Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the woman who was fooled by her mother that she had leukemia, is finally free after seven years in prison. If you already watched the popular 2019 crime drama series "The Act," then you will know what Gypsy had to go through.
She was a child abuse victim by her mother. Court documents revealed that her mother, Claudine "Dee Dee" Blanchard forced her to use a wheelchair, as well as take unnecessary medical procedures as she fooled the innocent woman that she was sick.
Because of this, experts concluded that Gypsy was a victim of the Munchausen syndrome by proxy; a condition in which a caretaker, parent, or guardian falsifies illness in an infant or older child.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Murder Case Timeline
Newsnation reported that it all started when Dee Dee and her daughter moved to Missouri after Hurricane Katrina devastated areas of New Orleans in 2005.
After moving to a new home in Aurora, her mother claimed that all her medical records were destroyed in flooding and that Gypsy was diagnosed with multiple conditions, such as leukemia and muscular dystrophy.
- 2008: The Blanchards had a pink house in Missouri, thanks to the help of the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity. In their pink house, they had a wheelchair ramp, an oxygen tank, and a feeding tube.
- 2007-2009: Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, Gypsy's former neurologist, revealed that there's no evidence of her condition. Another doctor called the authorities to inform them that he couldn't find any symptoms to prove the claims of Dee Dee.
- 2011: The abuse victim said that she met a man at a convention, who helped her try to run away from her abusive mother. She shared what Dee Dee did to her, such as destroying her gadgets and chaining her to a bed.
- 2012: Gypsy and Godejohn, the man she via a Christian singles website, were contacting each other via a Christian app.
- 2014: Gypsy confessed to one of her friends that she was in love with Godejohn.
- 2015 (March): Gypsy finally met Godejohn in person at a Springfield movie theater; the man dressed as Prince Charming and the woman dressed as Cinderella.
- 2015 (June): Gypsy was taken by Dee Dee to a hospital appointment while Godejohn checked into a motel. After that, the man went to the mother's house. Gypsy gave him duct tape, a knife, and some gloves. When Dee Dee and Gypsy went home, Godejohn went into the mother's bedroom and stabbed her 17 times.
- 2015 (June): Godejohn surrenders to the authorities and the police found Gypsy unharmed and could mysteriously walk. She was also arrested.
- 2016 (April): Godejohn admitted that he killed Dee Dee and that the murder was planned by him and Gypsy.
- 2018: Gypsy and Godejohn both went on a murder trial. The abused daughter said that she learned that she wasn't sick when she was 19. But, she only knew the full extent of her health when she was arrested.
- 2018: Godejohn, who argued that she only killed Dee Dee to free Gypsy, was sent to prison after he was found guilty of first-degree murder.
- 2022: Unfortunately, Godejohn wasn't the man Gypsy married. Instead, she tied the knot with Ryan Scott Anderson despite being in prison.
- 2023 (September): The release of Gypsy was confirmed by the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Although she was already happy after her mother died, Gypsy Rose Blanchard finally achieved true justice after getting released on Thursday, Dec. 28, as reported by The Guardian.
