Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a 32-year-old woman who was involved in a high-profile case in the United States, has been released early from prison. Blanchard had pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, in Missouri in 2015.
The case, which captured widespread media attention, involved Blanchard conspiring with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to murder her mother following years of abuse. Godejohn, who carried out the stabbing with a knife provided by Blanchard, is currently serving a life sentence without parole.
Blanchard’s early release occurred at 03:30 local time (09:30 GMT) on Thursday from Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri. She had served seven years of a 10-year sentence. During her time in prison, Blanchard gave several interviews detailing the abusive behavior of her mother. She has also written a memoir while behind bars, which is scheduled for publication in January.
In a recent interview with People Magazine, Blanchard expressed her remorse, saying, “Nobody will ever hear me say I’m glad she’s dead or I’m proud of what I did. I regret it every single day.”
The abuse Blanchard suffered at the hands of her mother was extensive and deceptive. Dee Dee Blanchard convinced her daughter and others that Gypsy Rose was disabled and required medical support, claiming she had conditions like epilepsy, vision impairments, and muscular dystrophy. This led to support from charities and unnecessary medical treatments, with Blanchard using a wheelchair, feeding tube, and oxygen tank despite being able to walk and having no health issues.
Blanchard’s desire for freedom grew as she became more interested in the outside world, eventually leading to her creating a dating profile and meeting Godejohn. “I wanted to be free of her hold on me,” she said during Godejohn’s trial, admitting that she talked him into the murder.
Her plea deal with prosecutors, which resulted in a 10-year sentence in exchange for pleading guilty, was influenced by the abuse she had endured. Sheriff Jim Arnott, reflecting on the case in 2015, remarked, “Things are not always as they appear. This is a tragic event surrounded by mystery and public deception.”
