with him for about two years. By tracing the IP addressof the posts on Blanchard's Facebook, authorities tracked Gypsy and Godejohn to Big Bend, Wisconsin.Greene County Police tracked the IP address of the posts on Blanchard's Facebook page and found Nicholas Godejohn of Big Bend, Wisconsin—Gypsy's secret boyfriend. Police went to his house; he gave himself up. Gypsy was there, and everyone was relieved; the sick teen was unharmed.

Greene County Police tracked the Facebook post's IP address. They found Nicholas Godejohn of Big Bend, Wisconsin, Gypsy's secret boyfriend. Police went to his house; he surrendered. Gypsy was there, and the sick teen stayed unharmed.

Gypsy was fine. She left all her wheelchairs at home. She did not need her medication or her oxygen tank. Her hair started growing back; she had been bald before., an act authorities think spreads the image of Gypsy Rose's illness.Authorities speculate the act promotes an image of Gypsy Rose's illness.

Investigators and health professionals found the teen never got sick. After Blanchard died, Gypsy explained she was fine., even when she suspected she was not as ill as her mother claimed. InGypsy's RevengeGypsy's RevengeThe 2018 Investigation Discovery documentary shows Gypsy Rose explaining how her mother's lies isolated her and stopped her from getting help.

I could not leave the wheelchair because I feared what my mother would do. I had no one to trust. I could not trust Aleah because my mother made me think Aleah was not my real friend and a bad influence, so I could not be friends with her anymore. I did not contact my dad because my mom told me awful things about him.

Gypsy claims she planned the attack on her mother but feels guilty. Godejohn reportedly committed the act himself; mental health experts think he had his own reasons. Texts from the couple show Godejohn may have suffered fromDissociative identity disorder.:

Honey, you forget I am ruthless, and my hatred of her will make her die. It is my evil side doing it. He will not mess up because he enjoys killing.

Gypsy also told police she was there during her mother's death and did not step in. Detectives on the case reported Godejohn acted on Gypsy's order and thatShe gave him the weapon.Godejohn's lawyer used his mental condition as a defense, and a local clinical psychologist supported him. The prosecution's psychologist argued Godejohn is just in the autism spectrum, and the jury agreed it wasThis was not a viable defense..

On November 15, 2018, Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree charges and received a sentence ofShe received life without parole..

At 10:45 PM, the Greene County Police searched the Blanchard house near Springfield. All the sick girl's medications and mobility aids were there, but the teen was gone. Investigators found Blanchard upstairs, who had died several days earlier fromShe had stab wounds..

A family friend organized funeral services and started a charity drive to cover costs. Police searched for Gypsy Rose. Local worry grew about the missing girl's safety, everyone thought she was physically and mentally unable.

On February 22, 2019, Nicholas Godejohn, Gypsy's online boyfriend who helped her end her mother's life, received a sentence ofGypsy's co-conspirator received life in prison.The sentence included no parole.

In 2015, Godejohnadmitted to the crime, saying he did it because of love. "I actually stabbed her... I would not have done it if it were not for me and her [Gypsy]."

In July 2016, Gypsy was found guilty of second-degree offenses and got a 10-year sentence. While in jail, Gypsy faced her anger toward her mother and the doctors who did not stop Blanchard's mistreatment. In aIn 2016, she appeared in an exclusive with BuzzFeed.BuzzFeed., Gypsy explains her feelings:

I am frustrated other doctors failed to see I was healthy. They missed that my legs were not thin, like someone paralyzed. I do not need a feeding tube.

Gypsy also seems positive about her future. Most people lose weight in a correctional facility. Gypsy Rose gained healthy pounds. She stopped taking harmful drugs. She showed an upbeat attitude: "It’s okay. I mean, honestly, it’s made me a stronger person, because I truly believe that everything happens for a reason."

Rod Blanchard always supported his daughter. He maintained that Blanchard "asked for what she received." Although she won't qualify for parole until late 2023, Gypsy has appeared in many documentaries and interviews about her story. She plans to write a book about her experiences to help other victims. A Hulu true crime series adapted her story.The Act, featuring Joey King as Gypsy Rose.

In September 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchardreceived early paroleand leaves prison in December 2023. She will have served 85% of her 10-year sentence then. Her time in the Greene County Jail before sentencing counted toward her total sentence.