(WPHL) – Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who infamously plotted to kill her mother, was released from prison early Thursday morning after serving more than seven years behind bars.
The now-32-year-old was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2016 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her mother Clauddine “‘Dee Dee” Blanchard. Gypsy’s ex-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, is serving a life sentence for fatally stabbing Dee Dee.
For those unfamiliar with the case, which inspired the Hulu series “The Act,” some experts believe Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy — a condition where a parent, guardian or caretaker fabricates symptoms to make it look their child is sick.
Throughout her childhood, Gypsy was forced to use a wheelchair and undergo unnecessary medical procedures. Dee Dee began subjecting Gypsy to false medical diagnoses shortly after her birth in 1991, first claiming the infant suffered from sleep apnea, according to attorneys.
When Gypsy was 8, Dee Dee began claiming more serious illnesses, like leukemia and muscular dystrophy, which required a wheelchair and feeding tube.
The pair moved from Louisiana to Aurora, Missouri, in September 2005 after Dee Dee claimed she and her daughter were victims of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans. She also said that Gypsy’s medical records were destroyed in the storm.
Gypsy and Dee Dee received an outpouring of support, including free charity trips and large sums of money. Habitat for Humanity also built them a house in Springfield, Missouri, with accessibility features like a wheelchair ramp.
In June 2015, when Gypsy was 23, she arranged for Nicholas Godejohn, whom she met on a Christian dating site, to travel to Springfield to kill her mother, according to prosecutors.
Gypsy said Godejohn went to Dee Dee’s house, where Gypsy gave him gloves, a knife and duct tape. While Gypsy hid in the bathroom, prosecutors said Godejohn went into Dee Dee’s bedroom and stabbed her 17 times. After the murder, Gypsy and Godejohn fled back to his home in Wisconsin where they were arrested days later.
Gypsy avoided trial since she accepted a plea deal, but she did testify at Godejohn’s trial. She claimed it was her idea to kill her mother and that her relationship with Godejohn was kept a secret because Dee Dee “controlled every aspect” of her life.
She said she found out when she was 19 that she wasn’t sick but learned the full extent of her health after she was arrested.
At trial, Godejohn’s defense argued he was motivated to kill Dee Dee in order to save Gypsy from abuse. He also added he was “blindly in love” with Gypsy.
The Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed to Nexstar’s WDAF that Gypsy was released at 3:30 a.m. CT on Dec. 28 after serving 85% of her 10-year prison sentence. She is also set to release an ebook titled “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom” on Jan. 9, 2024.
NewsNation’s Caitlyn Shelton contributed to this story.