The terrible story of Gypsy Blanchard, who planned her mother's death for her own happiness

The history of the Blanchard family happened back in 2015, but it is still being talked about. The brutal murder of Dee Dee (Claudine) Blanchard, a caring mother and a sweet woman, shocked America. Everyone was even more shocked when they found out that the victim's daughter, Gypsy Blanchard, was involved in the massacre. The fact is that this very young girl suffered from a whole bunch of chronic ailments and was confined to a wheelchair.

48-year-old resident of Missouri Dee Dee Blanchard wasn't shy about calling herself a heroine. So did everyone who knew this woman. Of course, she gave up on her life and devoted herself completely to her disabled daughter. Young Gypsy suffered from many diseases, including leukemia, diabetes, sugar allergy, epilepsy, severe myopia and muscle atrophy.

In addition, by the age of 15, almost all of the girl's teeth had fallen out and she used prostheses. Due to digestive problems, Gypsy was fed only liquid food, feeding it into the stomach through a tube. The girl looked appropriate. Her mother shaved her head, dressed her in fancy children's outfits and took her everywhere in a wheelchair.

No one knew exactly how old Gypsy Blanchard was. She could have been 12 or 17 — her appearance, clothes and infantile behavior corresponded to the child. Dee Dee constantly took her daughter to appointments with different doctors and the number of disappointing diagnoses grew by leaps and bounds. At the same time, the caring mother tried to avoid serious examinations and medical manipulations. Most of the diseases were determined by the symptoms listed by the woman.

As you may have guessed, Gypsy Blanchard was not ill with anything terrible. She was a victim of a mother with Munchausen syndrome who enjoyed the thought of "bearing her heavy cross." Gypsy's appearance was a consequence of what her mother was doing to her, forbidding her to walk and not giving her normal food.

Dee Dee carefully guarded her secret and did not even allow her daughter to see her own father, who lived separately. But she willingly took alimony for Gypsy and accumulated a considerable amount. In addition, the family received various social benefits and did not refuse the help of charitable organizations. The neighbors also helped the mother and daughter as much as they could — they gave them clothes and food.

Gypsy's mother liked to talk at length and in detail about her daughter's problems. She liked to listen to words of sympathy and admiration for her self-sacrifice. Dee Dee often arranged "outings" for her daughter. They were regulars of all competitions of disabled children. Gypsy was brought in an invariable wheelchair, in a wig and in a Disney princess outfit. Very often, the little sufferer took prizes and the mother received cash prizes.

Dee Dee told everyone around her with a sad face that her daughter's development stopped at the age of seven. From the outside, it looked like the truth, and the caring mother did not allow close communication. No one even guessed that Blanchard's sick child was an adult girl.

But the mother did not know that her daughter had her own secret life. She was able to completely isolate her from her peers, but forgot about the Internet. Gypsy chatted on social networks at night and even met a guy named Nick Gojon there. The girl told him her strange story. She explained that she considers herself healthy, can move around without a chair and dreams of normal food.

The communication lasted two years. It turns out that the young people were discussing not only Gypsy's health and the despotism of her mentally ill mother. The guy and the girl decided to deal with Dee Dee and run away together to start a happy life. The plan was not developed for long and it was artless and cruel.

On June 14, 2015, on Sunday, a strange post appeared on the elder Blanchard's Facebook page: "This bitch is dead!". The first person to see him was Dee Dee's girlfriend, Kim Blanchard. She was not a relative of the family, despite the same surname. Kim, who lived nearby, first called by phone, and when she received no answer, she came in person, taking her husband David with her.

When they arrived at the Blanchards' house, worried neighbors had already gathered there. There was a van outside the house in which Dee Dee drove her daughter in a wheelchair, and the windows and doors were locked. I had to call 911, but the police officers who arrived refused to break into the door without a legitimate reason.

When they left, Kim's husband David broke the window and entered the house. Everything was as usual there, but the man was surprised that neither Dee Dee nor Gypsy was at home. All the girl's strollers were in place. There were no signs of a robbery or a struggle - everything was clean and all things were in their places.

Not daring to search someone else's house, the man went outside and told the neighbors that everything was fine. But the mother and daughter did not show up and by the evening of the same day, police officers appeared at the house with a search warrant. The house was examined with witnesses and Dee Dee Blanchard was finally found.

The woman was lying on the bed in the bedroom and, apparently, had been dead for several days. She was stabbed with a knife, inflicting many random blows. Later, experts determined that Dee Dee was killed in her sleep and she hardly realized what was happening. Gypsy Blanchard was nowhere to be found and it looked like a kidnapping.

But soon everything became clear. Aliya, Gypsy's friend from Internet correspondence, came to the police. The girls were very open with each other and Blanchard often shared plans for the future. Aliya knew that the young people were planning to escape and informed the officers about it.

On June 15, 2015, less than a day after the discovery of the body, Nick Gojon was arrested. He did not try to escape and was at his home in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Gypsy was with him, unharmed. At the very first interrogation, a lot of interesting details turned out.

It turns out that Gypsy Blanchard, deprived of mobility, walks perfectly and left the house on her own two. There was no oxygen cushion, no aerosols and pills with her. The girl admitted that she did not need them at all. Short hair grew on her head — Blanchard did not suffer from baldness. Her mother shaved her to make her look as pathetic as possible.

And in general, Gypsy looked like a normal, albeit emaciated 20-year-old girl. She was short and very thin, so sitting in a wheelchair, she looked like a child. She didn't have dementia either—Blanchard reasoned sensibly, although a little naively. The police were surprised that the mother hid the date of birth from her daughter. When arrested, Gypsy stated that she was 19 years old, but according to the documents she was 23.

Having gained access to the correspondence of Blanchard and Gojon in social networks, the investigators learned the history of their relationship. Both were obsessed with science fiction and fantasy and lived in their own fictional world. 24-year-old Gojon was fond of cosplay and almost every one of his costumes complemented his favorite knife. It was he who became the murder weapon of Dee Dee Blanchard.

The trial lasted a long time and only on July 5, 2016, the first verdict was announced. Gypsy was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison with the right to appeal after 8 and a half years. She was saved from a life sentence by the fact that she was in another room at the time of the murder.

Nick Gojon was tried longer. His sentence was announced only in 2017. As expected, the young man received a life sentence and an additional 25 years. He has no right to early release.

Gypsy Blanchard feels pretty good behind bars. Only in the first year she gained 6 kg of weight and grew curly hair. She will be released when she is 32 years old.

Unfortunately, mothers with Munchausen syndrome are not uncommon these days and their children suffer cruelly.