9 Facts About The Monstrous Munchausen By Proxy Case of Dee Dee Blancharde

The horrific abuse in the case of Dee Dee Blancharde and her daughter Gypsy is one of the most unreal, jaw-dropping stories of mistreatment and murder you'll ever read. This is a tale of real life monsters that goes beyond the realm of believability - but every word is true. It's a case of twists, turns, and shocking moments.

But was Dee Dee Blancharde, who sickened her daughter, sick herself? What is Munchausen by proxy, and can it be to blame for what happened? Consider the facts: Dee Dee's daughter Gypsy appeared to be seriously ill - she was tiny, confined to a wheelchair, on a feeding tube, with a high pitched voice and childish demeanor. She supposedly suffered from chromosomal defects, muscular dystrophy, and epilepsy, among other conditions. Her mother was her constant caregiver. But after Dee Dee was murdered, people began asking questions. Eventually, the horrific truth came out. Dee Dee had been intentionally making her daughter ill, and Gypsy had orchestrated her murder.

Read on to to discover how the story of a desperately sick girl and her devoted, if overbearing, mother turned into something much, much darker.

After seeing the shocking Facebook post, family friend Kim Blanchard tried to call Dee Dee. When she couldn't get through, she and her husband drove to the Blancharde's house. No one answered the door, and Blanchard called 911, but the police had to wait for a warrant before entering. Kim's husband crawled in the window and noticed that all of Gypsy's wheel chairs were still there, making everyone worry about where the sick girl went.

At 10:45 that night, the police searched the house. They found Dee Dee's body - she was stabbed, and had been dead for days. There were no signs of Gypsy.

Perhaps the most fascinating twist in this case is Gypsy's attitude toward her mother and the murder itself. She has certainly displayed anger about her past, telling BuzzFeed, “It makes me frustrated that none of the other doctors could see that I was perfectly healthy. That my legs were not skinny, like someone who was [really] paralyzed. That I can’t... I don’t need a feeding tube. Stuff like that."

But Gypsy also seems positive about her situation and prospects. “It’s okay. I mean, honestly, it’s made me a stronger person, because I truly believe that everything happens for a reason," she said in the same interview. She will be eligible for parole in late 2023.

Suddenly, one day in June 2015, a disturbing post went up on Dee Dee Blancharde's Facebook page: "That Bitch Is Dead!" Immediately, friends and family begin to post messages of worry and concern. They were unsure if they should call the police or who to alert. But, while they were debating, a comment appeared on the status, again posted from Dee Dee's account: "I f*cken SLASHED THAT FAT PIG AND RAPED HER SWEET INNOCENT DAUGHTER…HER SCREAM WAS SOOOO F*CKEN LOUD LOL."

It's unclear who exactly is responsible for Dee Dee's murder. Gypsy maintains that she encourage the killing and feels guilty about it, but that it was ultimately Godejohn who was the driving force.

“Honey, you forget I am ruthless, and my hatred of her will force her to die,” Godejohn texted Gypsy. “It’s my evil side doing it. He won’t mess up, because he enjoys killing.”

Godejohn reportedly committed the murder itself. Gypsy has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder. Godejohn has been charged with first degree murder.

Dee Dee's abuse of Gypsy went beyond the use of an unneeded wheelchair. Gypsy received repeated eye surgeries, had Botox injected into her salivary glands before they were removed entirely, and ate through a feeding tube. It's likely that none of these procedures were necessary.

Doctors seemed to trust Dee Dee's assessment of Gypsy's frail health, even when the evidence didn't add up. But Dee Dee also moved around a lot, changing Gypsy's doctors and not leaving a clear medical trail. Many doctors adored the pair, one even calling them their "favorite mother, daughter patient." 

But some of her doctors were suspicious. One noticed that Gypsy tested negative for muscular dystrophy, despite Dee Dee's insistence that she had it. Another noted that Dee Dee and Gypsy's relationship showed "a strong possibility of Munchausen by proxy," a condition in which a person intentionally makes another individual ill in order to gain attention and sympathy. Dee Dee stopped seeing those doctors.

As for the diagnoses of Munchausen by proxy, it seems likely. But the theory can't officially be proved, since Dee Dee is dead.

Dee Dee and Gypsy's father, Rod, had separated, but he was by no means the distant, cruel, negligent father Dee Dee had been talking about for years. He had taken Gypsy on trips when she was younger, and had pleasant exchanges with Dee Dee on the phone. He had even been paying  $1,200 a month in child support, even after Gypsy turned 18. Despite his regular contact with the family, Rod had been in the dark about the extent to which Dee Dee had manufactured Gypsy's health issues. 

Rod explained that Gypsy had been healthy until she was about three months old, when Dee Dee became convinced she had sleep apnea. As he remembers, the doctors couldn't find anything, but eventually the idea that she was sickly stuck. Dee Dee began to speak about Gypsy's chromosomal defect and, backed with medical terminology from her time working as a nurse's aid, seemed to know what she was talking about. Rod believed her.

“I think Dee Dee’s problem was she started a web of lies, and there was no escaping after,” 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. One lie had to cover another lie, had to cover another lie, and that was her way of life.”

The police tracked the IP address of the disturbing posts on Dee Dee's Facebook page. They led back to Nicholas Godejohn of Big Bend, Wisconsin - Gypsy's secret boyfriend. Police went to his house, where he gave himself up. Gypsy was with him, and to everyone's relief, she was fine.

In fact, Gypsy was more than fine. She had left all of her wheelchairs at home, because she didn't need them. She hadn't needed her medication or used her oxygen tank. She had previously been bald, but her hair was starting to grow back - her mother had shaved it off. In other words, Gypsy had never been sick at all.

After Dee Dee's body was found, Aleah Woodmansee, a young women who was close to Gypsy, came forward and said that Gypsy had a secret online boyfriend named Nicholas Godejohn. Gypsy had been communicating with Aleah through a private Facebook account, since her mother didn't want her on social media. In fact, Dee Dee had previously approached Aleah and said that Gypsy, with her child-like mind, was being corrupted by the conversations with Aleah and that she should stop. 

The police discovered that Gypsy had been communicating with Godejohn for two years, and that they had plans to marry.