Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born to Clauddine Pitre (also known as Dee Dee Blanchard) and Rod Blanchard in 1991. Dee Dee and Rod were 24 and 17 years old, respectively, at the time. Right after the birth of her daughter, Dee Dee claimed that Gypsy had sleep apnea even though the doctors found no sign of sleep apnea in Gypsy. After Rod and Dee Dee separated, she took Gypsy and started living at her parents’ house. There she asserted that Gypsy had muscular dystrophy. After a minor accident, Dee Dee forced Gypsy to use the wheelchair even though she could walk.
When Gypsy was in second or third grade, Dee Dee stopped sending her to school to seclude herself from the other children her age. She homeschooled Gypsy and during this time she claimed that Gypsy had seizures and gave her anti-seizure medication forcefully. Later, they moved to Missouri due to hurricane Katrina and many organizations like Make-a-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, and Children’s Mercy Hospital hailed the mother for taking care of her disabled child, unaware of Dee Dee’s actual motives.
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Abuse Of Gypsy Rose
In Missouri, many people were captivated by Gypsy and her childlike behavior. Gypsy’s conditions brought an outpouring of charitable contributions for the duo. Even Rod paid Dee Dee child support, but she never let him meet her and changed her plans last minute to avoid him. Dee Dee also shaved Gypsy’s head and claimed that she had leukemia. She changed Gypsy’s appearance to mimic that of a cancer patient. During this time she also had her salivary gland removed and had her treated for ear infections.
Dee Dee used to physically abuse Gypsy. She always managed to be near Gypsy while she was with other and often held her hand. Whenever she displayed any regular behavior or could prove that she was not sick, Dee Dee squeezed her hand tightly. She also beat Gypsy with a hanger if she did not comply with her instructions. She also had Gypsy’s decaying teeth extracted and removed, which were caused due to forcible ingestion of anti-seizure medicines.
Gypsy met Nick Godejohn online in 2012 and started sharing her predicaments with him. During this time, Gypsy’s doctor Bernardo Flasterstein was becoming more and more suspicious of the mother-daughter duo when he couldn’t find any reports of Gypsy’s abnormalities. Gypsy started attending science fiction conventions and enjoyed the freedom being in disguises gave to her. Along with the help of Nick, she started fantasizing about her freedom and murdering her mother.
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The Murder Of Dee Dee Blanchard
Finally, in 2015, Gypsy arranged for Nick’s arrival at their house while she and her mother were at the hospital. After they went home, Gypsy hid in her bathroom while Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee in her back 17 times when she was asleep. The duo then fled the scene and Dee Dee’s body was found by the neighbors. Initially suspecting foul play as Gypsy was missing, the police were soon able to track down both Nick and Gypsy. They confessed to Dee Dee’s murder and Nick was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. While Gypsy Rose was charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
When the real story of Dee Dee and Gypsy was revealed to the world, everyone was shocked. Up until then, Dee Dee was viewed as a strong and loving mother taking care of a disabled child. The abuse that Gypsy underwent at the hands of Dee Dee killed any sympathy that was left for Dee Dee. The law enforcement and police described the case as “extraordinary and unusual”. The experts theorized that Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy. The public empathized with Gypsy as the long-time child abuse survivor. In Gypsy’s own words, she is experiencing more freedom in jail than she ever had with her mother.
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