Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, who was found guilty of assisting the murder of her abusive mother Dee Dee Blanchard, was recently released from prison Thursday, December 28, 2023 after serving 8 years of her 10 year sentence. Her story got very popular around the world. So popular in fact, it inspired an HBO documentary and a miniseries on Hulu. In addition to those forms of media about her heartbreaking story, it also became a very popular eight-part series titled “The Act”, also available on Hulu.
Dee Dee was murdered in June of 2015 in Springfield, MO. At the time, Gypsy was in her early 20s, she used a wheelchair as her main form of transportation. She also appeared to have a diminished mental state and she was also weakened due to the medications her mother was pumping her full of due her supposed diagnosis of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which a parent or caregiver exaggerate, induce, or make up an illness in a child to get attention. Dee Dee dreamed of being a caretaker, but instead she used her daughter as a “test dummy”.
Eventually, investigators discovered that Gypsy could actually walk and she was being gaslighted into thinking she was paralyzed. They also discovered her medical problems had been largely fictitious and a figment of Dee Dee’s imagination. Gypsy, now 32, pleaded guilty of the second-degree murder of her abusive mother. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the minimum for second-degree murder. A few years later Nicholas Godejohn, her ex boyfriend, was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Gypsy’s attorney, Mike Stanfield reviewed nearly 15 years of medical records and spoke to some neighbors and friends and found that “Essentially, Gypsy was being held prisoner by her mother.” In an interview shortly after her release from prison she said that her mother did not deserve to die. “She was a sick woman and unfortunately I was not educated enough to realize that.” “She deserved to be where I am, sitting in prison doing time for her criminal behavior.”
When Gypsy was initially released from prison, she became an overnight celebrity. Many people on social media were very excited that she was finally getting released. When she was released she was followed by a camera crew recording her every move after her release. The first thing she did when she got released was go to their local mall and buy new shoes because her old shoes didn’t fit anymore.
She also got onto social media and made some accounts for most apps. She posted on Instagram with a mirror selfie in her hotel room captioned “First selfie of freedom!” She also posted on TikTok with a few videos saying that she is happy that she is finally free. These videos almost instantly went viral, with tons of people excited that she finally has freedom to do what she wants. When she got home her family threw her a welcome home party. Popping champagne, eating cake, celebrating with the people she loves. But she also received some backlash upon her release, some people complaining that she didn’t serve her full sentence and some going as far to say that “The fact she’s out is sad. Literally planned out and persuaded someone to kill her mother sad asf lock her up and throw away the key,” among other hateful comments on her social media.
