Gypsy Rose Blanchard Case: From Crime Scene to Conviction

The murder of Dee Dee Blanchard in June 2015 and the subsequent arrest of her daughter, Gypsy Rose, unveiled a story so bizarre and tragic it continues to captivate and horrify the public.

What appeared to be the brutal killing of a devoted mother by her sick, helpless daughter was, in reality, the desperate act of a young woman escaping a lifetime of unimaginable abuse. This article breaks down the case, from the alarming discovery at the crime scene to the shocking truths that emerged in its wake.

1. The Discovery: A Disturbing Facebook Post Leads to a Welfare Check

The first sign that something was terribly wrong in the Blanchard home didn’t come from a neighbor’s call or a silent alarm—it came from Facebook. On June 14, 2015, two disturbing posts appeared on the shared Facebook account of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard.

The first post read: “That Bitch is dead!”

A short while later, a more chilling comment followed in the comments section: “I fucken SLASHED THAT FAT PIG AND RAPED HER SWEET INNOCENT DAUGHTER…HER SCREAM WAS SO FUCKEN LOUD LOL.”

Friends and neighbors were initially confused and dismissive, assuming the account had been hacked. However, as concern grew, friends of the family who lived nearby, including Kim Blanchard (no relation), went to their pink-and-white house in Springfield, Missouri. After receiving no answer at the door, they contacted the Greene County Sheriff’s Office to perform a welfare check.

2. Inside the Blanchard Home: The Initial Crime Scene Investigation

Upon obtaining a search warrant and entering the home, deputies discovered a quiet and orderly house, but the bedroom told a different story. Dee Dee Blanchard was found deceased, lying face down on her bed in a pool of blood. She had been stabbed multiple times in the back. The autopsy later revealed she had been dead for several days.

Initially, the primary concern for law enforcement was the safety of Gypsy Rose. Described by her mother as a wheelchair-bound teenager with a host of severe medical issues—including leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and the mental capacity of a 7-year-old—she was nowhere to be found. The fear was that a killer was on the loose and had abducted a vulnerable young girl.

3. The Search for Gypsy Rose: A Nationwide Amber Alert

The apparent abduction of a severely disabled child triggered an immediate and widespread response. A nationwide Amber Alert was issued for Gypsy Rose Blanchard. News outlets broadcasted photos of the smiling girl in her wheelchair, often with a feeding tube, urging the public to help find her. The community, who had long supported the Blanchards through charities like Habitat for Humanity (which provided their home), was in shock.

4. Unraveling the Deception: Gypsy Rose and Nicholas Godejohn Apprehended

The search for Gypsy Rose took a sharp turn when investigators traced the IP address of the Facebook posts to a location in Big Bend, Wisconsin. On June 15, 2015, police surrounded the home of Nicholas Godejohn. To their astonishment, they found not only Godejohn but also Gypsy Rose—alive, well, and walking on her own two feet.

The young woman who was apprehended was not the person the public believed her to be. She could walk, did not need a feeding tube, had a full head of hair (it had been forcibly shaved for years), and was, by all accounts, perfectly healthy. It was in these initial moments that the entire narrative began to collapse, revealing a complex web of lies.

5. The Grisly Details: A Confession and the Murder Weapon

During interrogation, the truth of what happened came tumbling out. Gypsy Rose and Nicholas Godejohn, whom she had met on a Christian dating website, confessed to conspiring to murder Dee Dee. Gypsy admitted to letting Godejohn into the house on the night of the murder. She hid in the bathroom while Godejohn stabbed her mother to death with a knife they had purchased. Afterward, they mailed the murder weapon to Godejohn’s home in Wisconsin to avoid detection and fled with several thousand dollars Dee Dee had saved.

Godejohn was cooperative with the police, confessing in detail to the stabbing. He claimed he did it to save Gypsy from the abuse she was suffering at the hands of her mother.

Watch a clip of Nicholas Godejohn’s police interrogation:

6. A Bizarre Motive Uncovered: The Shocking Truth About Gypsy’s Health

The most shocking revelation was the motive. Gypsy Rose was not sick. Her mother, Dee Dee, is widely believed to have had Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP), a mental health disorder where a caregiver fabricates or induces illness in a person under their care to gain sympathy and attention.

For over two decades, Dee Dee convinced doctors and the world that Gypsy was terminally ill. She subjected her daughter to:

Unnecessary surgeries (including the insertion of a feeding tube).
Countless medications that rotted her teeth.
Being confined to a wheelchair.
Having her head shaved to mimic the appearance of a cancer patient.
Physical and psychological abuse to maintain control.

Gypsy’s entire life was a lie, orchestrated by her mother. Her escape, in her mind, could only be achieved through murder.

Checklist: Signs of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another)

[ ] A caregiver, often a mother, who is overly attentive and seems devoted to their child.
[ ] A child with a long and puzzling medical history with many hospitalizations.
[ ] Symptoms that only appear when the caregiver is present.
[ ] The caregiver is often well-liked by medical staff and knowledgeable about medical terminology.
[ ] Test results and examinations are consistently normal, despite reported symptoms.
[ ] The caregiver refuses to accept a good prognosis.

7. The Aftermath: Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

The legal outcomes for Gypsy Rose and Nicholas Godejohn reflected their different roles in the crime and the mitigating circumstances of Gypsy’s abuse.

Defendant	Charge	Plea	Sentence	Current Status (as of mid-2025)
Gypsy Rose Blanchard	Second-Degree Murder	Guilty	10 years in prison	Released on parole in December 2023.
Nicholas Godejohn	First-Degree Murder	Found Guilty	Life in prison without the possibility of parole	Currently serving his sentence.

Export to Sheets

Gypsy’s legal team successfully argued that she was a victim of profound, long-term abuse, which led to a plea deal and a lesser charge. Godejohn’s defense argued he was manipulated by Gypsy and had diminished mental capacity, but the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

8. The Psychology of the Case: Expert Analyses and Public Reaction

The case has become a touchstone for discussions about child abuse, mental illness, and the failures of the medical and social systems that did not intervene. Psychologists and experts have analyzed the extreme manipulation involved in MSbP and the psychological toll it took on Gypsy. The public reaction has been a mixture of horror at the murder and overwhelming sympathy for Gypsy, with many viewing her as a survivor rather than a killer.

The story has been the subject of numerous documentaries and dramatizations, including HBO’s Mommy Dead and Dearest and the Hulu series The Act.

Further reading:

Takeaway

The Gypsy Rose Blanchard case is a powerful and disturbing illustration of several key points:

The Hidden Nature of Abuse: Abuse can take many forms beyond physical violence, including medical and psychological manipulation that can be invisible to outsiders.
The Failures of Systems: Despite numerous red flags over the years, the medical community and social services failed to recognize the abuse and intervene to protect Gypsy.
The Complexity of Victimhood: The case challenges simple definitions of “victim” and “perpetrator.” Gypsy was both a victim of horrific abuse and a participant in a murder.
The Power of Deception: Dee Dee Blanchard successfully manipulated not only her daughter but also doctors, charities, and an entire community for years.

Conclusion

The story of the Gypsy Rose Blanchard crime scene is not just about a murder; it’s about the catastrophic failure to protect a child and the extreme lengths a human will go to in order to escape an unbearable reality. While the crime itself was brutal, the context behind it reveals a tragedy of profound abuse and manipulation. Gypsy Rose’s release from prison marks a new chapter in her life, one where she finally has the freedom she so desperately sought, but the scars of her past, and the life that was taken, will forever be part of her story. This case serves as a chilling reminder to look beyond appearances and to be vigilant in protecting the most vulnerable among us.