2103 W. Volunteer Way, Springfield, MO 65803
Dee Dee Blanchard and her disabled daughter, Gypsy Rose, lived a simple but difficult life together. Gypsy Rose had been diagnosed with dozens of serious illnesses which had caused her to lose the ability to walk, along with needing frequent trips to the hospital. Dee Dee and Gypsy lived off of the kindness of others and government assistance, since Dee Dee couldn’t work and leave Gypsy home alone. But Gypsy Rose wasn’t actually sick.
Dee Dee Blanchard likely had Munchausen by Proxy, a disorder where she convinced everyone that Gypsy was ill, and even caused Gypsy to become sick through different forms of abuse. Since Gypsy was a baby, Dee Dee had forced her to go through surgeries, treatments, and therapies which were completely unnecessary. The motive for this was likely the attention and sympathy she received for having and caring for a disabled child.
By the time Gypsy Rose was a teenager, she was tired of playing along with the farce and was looking for a way to escape. Through an online dating site, she met Nicholas Godejohn who she began a secret online relationship with. Three years into the secret relationship, Gypsy and Nicholas hatched a plan to murder Dee Dee and run away together.
Sometime before June 14, 2015, under the cover of night, Nicholas entered the Blanchard home. Gypsy Rose gave Nicholas duct tape, gloves, and a knife then hid in a bathroom and covered her ears while Nicholas brutally stabbed Dee Dee in the back.
They took money that was hidden and left for Nicholas’ parents’ house in Wisconsin. Once arriving, Gyspy wrote a facebook post on the page she had shared with her mother - “That Bitch is dead”. The post prompted friends and neighbors to call the police, who would find her body and then arrest Gypsy and Nicholas for the murder.
In July 2016, Gypsy Rose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Given the documented years of extreme physical and psychological abuse, the prosecution offered a plea deal that resulted in a ten-year prison sentence which was the minimum for that charge.
Gypsy served 85 percent of her sentence at the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri, becoming a figure of intense public fascination and debate. On December 28, 2023, she was released on parole, re-entering a world she had never truly known as an adult, and has since become an advocate for victims of abuse.
While Gypsy’s legal path took the form of a plea deal, Nicholas Godejohn’s case went to trial in 2018. His defense argued that he had diminished mental capacity and acted under the influence of Gypsy’s manipulation, but the prosecution maintained that the murder was a premeditated act of cold-blooded violence.
Ultimately, a jury found Godejohn guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. In early 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a stark contrast to Gypsy’s sentence that sparked further discussion regarding the culpability of those who act on behalf of abuse victims.
The small home that Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose shared is located in Springfield, just north of highway 44 on W. Volunteer Way. The home still has the wheelchair ramp that Gypsy was forced to use even though she was fully able to walk.
The house is located on private property and the homeowners are not friendly towards morbid tourists. As a reminder, be respectful and never attempt to enter private property. Stay on public roads or parks, and don’t block traffic.
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