In one of the most shocking and tragic true crime cases in recent years, Gypsy Rose Blanchard conspired to murder her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, in June 2015. Gypsy had endured years of medical child abuse at the hands of her mother, who falsely claimed Gypsy was ill and subjected her to unnecessary medical procedures and confinement to a wheelchair. At age 24, Gypsy plotted with her secret online boyfriend to kill her mother in order to escape her control.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for her role in her mother’s murder. She will be eligible for parole in 2024. Let’s take a look at the key events in this disturbing case and find out if Gypsy is still behind bars.
Timeline of the Gypsy Rose Blanchard Case
Here is a timeline of the major events leading up to and following Dee Dee Blanchard’s murder:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Gypsy Rose is born in Louisiana to Dee Dee and Rod Blanchard |
| 1993 | Dee Dee and Rod divorce, Dee Dee is given custody of Gypsy |
| Late 1990s | Dee Dee begins fabricating and exaggerating Gypsy’s medical conditions |
| 2007 | Dee Dee and Gypsy evacuate to Missouri due to Hurricane Katrina |
| 2008-2012 | Dee Dee cons the public, charities, and news media that Gypsy is a terminally ill child |
| 2012 | Gypsy realizes she can walk and has no serious medical issues |
| 2012 | Gypsy meets Nicholas Godejohn online and begins secret relationship |
| June 14, 2015 | Gypsy asks Godejohn to kill her mother; he does so late that night |
| June 14, 2015 | Gypsy and Godejohn are arrested and charged with murder |
| July 2016 | Gypsy accepts plea deal for second-degree murder |
| July 2016 | Gypsy is sentenced to 10 years in prison |
This timeline shows the progression from Dee Dee’s medical abuse of Gypsy to Gypsy’s involvement in her mother’s murder. She has been in prison since her sentencing in July 2016.
Gypsy’s Prison Sentence and Current Status
In July 2016, Gypsy Rose Blanchard accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for second-degree murder. She had been charged with first-degree murder, but took the plea bargain just before her trial was set to start.
Gypsy admitted that she asked her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn, to kill her mother Dee Dee. On the night of June 14, 2015, Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard to death in her Missouri home.
Gypsy is currently incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri. Her current projected release date is 2024, when she will be 32 years old.
Unless she is granted parole before then, Gypsy Rose Blanchard will remain in prison until at least 2024 to serve out her full 10-year sentence. She will have a parole hearing in 2023 which will determine if she can be released the following year.
Has Gypsy Rose Blanchard Applied for Parole?
In January 2021, Gypsy Rose Blanchard became eligible to apply for parole after serving 85% of her sentence. However, Missouri law requires inmates to serve at least 15 years before being parole eligible for first-degree murder convictions.
Since Gypsy took a plea deal down to second-degree murder, she was able to request parole after 5 years. In November 2021, Gypsy’s stepmother Kristy Blanchard revealed that Gypsy was going to wait 2 more years to apply for parole.
This means Gypsy likely will not have her first parole hearing until 2023, a year before her projected release date. She apparently decided it was too early to be seriously considered for parole.
What Are Conditions Like for Gypsy in Prison?
According to her family members, Gypsy is thriving in the Missouri prison system. Her father Rod Blanchard has said she has friends, enjoys her studies, and participates in faith-based prison programs.
Gypsy takes courses at the college level and is interested in getting involved in programs to help abused women and children. Her family says she has grown emotionally and mentally after years of her mother’s control.
However, life in prison is surely not easy. In Chillicothe Correctional Center, Gypsy is in a maximum security facility where she likely spends most of her days confined to her cell. But she does have opportunities to socialize, exercise, study, and participate in rehabilitation programs.
Could Gypsy Rose Blanchard Be Granted Early Parole?
While Gypsy is not eligible for parole until 2023, there are some circumstances under which she could potentially get released from prison a bit early:
- Exemplary behavior – If Gypsy maintains a clean disciplinary record and completes educational, vocational, and rehabilitation programs, she can demonstrate model behavior which could help her case for parole.
- Overcrowding – Missouri’s prisons are currently operating at 95% capacity. If overcrowding worsens, nonviolent and well-behaved inmates like Gypsy could be paroled early.
- Compassionate release – Gypsy’s attorney could request compassionate release if her physical or mental health deteriorates significantly in prison. However, this rarely occurs in murder cases.
- Clemency – The Missouri governor has the power to grant clemency. However, it would likely take an exceptional circumstance for Gypsy to receive a commutation or pardon.
Unless one of these outlier situations occurs, Gypsy will almost certainly remain in prison until at least 2023-2024 when she will be eligible for her first parole hearing.
How Much Longer Will Nicholas Godejohn Stay in Prison?
Nicholas Godejohn, Gypsy’s ex-boyfriend who committed the murder, received a more severe sentence. In February 2019, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Unless his conviction is somehow overturned, which is very unlikely, Nicholas Godejohn will spend the rest of his life behind bars. At age 33 now, he has no possibility of ever being released, unlike former girlfriend Gypsy.
Will Gypsy Go Back to Living with Her Father When Released?
When she completes her prison sentence, Gypsy will need to restart her life. According to her father Rod Blanchard, Gypsy will be welcomed back to his Louisiana home.
Rod did not have custody of Gypsy growing up, but he regained contact with her as an adult while she was living with her mother. After Dee Dee’s murder, father and daughter were reunited and have built a relationship.
Rod, his wife Kristy, and Gypsy’s extended family on her father’s side support her and want to help her move forward. Rod plans to have Gypsy live with them so they can continue rebuilding trust and caring for one another.
Related Questions
Where is Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s prison?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is currently an inmate at Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri. This is a maximum security women’s prison operated by the Missouri Department of Corrections.
She was transferred to Chillicothe in 2019 after previously being incarcerated at the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia, Missouri starting in 2016.
What medical conditions did Gypsy Rose Blanchard actually have?
Despite Dee Dee Blanchard’s exaggerations, Gypsy did have some legitimate health issues, but they were relatively mild. She was diagnosed with a mild learning disability as a child which made her homeschooled.
She also had some vision and hearing issues which were resolved with glasses and tubes in her ears. Her family believes she may have a mild form of autism but it was never formally diagnosed.
Besides that, Gypsy did not have leukemia, muscular dystrophy, or any of the other serious physical and mental disabilities her mother fabricated.
How did Dee Dee Blanchard control and abuse Gypsy?
Dee Dee subjected Gypsy to numerous forms of control and abuse over nearly her whole life by exaggerating or even inducing illness:
- Falsely claimed Gypsy was wheelchair bound and cognitively impaired from a chromosomal disorder
- Shaved Gypsy’s head and starved her to appear childlike and sickly
- Gave her unnecessary medication that made her drowsy and dizzy
- Restricted food, physical activity, social interaction, and education
- Isolated her from family
- Stole money raised for charity under Gypsy’s name
This Munchausen syndrome by proxy led to Gypsy’s perception that murder was her only escape.
Where is Nicholas Godejohn incarcerated?
Nicholas Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the first-degree murder of Dee Dee Blanchard. He is serving his sentence at Jefferson City Correctional Center in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Unlike Gypsy Rose at Chillicothe, Godejohn is housed in a maximum security men’s prison, where he will remain for the rest of his life unless exonerated. Godejohn also has no possibility of parole.
Conclusion
The tragic murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by her abused daughter Gypsy shocked the nation as a horrific case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Gypsy Rose Blanchard remains incarcerated at Chillicothe Correctional Center, where she is serving her 10 year sentence.
Barring parole, early release, or another unforeseen event, Gypsy will remain imprisoned until at least June 2024 when she will be eligible for her first parole hearing after completing 85% of her sentence. She has apparently decided to wait until 2023 to apply.
Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn received a harsher life sentence and will never be released from prison. When she completes her sentence, Gypsy hopes to move in with her father and his family as she puts her life back together and reintegrates into society.