(RepublicanPress.org) – In July 2016, Gypsy Rose Blanchard pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. The then-24-year-old received a 10-year prison sentence. Her accomplice and boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole when a jury convicted him of first-degree murder after a brief trial in late 2018.
On December 28, Missouri prison officials at the Chillicothe Correctional Center released Blanchard after serving a little more than seven years of her sentence. The state’s Department of Corrections granted her parole after a late September hearing before Pardon and Parole Board members.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the child abuse victim who was convicted of killing her mother, shares her first selfie to social media since being released from prison. https://t.co/oe1ncMSlkH
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 29, 2023
Blanchard’s trial attracted national attention due to the extraordinary set of circumstances leading up to her decision to have her boyfriend kill her mother. She was held hostage and abused by Dee Dee from early childhood.
Ultimately, Blanchard became a casualty of a rare disorder called Munchausen by Proxy. Like others afflicted by the sickness, Blanchard’s mother exhibited attention-seeking behavior by fabricating illnesses for her child.
Blanchard’s mother presented her as suffering from brain damage as the result of premature birth to the extent she had the mental functioning ability of a seven-year-old. She also claimed she had asthma, leukemia, and an extreme case of muscular dystrophy that forced her to use a wheelchair instead of walking.
In early November, Blanchard spoke with entertainment news outlet TMZ about her then upcoming release from prison. She said she and her husband, Ryan Anderson, had obtained tickets to a December 31 NFL match between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals. She also related that she hoped to meet with her idol, Taylor Swift, at the game. The famous pop singer recently started dating Travis Kelce’, the Chief’s tight end.
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