5 Disturbing & Bizarre Facts About Dee Dee Blanchard

Countless true crime cases involve a parent and/or a child committing some form of illegal atrocity. In recent times, however, few such incidents have more powerfully shocked and fascinated the public than the case of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard.

Dee Dee was a mother who seemingly sickened her daughter for decades to get attention and affection. Gypsy Rose was the victim who eventually lashed out at her victimizer in homicidal fury. The case became infamous in the wake of the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017) and the ID special, Gypsy’s Revenge (2018). It also brought worldwide attention to the disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

What follows is a deeper look into Dee Dee Blanchard, the crimes she's thought to have committed, and the ultimate crime that Gypsy Rose committed against her in return.

Dee Dee Blanchard, Her Daughter, Gypsy Rose, and a Lifetime of (Literally) Sickening Lies

On June 14, 2015, police found Dee Dee Blanchard, 48, stabbed to death in her Springfield, Missouri, home, where she had been lying in a pool of her own blood for several days.

Perhaps even more distressing was that Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Dee Dee’s daughter, had gone missing. The extremely ill child depended on her mother for every aspect of her existence, so time was of the essence in locating her.

The murder horrified all who knew the mother and daughter, and authorities flew fast into action, fearing the worst for poor Gypsy Rose. When the truth came out, though, it overwhelmed even the darkest guesses as to what might have happened.

Gypsy Rose had spent her entire life suffering from a battery of severe medical conditions, ranging from asthma to muscular dystrophy to leukemia. Gypsy relied on a wheelchair and she had apparently experienced brain damage that caused her to have the mental capacity of a seven-year-old.

None of that, however, was true. It later came to light that Gypsy Rose’s alleged maladies arose from her mother’s Munchausen syndrome by proxy — a condition in which a caregiver intentionally makes up or causes illness to the person in their care.

Dee Dee, in fact, had spent the previous 23 years relentlessly injuring, starving, poisoning, and otherwise incapacitating Gypsy Rose. She also reportedly swindled doctors into performing multiple surgeries that Gypsy Rose did not need.

As a result, an international network of sympathy surrounded Gypsy Rose, with individuals, businesses, and foundations donating a house, funds, treatments, trips, equipment, and other material comforts to the Blanchards.

In order to keep the attention and benefits coming in, Dee Dee continued to intensify her abuse of Gypsy Rose until, finally, the victim struck back — in the most dramatic way possible.

When Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Turns Fatal — for the Perpetrator

The first indication that all was not as it seemed happened the very day that cops discovered Dee Dee’s body. A post appeared on Dee Dee’s Facebook page, announcing, “That b—ch is dead.”

Friends of the Blanchards suspected that Dee Dee’s account had been hacked. Then another message popped up: “I F------ SLASHED THAT FAT PIG AND RAPED HER SWEET INNOCENT DAUGHTER … HER SCREAM WAS SO F------ LOUD LOL.”

After that, concerned observers called the police.

In the frenzy that followed, police learned that Gypsy Rose had a boyfriend named Nicholas Godejohn that she'd met on a Christian dating website and had been conducting a secret romance with online. Investigators traced the IP address of their internet communications and found Gypsy Rose in Godejohn’s home in Wisconsin.

Initially, concerned observers were jubilant, but it was then reported that both Gypsy Rose and Godejohn were being extradited to Missouri to be held on $1 million bail. As Green County Sheriff Jim Arnott put it, “Things are not always what they appear.”

During the course of the ensuing legal proceedings, Dee Dee’s abuse came to the surface. Homicide, of course, is not an allowable form of recourse, so Gypsy Rose Blanchard ended up pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death, receiving a sentence of 10 years. Nicholas Godejohn went down for first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

In Death, an Even Darker, Possibly Murderous Version of Dee Dee Emerged

Immediately following her murder, Dee Dee Blanchard was lauded as a colorful, endlessly giving woman who dedicated everything she had in service of her debilitated daughter. Then, as the Munchausen syndrome by proxy details emerged, more disturbing Dee Dee facts also made their way into the conversation.

Laura Pitre, Dee Dee’s stepmother, says she spent nine months bedridden after Dee Dee poisoned her food with weed killer. In addition, other relatives believe Dee Dee may have starved her own biological mother to death.

Family members who have gone on record so far seem to indicate that they don’t miss Dee Dee.

Dee Dee’s Nephew Claims His Aunt “Was Into Witchcraft”

In an exclusive interview with CrimeFeed, Bobby Pitre, Dee Dee’s nephew and Gypsy Rose’s cousin, stated that Dee Dee might have been interested in or even practiced black magic.

Talking to CrimeFeed, Pitre said, “Yeah, she was into witchcraft when she was younger. Matter of fact, I was into that evil side of things, too, and I think a lot of it came from Dee Dee’s influence, playing the Ouija board and things like that. I think she would tell my cousins that if they didn’t play the Ouija board with her that the devil was going to come and get them.”

Bobby further elaborated on how Dee Dee used the occult to push around the family, stating, “She was real manipulative, like things like that. I didn’t care, I’d play the Ouija board just to play. I was drawn to the darkness…. That whole religious play was just another one of her ways to freak people out I guess, because she was just a strange character as a kid."

In the Wake of Dee Dee’s Death, Gypsy Rose Was Reportedly in Good Health and “Thriving” Behind Bars

According to Kristy Blanchard, Gypsy Rose’s stepmother, being locked in prison provided Gypsy Rose with the freedom from her mother’s terror to come into her own as a person, starting with her physical health.

Speaking to the Springfield News-Leader, Kristy said, “She is thriving. There have been no long-term side effects from all the medication her mom had given her. She has a clean bill of health, thank God — and I really only think what it has done was stunt her growth. Now, don't get me wrong, her eyes, she does have a lazy eye if she doesn't wear her glasses all the time. That was since she was a little baby. Everything else was all a lie."

In 2018, Gypsy Rose herself said, “The prison that I was living in before, with my mom, it's, like, I couldn't walk. I couldn't eat. I couldn't have friends. I couldn't go outside, you know, and play with friends or anything. Over here, 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.”

Kristy added that Gypsy Rose was taking GED classes, and added, “Despite everything, she still tells me that she's happier now than with her mom. And that if she had a choice to either be in jail, or back with her mom, she would rather be in jail."

Rod Blanchard, Gypsy’s dad, agreed, saying, “She’s got a lot more freedom in prison than she ever did with her mother.”

In December 2023, Gypsy was released from prison early.

For more on this case, stream Gypsy's Revenge on discovery+.