Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who conspired to kill her mother in 2015 after suffering for years in an apparent case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, is set to be freed from prison.
The Springfield News-Leader reported Thursday that Blanchard, 32, will be released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri on parole on December 28—three years before her original release date.
Blanchard conspired with boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn, whom she met on a Christian dating website, to kill her mother, Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, in June 2015. The murder garnered national attention for not only its viciousness—Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee 17 times, according to Rolling Stone—but also the bizarre circumstances that motivated the attack.
As early as Gypsy Rose’s infancy, Dee Dee led doctors and the community to believe her daughter had a series of fake illnesses such as sleep apnea, asthma, leukemia, and muscular dystrophy. She forced Gypsy Rose to use a wheelchair from age 8 as well as an oxygen tank and subjected her to unnecessary surgeries and medications. Multiple experts have surmised that Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen by proxy, a mental disorder in which a caretaker makes someone sick or gives the illusion of being ill in order to garner attention.
Gypsy Rose first attempted to run away from her abusive mother in 2011 with a man she met at a science fiction convention, but Dee Dee tracked them down and convinced her potential partner that the 19-year-old was actually a minor. Years later, Gypsy Rose met Godejohn online and asked him to kill her mother so they could be together. Police found Dee Dee stabbed to death in her Missouri home on June 14, 2015, and arrested both of them less than 48 hours later.
Godejohn was eventually sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder in 2019, while Gypsy Rose agreed to a deal with prosecutors in 2016 because of her prior abuse and received a minimum sentence of 10 years. “I feel like I’m freer in prison than with living with my mom. Because now I’m allowed to... just live like a normal woman,” she told 20/20.
The case was the subject of the 2017 HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest as well as the basis for Hulu’s dramatized 2019 limited series The Act starring Joey King as Gypsy Rose and Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee.
What’s Next for Gypsy Rose?
Blanchard has previously offered insight into her plans for life outside of prison.
In a letter sent to the News-Leader in 2021, she revealed she wants to write a book telling her story in her own words. She hopes it will help other victims of child abuse: “This will be my never-ending life goal,” she said.
She said that she completed multiple self-improvement courses while incarcerated and became a facilitator for the Impact of Crime on Victims Class. Because of this, she wants to give back to the community in positive ways and, career-wise, become an advocate for other victims of Munchausen by proxy.
Because her mother kept her isolated for much of her life, Blanchard also wishes to rebuild relationships with the rest of her family. “I am excited for what the future holds,” she said.
Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
