Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the child abuse victim who was convicted of killing her mother, will be released early from prison to start 2024 as a free woman.
Blanchard, 32, has been granted parole and will be released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri, on Dec. 28, three years before her original release date, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed Sept. 29 in an email to TODAY.
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In 2016, Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the murder of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, who was stabbed to death the year before by Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn.
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Gypsy Rose Blanchard is believed to have been a victim of Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which a caretaker makes someone ill or creates the illusion of them being ill in order to receive attention, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
On the stand, Gypsy Rose Blanchard described how her mother took her to doctors throughout her life to treat her for various conditions, including leukemia and muscular dystrophy, that she never actually had.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard detailed how her mother forced her to use both a wheelchair and an oxygen tank although she required neither, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
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In a televised interview with Dr. Phil McGraw in 2017, Blanchard expressed her regret over her mother's death.
"I have to pray to forgive my mother, but right now the hardest thing is to forgive myself," she said.
The bizarre case also inspired several documentaries and a limited series on Hulu starring Joey King and Patricia Arquette.
During her time in prison, Blanchard reportedly married a man named Ryan Scott Anderson in 2022, the Springfield News-Leader reported at the time, but she has not publicly spoken about it.
She also has written a book that will be published in January called “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom.”
Her stepmother, Kristy Blanchard, told NewsNation that the family is looking forward to belatedly celebrating Christmas with Gypsy Rose Blanchard after she is released.
Here's what to know about Gypsy Rose Blanchard's case.
Who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, were arrested in 2015 in connection to the murder of Blanchard's mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, who was found stabbed to death in her home in Springfield, Missouri.
During her trial, Gypsy Rose Blanchard admitted that she arranged for Godejohn to travel to the family’s home in Springfield to kill her mother, according to Ozarks First.
After the murder, the couple traveled to Godejohn's home in Wisconsin, where they were arrested days later.
What did Gypsy Rose Blanchard's mother do to her?
Dee Dee Blanchard appeared to have had Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which a caretaker makes someone ill or creates the illusion of them being ill in order to receive attention.
Dee Dee Blanchard "was convinced Gypsy suffered from a wide range of health issues," according to Ozarks First. She took her daughter to various specialists to get treatment for her alleged ailments, "including prescriptions for anti-seizure medication and surgeries."
In addition to forcing her daughter to use a wheelchair and an oxygen tank, neither of which she needed, Dee Dee Blanchard shaved her daughter's head and forced her to eat through a feeding tube, Gypsy Rose Blanchard told McGraw in their 2017 interview.
After Hurricane Katrina, the mother-daughter duo relocated to Aurora, Missouri, where Dee Dee Blanchard told doctors her ailing daughter's medical records had been destroyed by the hurricane, according to Ozarks First.
A local Habitat for Humanity group built a wheelchair-accessible house in Springfield for the Blanchards in 2008.
The mother and daughter were also the subject of donations and gifts, including a trip to Disney World, from various charitable groups in the community.
The pair also met country singer Miranda Lambert through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Ozarks First reported.
Didn't doctors suspect that Dee Dee Blanchard was lying?
Some doctors pushed back on Dee Dee Blanchard's claims of her daughter's various illnesses.
Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, a neurologist in Missouri, began to suspect Dee Dee Blanchard's claim that her daughter had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in Louisiana when he noticed no abnormalities in her MRIs and blood tests, Ozarks First reported.
Flasterstein contacted Gypsy Rose Blanchard's doctors in Louisiana and learned her original muscle biopsy to test for MS came back negative.
Were Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Nicholas Godejohn both convicted of murder?
Nicholas Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison after first pleading not guilty. He stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard to death while Gypsy Rose Blanchard hid in a bathroom.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard made a deal with Greene County prosecutor Dan Patterson, who took into account the abuse she had suffered at her mother’s hand, reported Ozarks First.
She pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
When was Gypsy Rose Blanchard originally going to be released from prison?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s release in December will come after she has served seven years of her original 10-year sentence, the Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed to TODAY.com.
Were there TV specials about the case?
In 2017, HBO aired a documentary about the Blanchard's case, called "Mommy Dead and Dearest." The film included interviews with both Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Nick Godejohn.
In 2018, Investigation Discovery aired “Gypsy’s Revenge,” a two-hour special documentary about the case that featured interviews with Blanchard and Godejohn.
In 2019, Hulu aired an eight-part true crime series inspired by the case starring Joey King as Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee Blanchard.
The same year, Lifetime aired a movie dramatizing the case as “inspired by true events” called "Love You To Death."
Gypsy Rose gave a statement to Bustle after the release of “The Act,” saying, “I am unable to watch The Act. However, I feel it is very unfair and unprofessional that producers and co-producer Michelle Dean has used my actual name and story without my consent, and the life rights to do so. Therefore, there will be legal action taken against the show’s creators. I want to share my story and bring awareness about Munchausen by proxy, in the hopes that I can encourage those who might be experiencing abuse to speak up, because someone WILL listen. No child should ever be abused especially from their parent.”
Dean, who wrote the viral Buzzfeed article about Gypsy Rose Blanchard and created "The Act," said to Elle, "The show’s not a work of journalism." She continued, "You don’t need to pick up any information from it, but we thought the entire show should be grounded in the emotional journeys of the characters."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
