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After spending eight years in prison, Gypsy Rose Blanchard is a free woman who often replays the events of June 2015. At the age of 32, the woman pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her mother and recalls when she and then-boyfriend Nicholas “Nick” Godejohn conspired to kill her mom, Dee Dee.
According to an exclusive tell-all interview published in People Magazine, the plan to commit murder did not stem overnight, but rather, it was retaliation for subjecting Gypsy to years of painful medical procedures that she never needed. In court, it is widely believed that Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen by Proxy, a rare form of mental illness and a form of abuse in which a guardian exaggerates or induces illness in a child for attention and sympathy. (Source: 9 News)
During the period of Dee Dee’s murder, Gypsy claims she was being mentally and physically abused and forced into another unnecessary surgery. Speaking to PEOPLE, she says: “I was desperate to get out of that situation.” She explains that it was the desperation that led her to ask then-boyfriend Godejohn to kill her mother (who is allegedly diagnosed with Munchausen by proxy,) which he committed as Gypsy waited in the bathroom of the home she shared with Dee Dee.
What is Munchausen by Proxy
Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSP) — or Munchausen by proxy — is a psychological disorder characterised by attention-seeking behaviour by a guardian or caregiver. (Source: WebMD)
This condition is a relatively rare behavioural disorder and usually affects a primary caretaker (in this case, Gypsy’s mother, Dee Dee). People with MSP gain attention by unnecessarily seeking medical help for made-up symptoms of a child in their care. While health professionals work to identify the cause of the child’s symptoms, the intentional actions of the guardian can often make the symptoms worse.
Business Insider shares that according to the Cleveland Clinic, there are no definite data on the number of people diagnosed with Munchausen by proxy in America. However, it is estimated that about 1,000 of the 2.5 million cases of child abuse reported yearly are related to the disease.
Those with MSP may create or exaggerate a child’s symptoms in various ways. From simply lying about symptoms to altering tests, falsifying medical records, or even going as far as to actually induce symptoms such as suffocating, poisoning, starving, and more drastic measures.
Who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard…
The murder of Dee Dee as a result of the suffering of Gypsy Rose Blanchard garnered the world’s attention, even gaining screen time through popular Hollywood reenactments like HBO’s film Mommy Dead and Dearest and recently Hulu’s 2019 series The Act.
By the age of 7, Dee Dee had falsely claimed her daughter suffered from various illnesses, such as muscular dystrophy, in which Gypsy had to use a wheelchair, though she was able to walk without issue. Following came painful and unnecessary feeding tubes attached to a claim that Gypsy had Leukemia. Gypsy’s mother was even able to fool friends and family into believing the ailments were real.
Gypsy was oblivious to her own condition, sharing: “Obviously, I knew that I could walk and didn’t need a feeding tube, but everything else was a really big confusion for me. She further adds that questioning her mother was often met with severe domestic physical and verbal abuse. She shares that her mother claimed she had a seizure the previous night and didn’t remember. “There was always an excuse.”
In September 2023, Gypsy was granted parole two years before the end of her 10-year sentence. She is now eager to reunite with her dad and stepmom and husband Ryan Anderson, a Louisiana teacher she married while in prison.
As she begins a new chapter, Gypsy hopes her journey acts as a cautionary tale to those in similar unfortunate situations. She says: “I want to make sure that people in abusive relationships do not resort to murder…Do anything, but don’t take this course of action.”
