A new crime series airing on Hulu brings the disturbing story ofGypsy Rose Blanchard back into the spotlightnearly four years after she orchestrated her mother’s killing in order to escape a life of abuse.
The Act,starring Joey Kingas Gypsy Rose BlanchardandPatricia Arquetteas her abusive mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, premieres today. Here are five things to knowabout the case.
Courtesy HBO
2. Dee Dee Made Gypsy Rose Shave Head
She was also forced shaved her head to appear like she went through chemotherapy and forced to take medications that made her lose her teeth and induced symptoms of medical issues Dee Dee told doctors that Gypsy Rose suffered from.
3. Dee Dee Portrayed Herself as Doting Caretaker
Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose arrived in Springfield, Missouri, claiming they fled the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, in 2005. The story provided cover for Gypsy Rose’s lack of medical records, which Dee Dee said had been lost in the storm.
Springfield community members welcomed the pair. Dee Dee was often featured on local television and received large donations from national charities. Among the gifts to the family was the pink and white house they lived in.
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Courtesy of HBO
4. Dee Dee Falsely Claimed Gypsy Rose Had Mental Age of 7-Year-Old
Dee Dee told local charities and doctors that her daughter had the mental age of a 7-year-old, which was untrue. She also said Gypsy Rose was a teenager. However, Gypsy Rose was actually in her 20s.
Gypsy Rose latertold investigatorsDee Dee wouldn’t let her speak during doctors visits and told her that if she ever tried to escape, police wouldn’t believe her story.
“I can’t imagine anything else apart from raising someone in a prison [where] you would be able to control somebody [more],” Gypsy Rose’s father, Rod Blanchard,previously told PEOPLE. “It was the perfect breeding ground for a controlled situation.”
5. Gypsy Rose Plotted Mom’s Stabbing Murder With Boyfriend
In June 2015, Dee Dee was found dead in her bed of stab wounds. Gypsy Rose andher boyfriend, Nick Godejohn,whom she met and mostly interacted with online, were both charged with first-degree murder.
Godejohn had taken a bus from his home state of Wisconsin to help Gypsy Rose after she revealed to him that her medical conditions were a lie and she needed to escape her mother.
WAUKESHA COUNTY, WISC., JAIL BOOKING PHOTO (2)
In the hours after Dee Dee’s death, Gypsy Rose celebrated her newfound freedom with Godejohn, then 26, at a local motel in Springfield, where they ate brownies and stayed overnight.
They were later arrested in Wisconsin.
6. Gypsy Rose and Boyfriend Are Convicted of Murder
In July 2016, Gypsy Rose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. She is currently serving a10-year prison sentence.
In February, Godejohnwas sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Dee Dee.He hadargued in court he killedDee Dee to free Gypsy Rose.
Now, as Gypsy Rose serves her sentence, her family says theywill be there for her when she is released.
“She’ll always have a home here,” Rod Blanchard previously told PEOPLE. “We’ll put her on the right path.”
source: people.com
