A FAMILY'S history unraveled when a mother was found dead and her daughter went on the run.
Ultimately, Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn faced prison time for her mother Dee Dee's homicide.
Who was Clauddine 'Dee Dee' Blanchard?
Born on May 3, 1967, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Pitre-Blanchard was a mother of one from Chackbay, Louisiana.
Dee Dee was one of five children from Claude Pitre and Emma Gisclair.
During her marriage to Rod Blanchard, she welcomed a daughter named Gypsy Rose on July 27, 1991.
Are there illegal baby names? Surprising monikers that are BANNED in other countries, from Sarah to Thomas
Although she was never formally diagnosed, police and medical professionals believe Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a factitious disorder characterized by the fabrication of signs or symptoms of a disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Due to this speculated disorder, Dee Dee allegedly fabricated several health conditions she thought Gypsy suffered from.
Dee Dee deceived Gypsy and those around her into believing her daughter suffered from chronic medical conditions because the latter was born prematurely.
According to the late matriarch, her daughter suffered from leukemia, asthma, and muscular dystrophy.
As a result, Dee Dee produced false paperwork to lie about Gypsy Rose's age and medical history.
She also shaved her daughter's head, altered her appearance, regulated unnecessary prescription doses, and consented to needless surgeries.
According to Dee Dee's parents and other family members, she fell out with them after they accused her of trying to poison her stepmother Laura Pitre with weed killer.
"I think Dee Dee's problem was she started a web of lies, and there was no escaping after," Dee Dee's ex-husband Rod told Buzzfeed.
"She got so wound up in it, it was like a tornado got started, and then once she was in so deep that there was no escaping.
All about Rachel Nickell who was murdered in front of her son Alex Hanscombe
"One lie had to cover another lie, had to cover another lie, and that was her way of life."
What happened to Dee Dee?
On June 14, 2015, Dee Dee was found stabbed to death at her and Gypsy's home in Springfield, Missouri.
Police discovered her body when her neighbors alerted authorities about violent and graphic Facebook posts found on Dee Dee's profile.
On Tuesday, June 16 of the same year, Gypsy and her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn were arrested in connection to her mother's homicide.
On July 5, 2016, Gypsy accepted a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Dee Dee; she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
On November 16, 2018, Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
On February 22, 2019, Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison.
On December 28, 2023, Gypsy Rose was released from Chillicothe Correctional Center after she was granted parole in September.
