By: Carson Devitt
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s case made national news and made her a subject of true crime documentaries. Some of you may know her story from the critically acclaimed Hulu series The Act or the HBO true crime documentary. But now, Blanchard is being granted parole and will be getting released from her prison sentence three years early.
In 2015 Blanchard met her boyfriend at the time through a Christian dating site. This is where she met Nicholas Godejohn and told him of her mother's abuse toward her. She managed to convince him to come to her home in June 2015 and stab her mother while she hid in the bathroom. They were both arrested at Godejohn's home in Wisconsin after their connection to the stabbing of Claudine Blanchard in her home in Springfield, Missouri.
Blanchard was able to make a deal with the Green County prosecutor Dan Paterson, who took into consideration the abuse she suffered from her mother. Blanchard is believed to be a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This is a psychological disorder where the caretaker purposefully causes or makes up illnesses to make the child look like they are sick. The caretaker in this case is Blanchard's mother who forced her to use a wheelchair and an oxygen tank although she never needed them. In addition, her mother shaved her head and force-fed her through a feeding tube. Taking this abuse into consideration, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was given the minimum sentencing of ten years. Her boyfriend at the time, Godejohn, was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.
Blanchard will now be released from Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri on December 28th, after serving 85% of her sentence.
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