Hello! Hello! Welcome back to another episode of Diagnosing a Killer, the regular
regular episode. My name is Kenna. I'm Koelle.
How's everyone doing today? I'm alright. It's going okay, right? I'm hella anxious again.
Are you? All the time. 100% of the time. Well, I just killed a giant fucking roach
before I sat down. Fucking disgusting. And it was twitchy. It was so twitchy. I was
equestrated to our closet. Yeah, I stepped on it, but it's back leg. It was like a dog
with our wet. It like shook its leg. I picked it up with a hairbrush. Put it in the toilet.
It was a very traumatic moment. It was disgusting. And then Kulaw was like,
oh, I'm so glad I was just in that bathroom with a cockroach. I was like, oh no, it came from the
closet that we're fucking recording in right now. Great. So that is our day. I think the worst
part is when you found the head. Yeah, the head was pretty gross. I was like, stop looking at me.
Let me do this. Why won't you die? I don't know if anyone else is familiar with the,
we call them roaches, but technically they're water bugs here in Texas. They're called palmettos,
and they look like a giant roach, and they fly. And some people have roaches that don't fly.
Ours roaches fucking fly. Yeah, they're terrifying. I would be fine with like a hissing cockroach.
I would hold one of those. Those things gross. Yeah, I think it's their underbellies that are
creepy too, but at least they're not unpredictable. Just got the full use silently. Give me the huge
energies. So disgusting. Anyway, welcome back to another episode. This one's gonna be really fucking
awesome. A lot of people, I'm sure you know when you clicked on the title of the episode,
what we're gonna be talking about. But as always, Koel does not know what we're gonna be talking about.
And of course on her episodes, I don't know. I didn't want to say as always, you don't know.
So you broke the case. But yeah, we'll get into that in just a sec. Do it on the fly. Yeah,
exactly. We just make up something in our minds and we think that it's accurate.
No, we actually spent a lot of time doing research because we love you guys,
and we want you to have the best content. I'm making pho today, and I tell you what,
boiling bones isn't what it used to be after Dahmer. Oh god. That's all I thought about.
That's so gross. Oh, I could totally pour this meat down the fucking sink, and it was gross.
And I had to think about that. Thanks Dahmer. Do you want to talk about our handles before we get
into the episode? Sure. You can check us out at diagnosingthekiller.com. There you will find links
to merch and resources and some other cool awesome thingies. Click our link to get a discount on
our tickets to come see us at the True Crime and Paranormal Podcast Festival in August,
late August. I'm so excited to be right around the corner. I'm so excited too,
and we just made plans to see Jennifer and Jonathan. I'm really excited about that. Jennifer told me
that she messaged Jonathan and she goes, yeah, I've been shouted out on the podcast like three
times where the hell have you been? I'm busy. You can see Hangout with Lens and Mer. Mer doth is
moving. Oh, you're right. Oh my gosh, we're gonna have a great time. It's gonna be a great weekend,
for sure. And we can see all of our Patreon members. Yeah, absolutely. And I think we made the
decision yesterday that the three-day weekend is now gonna be turned into a five-day weekend for us.
So it just makes sense. The schedule is gonna have to work that way. It really is. Just to be
available at every minute for you guys to see you guys at our booth. Exactly. And we definitely
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Really excited. And then of course, there's a bunch of other great podcasts that are going as well.
For sure. I'm really excited to mingle with the other podcasts to be so fun. Oh my gosh,
I want to meet Texas Wine and True Crime. I like that. So yes, you can absolutely use our coupon
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Subscribe to our Patreon. Yes. There you get, let's see, $5.00. Gives you ad-free episodes.
And tier two and three, it gets you that bonus episode every month on the 29th. And I think it's
about time for us to release who we're doing for the bonus episode because they will be coming out
the Saturday after you hear this, but I'll wait till the end of the episode to announce who I'm
doing. Ooh, I can't wait to hear. Let's just say J. Will's going to be really excited.
That's a hint. I'll give you some time to think about that while we get into this case. So as you
know, if you've clicked on the episode, you know who we're talking about, but well, it's going to
come as a surprise. Okay. So today we are going to be talking about Nicholas Gotajon.
Nicholas Gotajon, how do I know this? Is Nicholas Gotajon...
Uh, Nicholas Gotajon... Is this Gypsy Rose? Content warning. No, is it Gypsy Rose? Yes.
I was hoping you wouldn't catch on until I got to it. I'm so excited. I've wanted you to do this
for so long. It's good. Oh, it's not good at all, but it's a lot. I'm so excited. Okay. Content
warning. This episode contains depictions of graphic child abuse, extreme deception, and sexual
assault. If this episode is not for you, we recommend you finding another episode. Remember,
your mental health is very important to us and we love you. Love you. Bye. So yes, you
fucking caught on like you always do. This is the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Dee Dee Blanchard.
However, the killer in the story is Nicholas Gotajon. So we're going to talk about him first.
Yeah. So Nicholas, Nick Gotajon was born on May 20th, 1989 in Big Bend, Wisconsin, to Stephanie
Goldhammer. I actually could not find the name of his biological father and as far as I can tell,
he didn't have any siblings. There's really not like a lot of info about his childhood.
Just single mom. Yeah. So according to Nick, his parents split up around the time that he was three
or four and he would state about this time, quote, from that time forward, I was different from
everyone else, end quote. There's really not again, not much known about his childhood, mostly
because he pretty much refuses to talk about anybody in his family when he's interviewed.
Interesting. Is it just, do you think just out of the protection for them or?
I don't know if it's out of protection or out of like selfishness, honestly. Like I don't think he,
I think my personal opinion is that he is trying to play this innocent role. So he's like, I'm not
gonna, you know, talk about that because that's not important because I deserve to be out or whatever.
Yeah. I don't know. You can tell me at the end what you think. Okay. So while Nick was still
growing up, his mother, Stephanie, would meet and marry a man by the name of Robert Bobby Gotajon,
and Nick would ultimately take his last name. While Nick was still in grade school, he would be
diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a diagnosis we now know as being on the autism spectrum.
He would state about this diagnosis, quote, from the very first day when I was in kindergarten,
all the way to 12th grade, every single one of those days I was in special education. The weird
thing though, is that even though I was in special education throughout that entire time,
I was considered one of the smarter kids in the classroom that I was in, just because of my high
functioning autism, Asperger syndrome, end quote. Nick would go on to say that his childhood was
very different from other kids his age, stating, quote, I was actually basically alone, end quote.
So he felt really isolated. Yeah. And I can imagine so, you know, he is very high functioning on
the spectrum. So he's probably in a classroom with kiddos that aren't as high functioning. So he
probably feels isolated there. But he also feels isolated from other classmates of his that aren't
in special education classes. Right. Yeah. And that's, oh, they child, you know. Yeah. And I really
appreciate nowadays that every child has a unique education plan. Oh, yeah. You know, that's at
least where we're at, where our district's at. Yeah, absolutely. And I would hope it would be that
way across the board. Well, and it should, because everybody learns differently. Yeah. And I actually
have a really good quote from one of my co-workers. She said, if they can't learn the way you teach,
you need to teach the way they learn. Yeah. I was like, I really like that. So Bobby, again, Nick's
adopted father would say about him during this time, quote, it was hard for him to make friends.
He was always by himself, pretty much grew up by himself. He had friends, not many, one or two,
but mainly family, we're his friends, and quote, like his family is his friends. Yeah. Oh, it's
really sweet. Nick would recall being really into computers as a kid stating, quote, I tried to get
into computer programming, but they weren't too happy with how long I was taking to grasp it all.
Ever since then, I really wasn't able to pursue any other paths of any types of careers, end quote.
Due to him being let down once again, Nick became increasingly isolated in his childhood.
He would comment, quote, I kept to myself. The reason I kept to myself is because I didn't
really have the social skills due to my mental disability, end quote. That's got to be like so
frustrating, you know, you want to be, you know, you have all of these wants and goals and all this
other stuff, and you see people that are neurotypical achieving these kinds of goals. And, you know, it
might just not be his thing, but he probably feels like the only thing that's holding him back is
that, you know. And it really does seem that way, like in interviews and stuff. But he's so frustrated.
So Nick would continue to try to put himself out there, but in the wrong ways, unfortunately,
when he was 23 years old in 2013, he would actually be arrested when he was allegedly
caught masturbating while watching porn inside of a McDonald's. Okay, well that escalates.
Okay, yeah. That doesn't seem like something that's specific to neurodivergent people. Oh,
no, I definitely don't think that's the case here. But I think he, again, social skills might be a
little different in his brain. He might not really think that that's as big of an issue as it is.
Or maybe he doesn't realize how inappropriate that is. Yeah, it's pretty inappropriate, though.
I don't know. I just feel like that's something that you don't just do. Yeah, exactly. So he was
arrested for this, of course, and while the police were searching him, they actually located a large
folding knife in his pocket. So he would subsequently be charged with carrying a concealed weapon
and disorderly conduct. Oh, he only got disorderly? Yeah. Not a decent exposure? So he wouldn't serve
any time for this as far as I know. How old was he? I'm sorry. Who's 23 at this time? Oh, so he's
an adult. Yeah, not a lot about his childhood. So it kind of jumps quickly to adulthood. I mean,
he could have been a registered offender. Yeah, he definitely could have. So because of the isolation,
Nick was continuing to experience, he decided that he was now going to attempt to connect with new
people online via the internet. Bobby would mention about Nick's new habits, quote, Nick,
he was lonely. He loved the internet because he was able to connect with people. He could be himself
on the internet. And quote, Dr. Mark Feldman, a psychiatrist who would later assist in a documentary
about this story, stated that the internet quote, gives a lot of people, not just Nick and not just
people with autism or other mental health issues, an opportunity to expand and play with who they are.
And quote. So around the age of 25, Nick would not only pursue the internet to find friends to
talk to, but he was also subconsciously looking for romantic connection as well. Because up until
now he has not experienced that. Yeah. And I'm sure he's seeing people in his life experiencing that.
Right, yeah. A connection, intimate connections, right? Yes. So because of this, he would join a
Christian dating site. He was shocked when he ended up meeting somebody on this site that seemed to be
the perfect fit for him. The two ended up hitting it off right away and began sharing secrets of
their feelings with each other very quickly. This person that Nick had become close to very fast
was none other than Gypsy Rose Blanchard. We already know that because, well, it ruined it.
It ruined it for everyone. I was expecting that to be like a big dot dot dot moment,
but it didn't really work like that. Anyway, so Nick would say that he was a quote recluse who
was going nowhere before he met Gypsy. Awww. Going nowhere. Yeah, isn't that really sad?
So that's like the pretty much most I could find about Nick's childhood and going into adulthood
up until meeting Gypsy. Now we're going to switch around and talk about Gypsy a little bit as well.
So Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born on July 27th, 1991, to parents Claudine, Pert, and Rod Blanchard.
Claudine was just 17 when Gypsy was born, and Rod was 24 at the time of her birth.
In 1991. Let's just remember that. Okay, 91. Yes, yeah. So the two decided to name their daughter
Gypsy because Claudine really liked the name and Rose because Rod was a big fan of guns and roses.
Oh, that's kind of cute. I like that. The couple would ultimately separate shortly before Gypsy
was born when Rod realized he quote, got married for the wrong reasons. Was it because she was
pregnant? I think so, yeah. Yeah. Once Gypsy was out in the world, Claudine begged for Rod to come
back and be with them, but he would refuse, and Claudine would subsequently take newborn Gypsy to
live with her family in Louisiana. Although Rod did not want to be with Claudine, he did want to be
a part of his daughter's life, and he would be around for the first few months. When Gypsy was
just three months old, Claudine became convinced that Gypsy had sleep apnea and almost immediately
began taking her to the hospital and would spend multiple nights there so doctors could run tests
while Gypsy slept. She like afraid of SIDS or something, you think? Like sudden death syndrome?
I don't know. I don't know if maybe there was like one night where Gypsy like might have like coughed
in her sleep or she's like, oh shit, you know what I mean? Alert. Oh gosh. So they actually had her
stay in the hospital for several days while hooked up to a sleeping monitor, but the result would
conclude that little Gypsy did not have sleep apnea or any signs of other sleep disorders at all.
And she was like three months? Three months old. Okay, so already it's like, yeah, high alert mom.
Claudine was still convinced that something was seriously wrong with little Gypsy and would quickly
become convinced that she had an unspecified chromosomal disorder. Like it's very specific.
But it's not. Well, it's unspecified. Okay, well, chromosomal disorder is-
She had a general one. Yeah, that's true. So when Gypsy was still very young, Claudine had become
convinced that Gypsy had muscular dystrophy as well and she would have Gypsy use a walker
in order to alleviate her pain. Okay. So that was like, I want to say like three or four,
probably. Yeah, because I was gonna say she has to be of walking age. Yeah. Just typically,
you know, one or two. And as a child, you're not really gonna like question your mom when they
tell you to use something. Yeah. But then she said to alleviate her pain. Do you think that
Gypsy ever complained? I mean, not that that would be documented, but- No, I don't personally.
Okay. When Gypsy was seven or eight, she was riding on the back of her grandpa's motorcycle
when the two were involved in a very minor accident. In this accident, Gypsy would get a
superficial wound on her knee. Okay. Due to this injury, though, Claudine would claim that doctors
issued Gypsy a wheelchair that she would be required to use. After a minor motorcycle accident.
So all she had was a superficial wound on her knee, but Claudine was pretty much trying to say
like she got injured worse than that. And like doctors gave her this wheelchair, so she has to
use it. And like everyone else was like, what? It was like a fendier bender. Yeah. Or some people
didn't. She probably, oh, she's in a wheelchair because she was in a motorcycle accident. Yeah,
that's true. That's all she has to say. So at this point, Gypsy and the rest of her family are all
under the impression that she is now seriously ill and unable to walk. Okay. So again, muscular
dystrophy, unspecified chromosomal disorder and wheelchair now. And sleep apnea, maybe. No, well,
that's not been, you know, well, sometimes some type of a sleeping issue. Claudine would frequently
take Gypsy to the Special Olympics to compete. And in 2001, when Gypsy was 10, she was entered once
again. Okay. And she's still a wheelchair. Okay. So she could be part of the Special Olympics. Okay.
But you know, that's how do I choose my words very carefully here? Yeah.
She's, I don't know if any of our listeners have heard the story or not, but we're assuming that
this is unnecessary. Yes. And so she's a, what we can kind of agree, you and I at least, in this
moment, that she is a neurotypical able-bodied individual who is competing in the Special
Olympics. Yes. But as far as she knows, because she's been told by her mother, yes, Gypsy,
she is not able to walk. She's been told by Claudine her whole life that she has to be reliant on
this wheelchair. I don't know what Claudine has told everyone else, the reasoning why Gypsy is
still in the wheelchair even following the motorcycle accident. Right. However, muscular
dystrophy, she might be trying to use that. Yeah. And especially if Gypsy is getting used to being
in a wheelchair and using a walker, she likely isn't developing a lot of muscle in her legs.
Yes. And yeah, could also appear like she has some type of a muscle issue. Yeah. And just to be
like very clear, none of these have been diagnosed. None of these things that Claudine has claiming
that Gypsy has has been diagnosed. Whoa. So again, what the judges didn't know was that Gypsy was
allegedly able-bodied, like we would think, but she was entered as being eight years old,
even though she was 10. And then the Special Olympics? Yes. So, okay. Let me just make it
clear. 2001, Gypsy was 10, Claudine entered her in the Special Olympics, but put her age down as eight.
Okay. Gypsy would not argue with this point because she actually believed that she was eight years
old because her mother had told her differently when she was young enough to not realize a birth date.
Right. You know. So she thinks she's eight when she's really 10. And this is a theme that we'll
see. That's why I said to remember the birth date of 91. You have to be, yeah, you have to be confusing
the crap out of your kid because, I mean, my kid was seven and since he was like four, he would say,
I can't wait to be X. Yeah. Right. Like I can't wait to be five. I can't. And then once he was five,
I can't wait to be six. He kept track of all that on his own. So what's interesting is that she would
really have to at one point say, oh, you're not going to be five next year. You're going to be four.
Yeah. And then really hammering that home. Or just gaslight the fuck out of her and be like,
I don't know why you thought you were turning 10 or why you thought you were 10. You're eight.
Like I don't know who told you that you were 10, but you're eight. And that takes like you say that
enough to a child though. They're going to believe you because they don't have the,
they don't have another the brain development. Yeah, to do that.
Oh, that's nice. I know it's awful. So Gypsy would also be named the honorary queen of the crew of
Mid City, a parade held during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It's cute. It is thought that Claudine
took Gypsy out of school due to her quote illnesses around second grade, although some sources state
that it may have been kindergarten. But even though either way, she had been homeschooled pretty much
her entire life. Yeah, she ate or she 10. I mean, that's the difference. Sorry. So Claudine would
do her version of homeschooling Gypsy from then on. And this was later believed to be a way for
Claudine to further isolate Gypsy from anyone outside. Because she's getting older, right? She
can tell people at school. Gypsy would actually later claim that the only reason she even learned
to read at all was by reading the Harry Potter novels. So at this point, Gypsy's father Rod had
remarried and Claudine would move her and Gypsy and herself in her and Gypsy and herself in with
Claudine's father and stepmother. All three of them. She would move herself and Gypsy in
with Claudine's father and stepmother. Okay. Shortly after they moved in, Claudine's stepmother
became increasingly ill. What? It was later thought that while they were living there, Claudine was
actually putting a weed killer into her stepmother's food, which was contributing to her illness.
My jaw is on the floor just now. I haven't heard this. Yeah. During this time as well, Claudine
would actually be arrested several times for minor offenses, including like writing bad checks,
like really small amounts of like forgery. Yeah, it's like a felony.
Whatever. That's the minor things. Just the minor things, you know, a felony here,
felony there, felony there. Just felonies all the way. So when her father and stepmother began
to frequently confront her about Gypsy's health, being Claudine, and now the stepmother's dwindling
health, Claudine took Gypsy and the two of them moved to the New Orleans suburb of Slido. Okay.
So she's like, as soon as someone questions me on my shit, I'm out. I'm out. Just like, not with Rod,
but just like she did with, I guess with the doctors, like even before, like telling her,
oh, I'm not giving you a diagnosis. Maybe the Special Olympics, they moved. Yeah. They moved
in with her father and stepmother. And then as soon as they got a little inkling of something,
she's like, nope, I'm out. Didn't she kind of keep Gypsy from Rod though after? Oh, yeah.
And I'll get into that. She was, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, because he was like, no, like, why are you
trying to say that she has all this stuff and it's not diagnosed? Yeah. Because he obviously has
access to her medical records. So shortly after the two being Gypsy and Claudine moved away,
Claudine's stepmother's health just happened to return to normal. She's totally fine. So yeah,
like it was clearly something that she was doing. That is definitely something I did not know.
Really? Oh, well, there you go. I taught you something. You did. And I feel like I know this
case. In Slido, Claudine and Gypsy would live in public housing, living off of the child support
Rod had been giving them and medical assistance from Gypsy's supposed medical conditions. So she's
like claiming disability for Gypsy. I might have misspoken that she hadn't been diagnosed with anything,
but I think up until this point she hadn't. And she will unfortunately get diagnosed with certain
things that aren't accurate. Well, she's forging checks. She can forge medical records. Very true.
If she's going to the pediatrician's office, she's getting a paper trail somewhere and she can totally
white out that shit and make copies. That's very true. Now, during this time, Claudine and Gypsy would
visit many different specialists, mostly at Tulane Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of
New Orleans. Claudine was not only claiming Gypsy's current illnesses at these visits, but now that
Gypsy was suffering from hearing and vision problems as well. And she's about how old? Because we
probably don't know. I mean, she's probably like 12, 13. Yeah, 12 or 13. Okay. So doctors would perform
a muscle biopsy, which determined that Gypsy did not have muscular dystrophy like Claudine insisted.
Also like out. They did a muscle biopsy? Yeah. Like that's so painful for no reason. That's awful.
Oh my gosh. Why would you put your child? I get that it's there's likely a mental disorder to be
talked about here. But why would you put your child through that? So again, I just want to be clear.
They said due to the biopsy, she did not have muscular dystrophy. Yeah. Although Claudine was
not able to secure treatment for this disorder, she was able to get Gypsy diagnosed with multiple
other illnesses that she had claimed that she had. She claimed to doctors that Gypsy was having
seizures every few months and was able to get a prescription for anti-seizure medication for Gypsy.
Just because she said my daughter's having seizures every single month. I mean, what are the
doctors going to do? Like, no, she's not like, let's wait around for her to have a seizure in
order to know. Yeah. Yeah. That's because I mean, they probably don't think that a mom is going to
bring in their child and say that without it being true. Yeah, exactly. Over the next few years,
Gypsy would undergo several surgeries due to medical complications that Claudine would tell
doctors about. And it got so far that Gypsy would actually get a feeding tube inserted as well.
Into her stomach? Yes. So Claudine was essentially like, she can't eat solid food. She needs a
feeding tube. Like, she can't keep it down. Like, everything I give her, she can't even swallow it.
That's torture. That's so torture. That's torture, that you're torturing your child. Yeah,
it's very awful. This is going to make me mad. I forget about this case. This is going to make
me mad. In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area. And as a result,
Claudine and Gypsy were forced to move out of their destroyed apartment and relocate to another city
with supplies set up for individuals with extra needs. When they arrived, Claudine claimed that
all of Gypsy's medical records, including her birth certificate, had been destroyed in the flooding
from the storm. How convenient. How convenient. A doctor from Missouri had suggested that this
time that the two relocate there, and next month they were both airlifted, so September of 2005.
That reminds me of that documentary, The Woman Who Wasn't There, that 9-11 lady. Oh, yeah. Oh,
my gosh. She claimed that she lost her husband in 9-11 and that she was there. She was one of the
survivors. Such a terrible story. Yeah, and it turned out not to be true at all, but that's the
same thing with the- Go ahead. Sorry. I got excited. You got excited. With the Katrina thing, how
convenient, right? Because who's going to question that? Of course. You used a natural disaster.
Yeah. It's like, no, of course. Well, that makes sense. This poor woman with a disabled daughter.
And they were there. And they were there. No, I was going to say the
documentary that you're talking about, we should do that as a mental breakdown. That would be
really interesting. That would be interesting. So when they first arrived in Missouri, based on
the orders of that doctor, Didi Blanchard and Gypsy would live in the southwestern city of Aurora.
Yep, you heard me right. Upon this move, Claudine would actually change her name
and go by what most people refer to her as today. Didi. Didi. She also added an E to the end of
their last name, so it's like Blanchardy. It's like Blanchard. Yeah, with an E. Blanchard-y.
Yeah, she did it to both of their last names. So on every new paperwork, she's adding an E
to their last names and her name is now Didi. Instead of legally changing her name, nobody would
give a shit. Nobody would give a shit. So we are going to be referring to Claudine thus far,
and we're going to now refer to her as Didi for the rest of the story.
So while living here in Missouri, Gypsy would be honored by the Ole Foundation, which advocated
for the rights of feeding two recipients. She would be awarded their Child of the Year award in
2007. Gypsy was? Gypsy. The attention that was growing due to Gypsy's medical problems was something
that Didi really seemed to revel in, and around this time, she would actually begin reaching out to
media outlets and other organizations that would be willing to help them. Oh my gosh, you know who
this reminds me of? Not Octamom, because I don't think that Octamom sought out media. I mean,
after a while, I think she did. But Kate, do you remember Kate and John? Or John and Kate plus 8?
Whatever. God, they were like that, right? I think so. They're just like so media obsessed.
Yeah. They're like, listen to us, pay attention to us, give us free stuff. Even though like our,
yeah, give us free stuff, people. So again, reaching out to media, the story of a single mother
and her extremely ill child who were displaced due to Hurricane Katrina was a huge story. Yeah.
That was all over the news, and multiple people began reaching out to assist the two. Yeah.
The following year, in 2008, Habitat for Humanity would build the two a small home that included
a wheelchair ramp and a hot tub. How does she feel? I'm sure she was like hot tub for physical
therapy. How do you let people do that for you? And you're lying. She's a liar. She's a, you know,
like a liar. I'm pretty sure everyone's figured it out by now that Didi is a liar. Yeah. Okay. That's
not a secret anymore. Well, she again, she's ill. She's mentally ill. She is mentally ill. She is a
disorder. But the fact that it continues, and she's raised her daughter to be this way, and Gypsy is
brainwashed. Absolutely. It's just absolutely brainwashed. It's so awful. So on top of all the
free stuff that they were getting, the two would also be offered free flights to and from a hospital
in Kansas City, free trips to Walt Disney World, and even free backstage passes to see Miranda
Lambert concerts via the Make-A-Wish Foundation. By Make-A-Wish? This is extreme. This is extreme.
Miranda Lambert was actually noted as sending nearly $6,000 to Didi in order to further help
with Gypsy's medical bills. Miranda, if you're listening, you're a kind lady. You're a kind
lady, girl. I'm sure you're pissed. Gosh, that's incredible. So yeah. And you're just a kid. I'm
sorry. I don't mean to interrupt you. You're just a kid, and you are assuming that this is happening
because you're good people. And you're sick. And you're sick. Your mom's telling you that you're
sick, and you're like, oh my gosh, all these people are being so nice, and they're helping me because
I'm sick. There's no way she thinks that she's getting the attention because her mom's a good
person, and she's a good person. She's like, they're helping me because I need help. Because I need
being taught. And no one else is the wiser. It's only Didi that knows the truth. 100% of the time,
being given things all the time. And she had to have been keeping it up at home as well,
like when it was just the two of them, because that could very easily have changed. Older Gypsy
gets, the more she'd be able to recognize things. Recognize what's normal and what's not. Exactly.
So on top of all of this, Rod was also continuing to make his child support payments,
which were totaling around $1,200 at this time. $1,200 a month. A month? Okay. And I looked it up,
it's about the same as, I mean, it's like $1,400 today. So that was really that long ago.
Rod would also frequently send Gypsy gifts and call her on her birthdays. On July 27, 2009,
Rod called Didi asking to speak with Gypsy and wish her a happy birthday. Although she was
turning 18 that day, Didi asked Rod not to mention Gypsy's real age, as Gypsy believed that she was
just 14 at this time. What? She literally was like, hey, you can say happy birthday to Gypsy,
but don't you fucking say that she's 18 because she thinks she's 14. And don't say that to her.
Don't say that she's 18. You're gonna hurt her feelings. Literally.
Has she not, I mean, the obvious question, has she not had a menstrual cycle?
I don't know actually. I never read anything about that. Because in the show, I think that they
like hinted that she had started, I can't remember because I only saw it once, but that they had
hinted that she did start some type of a cycle or that because of the drugs Didi was feeding her,
maybe that was the reason it was suppressed. Got it. Yeah, I'm not exactly sure. Honestly,
with like being in a wheelchair and stuff, Didi probably handled like most of what was going on
down there because she thinks she can't walk. Like she probably is not even letting her like
maybe do anything, you know, like that. I'm not sure. You can definitely take medications that
suppress that. I mean, birth control, you know, there are certain types of birth control.
Then again, she would have to be taking her presumed 14 year old daughter to go get this.
Yeah, that's true. To get that done. I'm not exactly sure. I really didn't read anything
about that. But I'm sure that Didi has some sort of way to explain it away. Yeah, exactly.
So again, she asked Rod not to mention that Gypsy was actually 18. So Rod and his second wife,
now married, began to be worried that Gypsy was being treated like poorly at home with Didi.
And they would actually often try to make plans to come visit.
Did you hear that? Yeah. This is like sternum. This is that weird? That was loud that time.
I thought that was your back. No, I think anybody that knows me personally knows that I can I can
pop my sternum every once in a while. I do it. I do it. I do it. I do it on accident. Oh, really?
All the time. Yeah. Yeah. So again, Rod and his now new wife have been trying to make plans to
come visit. But every time they were getting close to the visit date, Didi would just change their
plans last minute or tell them that, oh, something just came up. Can't do it today.
Oh, can't do it today. Medical appointment. Sorry. So he has no custody agreement, I'm assuming with
her. I don't think so because she essentially is like keeping Gypsy from him. Yeah. And I guarantee
you she's telling Gypsy like your dad's piece of shit. You know what I mean? And he's like,
I just want to see my fucking daughter. He never loved you. Yeah. So there are a variety of different
things that she would come up with to avoid Rod and his wife coming to visit. But on the other side
of things, Didi would frequently tell neighbors that Gypsy's father was an abusive drug addict and
alcoholic who had never been able to come to terms with his daughter's health conditions
and in turn was not sending them any money to assist. Even though he was sending her $1,200.
Oh yeah. She's like, he's a drug addict. He's an arse assist. He can't accept that his daughter's
very ill and he's not giving me fucking money because he doesn't believe it. Oh, she guaranteed
that Gypsy would never run to him for anything. Absolutely. That's her entire goal. That's so
fucked up. Like, imagine the hatred that like after the fact, like finding out that like your dad's
actually a fucking nice dude. A nice guy that really wanted to spend more time with you. Yeah.
So neighbors at this time didn't know any better than to believe the things that Didi was telling
them, obviously. In fact, when they met young Gypsies, she was missing teeth, talking in a very
high childlike voice, wearing big rimmed glasses and all around seemed like an underdeveloped
kid. She seemed much younger than she actually was. And of course the teeth thing is malnourishment
and, you know, nutrition, lack of hygiene. I had heard that even on that mommy dearest
documentary that Didi had insisted some of her teeth be pulled. Oh my gosh. Even though they
were semi healthy teeth. On top of all of these things, the appearance of Gypsy, when the two
would leave the house, Didi would bring along an oxygen tank and feeding tube for Gypsy. So
neighbors didn't think anything was amiss when they heard Didi's story about her medical conditions.
Yeah. They're like, oh, she's very clearly ill, you know. Talk about Gypsy, sorry.
On top of all the conditions that she had, Didi was known to have told Gypsy that all the
medications she was on were going to cause her hair to fall out. So she said it was best to just
go ahead and shave it off before it fell out. She's not, she doesn't have chemo, she's not taking
chemo pills. Well, she eventually tells her that she has cancer as well. She told her that she had
cancer. She told her what she had leukemia or something. They think so, yeah. So she's like,
your hair's gonna fall out, like we might as well just shave it. So she would always like have a hat
on because she didn't have any hair. I'm sorry, but like that does something, especially to,
you know, not to discredit anybody's experience. But, you know, I don't know,
I guess just like being femme, your identity can is like through your hair sometimes.
Absolutely. And that's gotta be really hard to be a young woman and not again, not to discredit
anybody else, anybody else's gender experience or anything like that. But just for in this specific
case, she's a developing young woman and now she can't even feel pretty. Yeah. And honestly,
like how fucked up is it that like, you know, Dee Dee, some people don't have a fucking choice in
their hair falling out and you're literally making your daughter do that because you're lying to her,
like fuck you. Yeah. In this moment, fuck you. It's true. Like that makes me so mad.
Dee Dee would actually tell neighbors and friends, however, that Gypsy was undergoing chemo and that's
why she had suffered her hair loss. So she told the neighbors and friends that I'm sure that she
told Gypsy as well. That's awful. Oh, I know. This is so infuriating. As Gypsy was getting older,
Dee Dee would increase the ways that she would control her daughter. While in public, Dee Dee
would always hold Gypsy's hand. And anytime somebody would suggest that Gypsy was not as sick as she
seemed, or that she seemed older than they were saying, Dee Dee would squeeze Gypsy's hand tightly
to signal her not to talk. She's like, I got this. Don't say anything. Although she seemed very
sweet to neighbors and strangers, while the two were alone, Dee Dee was known as hitting Gypsy
with an open hand and a coat hanger. Inside the home? Mm-hmm. Like when they were alone. Oh my god.
Dee Dee would continue to give Gypsy certain medications that she did not need and lie about
specific illnesses that she did not have. She's probably wreaking havoc on this girl's body and
like, yeah, not just keeping her sick, like as in constantly coaching her mentally. Mm-hmm. But
a lot of those medications, they'll fuck up your kidneys, your liver. Oh yeah, absolutely. That's
just, and she's taking them for no fucking reason. Like, not, and she's probably losing a lot of weight
because her body is not having to work to, to, to keep any of that nutrients, right? Because she's
being fed through a tube. And she's in a wheelchair, so she's not getting any, any sort of exercise or
any of that. Ugh, I know. And she does, like in the photo, she looks gaunt and she looks pale.
She doesn't look like a healthy color. So get this, this is fucked up. Before most of their
frequent doctors visits, Dee Dee would put a topical anesthetic on Gypsy's gums in order to
make her drool while they were at the doctors. Due to this extreme drooling, doctors would inject
Botox into Gypsy's saliva glands and then eventually remove them all together to control it.
What? They removed her salivary glands because they thought that she had an intense drooling problem
because Dee Dee numbed her fucking mouth before they went to the doctor. Isn't that so fucked up?
This is torture. This is literal torture. You can, no wonder her, okay, at this point,
and I'm not trying to be heard, no wonder her teeth were so bad because she can't,
she doesn't have any fucking saliva anymore. Yeah, yeah. She doesn't need us to eat because
she has a feeding tube. It's fucking nauseating. Like, it's so gross. How is this, I understand
that she is apparently a master of manipulation, but I don't understand how that's...
I guess the doctors are just doing what they think is right. They're doing what they think is
right and Gypsy's not saying that that's not happening and clearly she's old enough at this
point to tell doctors like, hey, like that's not happening and she won't because she's brainwashed.
So again, just being able, not being able to produce saliva obviously was harming Gypsy's
mouth as well as the anti-seizure meds and due to these things combined, the few teeth that she
had left actually fell out as well. So she pretty much had her teeth replaced by a bridge at this
point because she didn't like have any teeth left. I know it like breaks my fucking heart.
This is so sad. Around this time as well, tubes were implanted into Gypsy's ears to control her,
quote, many ear infections. Like, she's not using her daughter as like a fucking cadaver.
She doesn't see her as a person. She sees her as an object. She's like literally uses Gypsy as an
object to feed her own addiction to attention. Yeah, absolutely. And that's so gross. If you
want to just call it, call it like it is. It's just munchausen by proxy. Yeah, absolutely.
So we were just kind of talking about like how people and doctors are just performing all these
procedures and not really questioning anything. Yeah. So some were suspicious but didn't have
enough suspicions to report anything until a pediatric neurologist saw Gypsy Rose in Springfield.
Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein was seeing Gypsy when he became intrigued about her muscular dystrophy
diagnosis. He took it upon himself to order additional MRI tests and a blood test, and these
concluded with no abnormalities. Again, she doesn't really have the diagnosis, but Didi is
claiming that she does and her medical records were lost. Remember, lost. Upon a follow up visit
with Didi and Gypsy, after seeing Gypsy hold her own weight while standing up, Dr. Flasterstein said
to Didi, quote, I don't see any reason why she doesn't walk, end quote. I bet Didi loved that.
I bet she was just over the moon. Yeah. Her child is a, is a miracle child who has just been cured.
Yeah, absolutely. Immediately. Didi began to explain that Gypsy had gotten the diagnosis back
in New Orleans and that she was sure that Gypsy had the disease. Still having his suspicions.
She's like, bye, bad. Yeah, right. I assumed. Dr. Flasterstein would contact Gypsy's past doctors
in Louisiana who told him that Gypsy's original biopsy also had come back negative. No medical
records. So funny. Dr. Flasterstein was also very alarmed by the news that Gypsy did not have this
diagnosis and also shocked to find out that Didi had lied about all of Gypsy's medical records
being destroyed at the flood. Because yeah, maybe all her medical records were destroyed. That doesn't
mean the doctors don't have medical records. Yeah, I was going to say, uh, yeah, they had computers.
They're legally required to keep them for 10 years, even if you're not a patient anymore.
So it's weird. So it was at this point that Didi became suspected of suffering from Munchausen
syndrome by proxy. So if you've not heard our mental breakdown on this topic, Munchausen
symptom by proxy or now known as fictitious disorder, it's a disorder in which a caretaker
intentionally makes their patient sick in order to maintain sympathy from others, financial gain,
or the idea that they are needed to keep that person safe. This disorder has been classified
as a horrific form of abuse and mostly happens with caretakers of children, the elderly, or people
with extra needs. Unfortunately for Dr. Flasterstein and Gypsy, Didi was somehow able to get a hold of
the notes from the doctor and saw this suspicion written down in Gypsy's file. So I guess he like
left the room or something and she kind of looked over or looked or whatever and saw like
possible Munchausen fictitious disorder. Classic Didi, of course. So she and Gypsy would leave the
doctor's office and never return. She's just out in the ether. The doctor has no idea where she
fucking lives, which is probably totally untrue, but at the same time if there's no, you know,
probable cause, I guess, to go attract them down then. Yeah. So get this, Dr. Flasterstein actually
would not follow up with his reports of his suspicions of Didi. He would later state that the
other employees at his work encouraged him to treat the two with quote, golden gloves, which as
far as I can tell means like treat them like royalty and like be very careful. I'm not sure if they
knew like Didi and Gypsy from the media or if she had like made a big deal about something in the
past and they thought it was like more trouble than it was worth to like kind of question her.
I wonder if it's not like if you're gonna, if you're gonna call them out, you better outproof
because that's a very severe accusation. Yeah, no, absolutely. And I really don't know like
exactly why the people like the employees told him that, but clearly something had happened in the
past to make them say like, listen, you got to be really careful like around like either the
situation itself or the people like Didi and Gypsy, especially Didi. And that's a good point that you
made, made because Dr. Flasterstein also stated that he didn't even think he would be believed by
authorities anyway, because they didn't really have a lot of medical records available. Yeah.
Kind of proved his point. It's just all like hearsay essentially. In 2009, however, police
did receive an anonymous call stating that Didi was using different names and birth dates for
herself and her daughter. Sorry, she was trying to make herself younger too. Yeah, exactly. She
can do it. I can do it. Yeah. This caller also suggested to police that Gypsy was in much better
health than she seemed on the outside. Due to this anonymous call, police would visit the Blanchard
home to do a wellness check. When questioned by police about the fake names and birth dates used
by Didi, she explained to police that she was just trying to make sure that her abusive alcoholic
ex-husband, Rod, could not find them. And she was changing their names to avoid him showing up.
Okay, sounds reasonable. It's a fucking annoying, like clever idea to like use that because she's
already told all the neighbors that. So you might as well like just say that to police. Why don't
you just legally change it though? Like why are you like falsifying? So police would actually
not follow up with Rod about the situation. They were like, hey, are you an alcoholic? Yeah.
They would close the case stating that Gypsy was quote, genuinely mentally disabled. End quote.
Like they were like, oh, it must be true. Like the ex-husband must be abusive and she must be
mentally disabled. Check it out. Yeah. Instead of having an actual doctor's opinion. But then again,
I'm not saying that they did right or wrong. I'm just saying, imagine their like,
cautiousness and they're like, oh shit, like what if we follow up with the husband and all this is
true and then he finds out because we're from a police, you know what I mean? Like it's just a
hard situation. So Didi was also known to have forged a new birth certificate for Gypsy because
remember the other ones lost. This actually showed her birth year to be 1995 rather than 1991.
Okay, so she's still younger than. Yeah. At one point during a doctor's visit, Gypsy caught a
glimpse of her paperwork that was holding her original birth certificate stating 1991 as her
birth year. I guess it was like a copy. She would bring this up to Didi who would brush it off as
a misprint. That was just a misprint. Oh, she's a typo. Yeah. On my fucking birth certificate.
It's like typo. Yeah, it's like 2020, you know, like COVID, like that whole year didn't exist.
Yeah. 1991 didn't exist. Pretty much happening. Yeah, we went straight from 1990 to 1992. So.
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Starting in 2001, Didi would take Gypsy to science fiction and fantasy conventions where
Gypsy was able to dress up and mingle with people with similar interests. Your costumes are so cute.
I know. I remember seeing those photos. At one of these events in 2011, Didi and Gypsy became
separated and the details are not extremely clear on how it happened. But ultimately, Didi would
find Gypsy in a hotel room with a man whom she claimed to have met online. So they had apparently
been talking, Gypsy had her own computer. They had been talking and he was like, I'm gonna be there too.
And she's like, let's meet up. I don't know if it was a sexual curiosity or just talk to somebody
other than my fucking mom for once. Have an actual friend. Yeah. So Didi would produce a false birth
certificate telling the man that Gypsy was underage and threatening to call the police on him if he
did not leave immediately. Do you think that she told the guy like, well, my mom likes to pretend
I'm 14 or 15, but I'm actually 18 or 19? I don't know actually. I don't really think she was 100%
sure how old she was because she saw the the doctor's note that said she was 91. But yeah,
that's the only other evidence conflicting what her mom's been telling her. So I really don't know
if she knew that she was at this point that she was older. But again, like I keep going back to that.
I know we talked about the menstrual cycle thing, but even just developing as a young person in
general going through puberty and stuff, you have to know, at least think or you're at least a little
older than what you've been told. Yeah. You know, and Didi pretty much like brainwash Gypsy like we've
been saying into her saying like, yes, mom to like everything. Yeah. So questioning Didi about her
age was probably like way off the fucking table. Right. But I wonder, like I said, I wonder if Gypsy
knew like I'm sure she knew in some like shape or form. Yeah, she had to have known this doesn't
feel right. It doesn't make sense. Yeah. So after telling the guy to leave the hotel room, Didi
would then turn her attention to Gypsy. She would smash Gypsy's computer with a hammer and threaten
to do the same thing to Gypsy's fingers if she ever tried to escape again. Escape? Escape? Oh,
God. So Didi thought that that was Gypsy trying to say like, save me, like get me the fuck out of
here. But I really don't think it was. I really think it was just a curiosity thing. Yeah. Talking
to a boy, you know. Right. Following this incident, Didi would also handcuff Gypsy to her bed for two
weeks. What? And put her on a leash as well. Yeah. Like if you're gonna try to escape, like I'm
actually gonna hold you captive. Oh my gosh, that's a horrid. She would also begin to brainwash Gypsy
by telling her often that she filed a police report stating that Gypsy was mentally unstable.
So if Gypsy ever went to the police for help, they would not believe her because I think that she's
mentally ill. Yeah. This is this is her mother. Her mom. Like the only one person that you're
supposed to like be able to fully trust. The only person that she is able to trust. Yeah. Probably
the only person that she can talk to. That's so sad. And you know that Gypsy was probably in a
situation where she was like you said earlier, yes mom, yes mom. Yeah. Like if that's what mom
thinks, then I guess I must be mentally unstable. Okay, I guess if that's what mom thinks is best,
I guess handcuff me to a post. Yeah, but you're right. She is getting older and she's not as gullible,
if you will, as she once was. So she's definitely starting to kind of catch on to
inconsistencies in like Dee Dee's story. Yeah. Especially like when it's just the two of them
at home. Right. So although her computer had been destroyed, Gypsy would actually continue to
sneakily use her mother's computer at home when Dee Dee went to bed. They had a home computer,
probably from a maturity. Sorry, it's not funny, but you know she just steals things.
During this time, Gypsy was frequently seeing, seeking a romantic connection online with various
people. And it was in 2012 or 13, it wasn't clear that she would meet a man by the name of Nicholas
Godajon on christandatingforfree.com. Christian dating for free. So obviously we talked about,
everybody's so creative. Both of their storylines and now they meet and we're gonna go from there.
So Nick and Gypsy would begin messaging back and forth relating on things from their childhoods
and believing that they had found, quote, true love after only a few conversations. Oh,
Gypsy opened up about her being in a wheelchair and the fact that her mother was very controlling,
but found it to be extremely sweet that Nick found her quote pure. Aw. The relationship would deepen
and the two decided to make private Facebook accounts where they could each send each other
messages when they had access. While Nicholas had his own previous criminal charges for the
masturbation and DD was at McDonald's, let's not forget McDonald's and DD was forcing
unneeded medical procedures on her child. Gypsy was not without fault during this time.
After feeling closer than ever with Nick, she would disclose to him that there was in fact
nothing wrong with her. She did not need a wheelchair and that her mother was forcing her to use one.
So she knew. I think she knew towards this part. I don't think she knew for long before she met Nick.
I really think just because she was getting older, like you said, I think she kind of figured it out.
Yeah. And you get older, maybe you lean too far forward on your wheelchair and you put weight
on your feet and you're like, oh, shit, hold on. Yeah. You try to stand up and you can and you're
like, oh, shit, hold on. You know what I mean? Like she's more aware of her, like physically aware
than she ever has been. I'm not going to try to equate it in the same sense, but I think that
everybody, everybody, you know, has a parental figure of some kind that they know that they are
a particular way, right? Maybe Gypsy thought this is just the way that mom wants it. It doesn't
necessarily have to be my reality, but this is the way that she prefers the house. This is the way
that she prefers I dress. This is the way that she prefers I use a wheelchair or whatever. This is
just her preference and I'm being a good child by abiding by these things. It's a good point. And
not only that, but she clearly, you know, anytime that Gypsy's gone against that, it's been worse.
So you might as well just, you know, stay in line and do what mom wants to do. So she could have
known for a little bit or even a year or something. Yeah. And then just this is the first time that
she's admitting it to somebody else. I completely agree. I think that's a really good point
because she also admitted to Nick that she was able to walk, but nobody else knew this and he
needed to keep it a secret. I know. Being able to share this secret with Nick made Gypsy be able
to have a relationship like she'd never had before. Nick seemed like a very confident,
experienced man who was domineering and intense and everything Gypsy thought she liked in a man,
because again, she doesn't really know, right? She's never really had a relationship.
On top of all of the things that Nick was portraying himself to be,
he was also extremely adamant that the two meet in person very soon.
So you think he wasn't being his authentic self? I think that he...
I'm not sure, actually. I was gonna say something and I'm like, wait, I don't know.
He claims to have DID at some point and I'll talk about that, but he almost says like he has a really
nice and amazing side, which is Nick, and then he has a dark and like demoness side,
and he has a name for him, but I didn't put him in here, I don't think. But either way, I think that
he's overly doting because he's never really had another relationship and it's not bad to be overly
doting, but I think he thinks like being overly doting and like really intense like sexually is
like what girls want almost. Well, and especially in her situation when she's already saying,
my mom forces me to do these things and I bet he feels kind of like a knight, a knight with
shining armor. Exactly. I'm gonna scoop you up and take you away. Exactly. And not to mention,
he mentions himself a lot that his social skills are not fully developed because of his autism,
his Asperger's, excuse me, diagnosis. So that is probably something as well that's affecting the,
you know, over kind of stimulation of verbiage. I don't know. Yeah, so maybe he's not necessarily
portraying a character, but maybe he's portraying an example that he's seen before, like in maybe in
movies or television. Exactly. We know he watches porn because he got caught in it. That's true.
Anyway, so in 2014, was that funny? Yeah, yeah. Help me step brother. Oh my gosh. So in 2014,
Gypsy would confide in her 23 year old neighbor, Aliyah Woodmancy, I think is how you say it,
Woodmancy? Woodmancy? That her and Nick had discussed a meeting in person and even a loping
together. Oh. She opened up about her and Nick's talks, including the names of their future children,
and the fact that Gypsy had five separate Facebook accounts to keep in contact, like all the different
names. Whoa. She would also mention that their conversations involved talk of BDSM, which she
thought at the time was something she was really interested in. Gypsy, however, would later admit
that Nick was the one who almost convinced her to talk about those things with him as it was like
more of his thing, like the BDSM thing. Well, you said that he kind of internet spiraled, so I'm
sure, you know, porn was probably a big thing of that. He probably saw a lot of shit. Yeah. Nothing's
interesting, you know. They seem like they're having a great time. They look like they're enjoying
themselves. So Aliyah, the neighbor, was very concerned. She believed that Gypsy was many years
younger than her, although they were really close in age, and she told Gypsy that she was worried
that she was being taken advantage of by an online sexual predator. Like an older person. Yes. She
would later state about Gypsy's plans with Nick as quote, fantasies and dreams and nothing like
this would ever really take place. She was really worried about Gypsy. She was worried, but she was
overly concerned, or she thought that it was so like it was too good to be true. It was too extreme
that this is going to escalate in a way that's not okay. I think both. I think she was like,
Gypsy, like, if it's too good to be true, it probably is, and this guy's probably taking
advantage of you. Like, I don't think it's a smart idea to try to meet him in person. I see.
So Gypsy would not take Aliyah's advice for long, and her and Nick would actually make plans to meet
in 2015. So their plan was to both go to the same movie theater at the same time and dress up in
costume for the movie, sci-fi movie. They would just happen to bump into each other and strike up a
conversation about their costumes, and after becoming acquaintances they would watch the movie
together, and hopefully he would be able to talk to DeeDee at some point during all this. Okay, so
this is like we're coming up with this elaborate ruse to get to look like this is the first time
we're ever meeting. Clearly can't come clean to mom about the fact they've been talking. Yes. Okay.
So their plan actually worked, and they were able to run into each other at the movie theater.
However, instead of simply going in to watch the movie, Gypsy took the opportunity to take a bathroom
break and insinuated that Nick meet her in there. He would, and the two would engage at Interchorus
in the bathroom. What? A meeting that DeeDee would immediately find out about when she realized that
Gypsy was taking way too long in the bathroom. Did you know that? I mean, I feel like I did,
but that last thing you just said about that she's taking too long in the bathroom, it's like, well,
I mean, you're the one that's portraying her as a disabled person. Well, yeah, I put that part
taking too long. She didn't say that, but like, I would just assume that's why she was like,
hmm, let me go check on her like I better go, you know, look. And I'm in no way gonna talk about
speed here. Okay, but I'm just assuming it might not take that long. I mean, he's very excited
to see her. So it might not have been that long. But after discovering this, DeeDee would forbid
Gypsy to ever see Nick again. Oh, so she like straight up knew like she knew that they were
in there together. I don't know how much she saw or how much she actually knew, but she knew that
they went to the bathroom together, maybe waited outside the bathroom and then they came. Yeah.
And it was very clearly a very similar situation to the hotel incident in DeeDee's eyes, right?
Yeah. So after the incident, the abuse DeeDee inflicted on Gypsy would continue to get worse.
And Gypsy would actually still secretly be in contact with Nick via social media. So of course,
the abuse increasing after the movie theater situation and her current situation at home just
like never being good. Yeah. Gypsy ultimately thought that the only way to get out of her
situation was if her mother was no longer in it. So Gypsy stated about the beginning of this
conversation, quote, me and Nick were talking one night and he said that he would do anything to
protect me. And I asked him anything. And he said, yeah, from anybody I asked, he said, yeah,
even my mom I asked, he said, yes. And that's when this plan kind of started to develop into a
murder plot, end quote. I can't imagine feeling, well, first of all, like I can't imagine, you know,
even that being a thought in my head. Yeah. But to feel so cornered and so defenseless
that, you know, just backed up into a corner that you have to like plan to murder someone.
Well, it literally reminds me of like Eric and my Almenendas. Yeah. Like the only way out of this
situation is to kill the person that's causing the situation. And it's such it has to be such a
helpless feeling. Yeah. And like, what do I do? Like, do I continue to live in this hell? Or do I
stand up for myself and do something about it? Right. Because in reality, I'm not going to speak
for any of the listeners or even you all speak for myself. If it's my life against yours, it's mine
every time. Yeah. And I feel like that's probably how she felt. Right. Like at this point, it's
gone on for far too long. I know the truth. And I know that this is abuse. And she's never going
to let me go. Exactly. She's never going to let me go. And she's never going to let me blow this
up ever. Exactly. Something has had to give in her mind. Yeah. So after a little while of talking
back and forth, Nick decided that he would be the one to kill DD for Gypsy in order to get Gypsy
out of her situation at home. On June 12, 2015, Nick would arrive in Springfield while DD and Gypsy
were at a doctor's appointment. He would hang around the area and wait until nightfall. And then
he would make his way to the Blanchard home. With DD asleep, Nick would sneak into the home with the
help of Gypsy, who provided him with duct tape, gloves, and a serrated knife. Oh, she like handed
the stuff to him? Yes. She already, she was, she's an accomplice. Yeah. I'm not just speaking, but
isn't an accomplice. Nick would make his way to DD's bedroom shown to him by Gypsy, and Gypsy would
have taken it upon herself to hide in the bathroom. She was actually noted as like covering her ears
so that she didn't have to really hear anything. Oh, cool. I know. Oh, heaps. Nick would sneak into
DD's room and begin stabbing her in the back, hitting her a total of 17 times. That's not even
like a just a quick. That's like overkill. That is overkill. 17 is a lot. That's a lot of times.
Nick would later claim that DD actually woke up during this attack stating, quote,
she ended up asking me, who are you? I said, I'm your effing nightmare. End quote. Like,
cringy as fuck, but also like that's scary. And Lord. She's so fucking scary. After Nick was sure
that DD was deceased, he would go grab Gypsy from the bathroom and take her into her bedroom,
where the two proceeded to engage in sex. Like right after? Yeah. Oh my god. That's not that's
yeah. That's something else. That's something tangled up in there. One source actually stated
that Gypsy was already undressed before the murder took place. I'm not really exactly sure the timeline,
but Nick said that the reason he was like, we have to have sex right now is because he had like cut
himself, I guess in the process of the murder. And she like wiped his like the blood off his
finger and apparently he got like super aroused because of it. It said it was like one of his
sexual fantasies. And I'm like, your mom helping you put a bandit on a cut is one of your sexual
fantasies. Like what? Anyway. Yeah, that that's like I said, that's tangled up in something else.
That's not just like, oh, thankfully we can be together now. No, yeah, it's like love. It's
intense. Yeah, that's something else like in the next fucking room. Like, I can't even imagine that.
That's horrific. That's horrific. Nick would later state about this murder quote, the very
second I put my foot down, I had one of those moments that you might have only had once in
your lifetime. It was an angel and the devil. First the angel spoke, it actually said, take her and
run. And then you had the other part of me that darn devil. What he cringe. Go on quote. What he
ended up telling me was this bitch is dead. I got so darn enraged that something inside of me clicked.
Unfortunately, that part of me wanted to come out for a very long time and the very first
opportunity I got it didn't waste any time. The dark shadow part of me that really trick is triggered
by anger. Once that anger clicks, I see red end quote. So this is something that he's maybe thought
of before maybe thought of before has had a known that he has capabilities of being enraged that
badly. I think so. Yeah. So although he commented on the fact that he may have multiple personalities
or a DID, Nick also stated about the murder quote, I would have done it again. I might have done it
differently, but I would have done it again. I couldn't see Gypsy suffer anymore, end quote,
which is like really sad, but like, yeah, because then it's I mean, it's essentially victim blaming,
you know, which we've I mean, you just told us the history of it. It's it's very, it's very messy.
This whole situation is very hard. Like it's very difficult to kind of pinpoint like who's the
the real victim here. I think both of them are honestly, I think all of them are honestly,
all of them, all three of them, even him, because I feel like, you know, in a way,
and I don't know what Gypsy's participation in the conversations that they had,
but so to really want to go murder someone for someone that you love, there has to be some kind
of manipulation there. I'm sorry. Yeah. You know, all she was showing her whole life was
manipulation. So it's a wonder that she would be good at it. Yeah, it's true. It's not a wonder.
I mean, she's a pro. So the duo being Gypsy and Nick were so engulfed in Facebook during this time
as well. Their immediate thought was to post on Gypsy and Dee Dee's shared Facebook account
quote that bitch is dead end quote on on Dee Dee's Facebook. Dee Dee and Gypsy's joint account.
They posted this as a status. It makes sense. They would have a joint account, right? Yeah.
But on both of theirs, it said that bitch is dead. Yes. Okay. So Gypsy allegedly was saying like,
I didn't want her to not be found. So I think like posting something like that like would have raised
concern a little bit, but also gave us like time to like get away. Yeah. So she's like, I want
someone to find her, but like, I don't want to be there when it happens. And I also want to make
it ominous sounding so that it sounds like it's not someone hacked. So after posting this, Nick
and Gypsy took $4,000 in cash that Dee Dee had collected from Rod's child support. The two would
then leave the home and head to a hotel in Springfield where they stayed for a few days while
planning their next move. So obviously the Facebook post concerns some people who would phone the
home and try to get a hold of either Gypsy or Dee Dee, but probably just Dee Dee because Gypsy
probably didn't have a phone. She wasn't allowed. Several friends and neighbors actually went to
the home on multiple occasions, but knowing that it was not unusual for the two to leave the last
minute for out of town doctor's appointments, they didn't really think much of the home being
seemingly unoccupied. However, with Dee Dee's car in the driveway, neighbors and friends gathered
in order to phone 911 for at least a wellness check. I was going to ask, so how did they get
away? Because Nick drove, so they were driving Nick's car. I guess so, yeah. Okay. They just
went in his car. Okay. Meanwhile at the motel, Nick and Gypsy were running errands to get some stuff
together. And in the multiple days they were planning, they were caught on security cameras
at several different stores. Gypsy would later state that at this point she really believed
that the two had managed to get away with their crime. Yeah. They're in love. They're not geniuses.
What is it? Bonnie and Clyde kind of shit? Yeah, yeah. Or the fucking Ken and Barbie,
whatever, killers. She thought that if and when her mother's body was discovered, it would look
like she had been kidnapped, Gypsy, Gypsy, and she would be able to blame the crime on another
perpetrator. Like, oh, they killed my mom and they took me, you know? Yeah. She stated, quote,
we thought we would never get caught. I felt like this is a fairy tale and I was going to be the
princess that got rescued. But what started as a fairy tale ended as a horror movie. And quote.
That's the thing is like, she's like, oh, I thought this is going to be a fairy tale, but it's like,
but like, you're like, you helped kill your, kill your mom. That's not a fucking fairy tale.
Well, shit, have you ever seen like Entangled? Does mother go, oh yeah. Well, she doesn't really
die. She just turns it back into ash. She was already ancient. But the fact that she's still,
that's what I was just wrote actually, she still thinks that this started as a fairy tale is wild.
Like, yeah. The murder plot was what started this, like, that's a fairy tale. I think that's funny,
we had the same thought. Like, I wrote that down. I was like, what? Well, I think that maybe she
thought like just the communication online and so like that. And then even like, yeah, you know,
that that would be, that's romantic, you know, type of a thing. And then it's really like a knight in
shining armor kind of thing. Yeah. And who knows how many times they actually talked about this.
It's not like they talked about it once and he's like, I'll be right over, you know.
Yeah, that's true. They probably talked about it a few times. I completely agree.
So get this, you said they're not geniuses. The two would actually mail the murder weapon weapon
back to Nick's home in Wisconsin in order to avoid being caught with it. But they mailed it to his
house. You couldn't have mailed it to a random address? Like, you could have just changed one
number to what it got into. It would have gone to a different address. But then that person would
have picked it up. Why wouldn't you just discard it? Because he wanted to keep it. Of course he
fucking did. He probably wanted to keep the murder weapon, which is even grosser. After this, they
boarded a bus back to his home as well. So they were going to go to Nick's house. Okay, so he
didn't drive. It was a bunch of buses. Oh yeah, I guess you're right, yeah. Several witnesses saw
the two on their journey back to Wisconsin and stated that Gypsy was wearing a blonde wig and
walking all on her own. He just said walking and I forgot about what we were talking about for a
second. And then I thought you were going to say on all fours. He just breaks down into a sprint.
Back at the Blanchard home, police arrived but had to wait for a search warrant before entering.
This is so funny because this next sentence makes no sense. Okay. They did however allow a neighbor
to enter the home through a window. But they had so the neighbor can break and enter but the police
can't. I mean, kind of. Kind of though. They're not going to charge the neighbor for that. They're
not. You know, obviously cause for concern. Yeah. But the neighbor kind of, I don't know if he like got
all the way in the home. He obviously, I think he just leaned in maybe through a window. I'm pretty
sure it was a female neighbor. I'm sorry. Well, the neighbor, whether it be male or female, saw
that the inside of the home was not really disturbed but all of Gypsy's wheelchairs were there. They
noted that. So they were like, if she was kidnapped, she was scooped. Yeah, exactly. So once the warrant
was present, police entered the home and located Dee Dee's body. Police along with neighbors and
friends immediately thought the worst when they noticed Gypsy was not only not there but was
clearly without her wheelchair as medications and oxygen tank. Right. Aliyah, Gypsy's neighbor and
friend told police immediately that she knew about an online boyfriend of Gypsy's and that she had
actually saved some information about him and Casey was needed. Good girl. I know. I was smart.
Oh, she got chills. Police got in contact with Facebook in order to trace the IP address of the
account with the posts, which turned out to be in Wisconsin. Again, they're in love, not geniuses.
Yeah. Over 60 people would attend a candlelit vigil for Dee Dee in downtown Springfield the
night after the body was discovered. So sad. The following day, police in Wakesha County
raided the Go to John's home in Big Ben after locating Gypsy and Nick, who both surrendered
immediately. They would both be taken in on charges of murder and felony armed criminal action.
And I'll explain what that means in a second because I didn't know. Gypsy was reluctant to confess
her part in the crime, but Nick allegedly told authorities almost immediately, quote, the truth
is, okay, I'll admit it. I did actually stab her mom and quote. So he like pretty much immediately
was like, I did it. Yeah. Well, there's no sense in lying. And it's kind of funny watching interrogation
videos when people do when they try to lie. I have no idea what you're talking about. I have no idea
who that is. Yeah. Oh, really? Because literally we're just, I mean, there's, here's a photo of the
two of you together. Photo of you killing her. We literally were there with the murder weapon.
With the murder weapon. Yeah. This is you signing your name over and just saying,
that's me with the with the murder weapon in that photo. Yeah, exactly. Because of video
recording of you stabbing her and simultaneously shouting your name. It's me, James, and your
birthday. Okay. Just kidding. So when friends and neighbors heard back in Springfield that Gypsy was
safe, they were extremely relieved. But this was short lived when they realized that not just Nick,
but Gypsy as well, we're both being held on a $1 million bond. Green County Sheriff Jim Arnett
announced the news of the arrests stating, quote, things are not always what they appear,
end quote. He would also comment, quote, Springfield is a going growing community. We surround people
with love and finances that we believe that needs it. However, a lot of times we are deceived. And
I think this is not so true in this case at hand, end quote. So this was the press conference. I
remember this. This is the press conference when they had already had Gypsy and Nick in custody
and had already begun to interrogate and all that other stuff and then confess. And he had this press
release, but didn't specifically say her name or his name and just said, things aren't always what
they seem. And it was like, oh my God, what? What does that mean? Yeah. The media would soon
announce the truth of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard's lives stating that Gypsy had indeed
never been sick and had always had the ability to walk, but her mother had made her pretend otherwise.
They mentioned that Dee Dee used physical abuse to control her and he urged people to
seize all donations to the family's GoFundMe page that had been opened shortly after Dee Dee's death.
Oh, could you imagine like donating to the GoFundMe after her death? For like, for Gypsy's medical
expenses and for the funeral expenses. Yeah. Like we got to keep this young girl alive if they find her.
Yeah. A spokesman from Habitat for Humanity, the charity who built the Blanchard home,
stated, quote, we are just really deeply saddened by the whole situation. End quote.
After news spread about the treatment of Gypsy, the sympathy changed from a victim of a violent
murder to a victim of horrific decades-long child abuse. While the charges of first-degree
murder can come along with the death penalty, due to the circumstances, county prosecutor Dan
Patterson would announce that he would not seek it for either Gypsy nor Nick due to the case being,
quote, extraordinary and unusual. Yeah. Gypsy's attorney would receive her medical records from
Louisiana, the ones that didn't exist apparently, and use that to help her case and would ultimately
seek a plea bargain for second-degree murder. At this point, Gypsy was so malnourished that her
lawyer had informed the media that she had actually gained 14 pounds from being in jail,
a situation in which most would lose weight due to stress. Wow. That was like a really,
really key component of this. Like, look, very clearly, she's malnourished. Yeah, she was actually
able to eat using her mouth. Yeah. In July of 2015, at the age of 24, and just a month after the
murder, Gypsy Rose Blanchard would accept the plea bargain arrangement and be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
She was 24. Yeah. She was 24. And she was made to act like a child. She was probably thinking she was
like 20. Yeah, at most. Gypsy's plea bargain did not require her to testify at Nick's trial,
who was facing a more severe charge due to prosecutors knowing that he initiated the murder
plot, and both him and Gypsy had actually agreed that he was the one who killed Dee Dee. In January
of 2017, Nick's trial was postponed when prosecutors requested a second psychiatric exam.
This exam found that Nick had an intelligence quotient or IQ of 82 was on the autism spectrum
and suggested that he had diminished capacity, which that was my first time ever realizing
that IQ stood for intelligence quotient. I didn't know that. That's my IQ. Probably not that.
You're in love, not a genius. 82, though, I think that the line as far as
as far as what is considered below average is like what, 78? 76?
Well, I'm not sure. I think it's 80. You think so? Yeah. Gonna gobble.
So you're right. This is from hrw.org. Quote,
the vast majority of people in the United States have IQs between 80 and 120, with an IQ average,
100 considered average. And to be diagnosed with having mental retardation, a person must have
an IQ below 70 to 75, which would be considered significantly below average. End quote. So that
is from hrw.org. Well, I'm glad you looked that up because I didn't really know exactly what that
average was. I really thought that 100 was average. I didn't realize it was like a spectrum of average.
A spectrum of average. Yeah, that's a great way of putting it. Yeah. And so he was an 82,
that would be considered average. So it's kind of interesting that they would use that as a defense
of some kind. So Nick had actually initially waived his right to a trial by jury, but would
change his mind in June of that same year. So in December 2017, the judge set Nick's trial for
November of 2018. In their opening statement, the prosecutors alleged that Nick had deliberated for
over a year before the crime on whether or not to commit it, showing his malice forethought,
because they had been talking for a while. The defense suggested that Gypsy had formulated the
crime, and Nick was just so love struck that he's simply done as she had asked.
The following day, text messages were shown by the prosecution to the jury, some being very sexually
explicit, and from the week leading up to the murder. The knife used to commit the murder was
also shown to the jury. In some of the text messages, Nick is seen as asking Gypsy about the
layout of the home, Dee Dee's sleeping habits, etc., things like that. And following the showing
of the text, the jury were shown a video of Nick's interview after his arrest, where he
admitted to having killed Dee Dee Blanchard. While she was not required to, Gypsy did ultimately
testify on the third day of the trial. She stated that she had indeed suggested that Nick
killed Dee Dee to end the abuse she was enduring at the hands of her mother. She had also suggested
that the two of them try to get Gypsy pregnant so that Dee Dee had no choice but to accept Nick
into the family. That was another option. Along with the knife that she would give to Nick at
the home, she also stole baby clothes from Walmart so that either plan was ready to
launch, essentially. Her reasoning for going through with giving Nick the knife that night
was that he never told her how he felt about the pregnancy plan. She's like, okay, I guess we're doing this then.
You never told me. You never told me whether or not you actually want a baby. Even though these are all the
wrong reasons why I should have a baby. But if they had a baby, who knows, it might have saved Dee Dee's life.
That's true. You know. It might have saved hers, honestly, too. Of Gypsies, I mean, because how are you
gonna... I don't know. You did that to your fucking child. Why would you do it to your grandchild?
Well, that's not essentially what I'm thinking. I'm thinking if she knew that Gypsy was pregnant,
she might have done something to Gypsy and the baby. That's true. So after four days of trial,
the case was sent to the jury who had multiple options for the fate of Nick. They could either
find him guilty of one of three murder charges, so those being involuntary manslaughter, second
degree murder or first degree murder, or they could find him not guilty of anything. After only about
two hours of deliberation, the jury returned with the verdict of guilty of first degree murder and
armed criminal action. After two hours? So if you don't know what this is, because I didn't, armed
criminal action is the intent to commit a crime while carrying a loaded weapon. Okay. So honestly,
a lot of people that get charged with first degree murder probably get this charge as well. They
just don't really mention it because it's like first degree murder, like that's the biggest charge.
Yeah. But they mention it in this one. But he didn't have a gun. A loaded weapon though,
knife that's pointed somewhere is technically loaded. You know what I mean? He's ready to go.
In February 2019, Nicholas got a John was sentenced to life in prison for the murder
conviction. Prosecutors had declined to seek the death penalty and Nick asked Judge David Jones
for leniency on the armed criminal action charge. This charge carries a minimum sentence of only
three years. And Nick actually wanted to not serve any additional time for this, citing that he had
been quote, blindly in love with Gypsy. The judge did not buy Nick's speech about being a sucker
for love and would sentence him to 25 extra years for that charge. Concurrent with his life sentence.
Nick's lawyer, Dwayne Perry, requested a motion for a new trial, which was denied by Judge Jones.
Perry argued that the jury should not have been allowed to hear that Nick had considered
raping Dee Dee on the night of the murder. And he also argued that the state psychologist should
not have been allowed to testify and Nick's psychologist should have. When did that come up?
Yeah, fucking monkey wrench in there. Just throw that in there. Yeah, just throw that in there.
Yeah. So apparently they had told the jury that at some point. And I think that was one thing that
Nick like might have said to Gypsy. And that's why it was in like it was in those text messages.
Yeah. But it really like arguably had nothing to do with like the case because like there was no
evidence of that. Like he clearly just killed her. So I think he was really just trying to like
sound like a badass honestly. Like maybe he told Gypsy either way that he was like the jury shouldn't
have been allowed to know that like that was completely irrelevant to like what happened.
But it also shows like if he I mean he's clearly capable of murder, who's to say he's not capable
of that. Right. And arguably that makes him like a worse perpetrator. Do you think that, okay,
I had two thoughts. Let me see. Do you think that he would have tried to rape her or make it seem
like that like it was a another perpetrator that came in and that's why the murder occurred was
because it was a sexual assault first. I don't know. I really think that I haven't read the
text, but I would assume that they might have gone back and forth a little bit on like ways to like
play this out. Yeah. And maybe that was something that he just suggested like oh I could do this
and then it would look like this or whatever. Yeah. I don't think it was like
plant like he was going to because I said he had considered it like he didn't it wasn't part of the
plant he just decided not to last second you know. Yeah. I don't know. That's weird. What was your other
point? I don't remember. Yeah. That one that one took over. Oh I also said that the argument as well
for the retrial or not retrial but yeah like as retrial was that the state psychologist shouldn't
have a lot shouldn't have testified and next psychologist should have. Oh okay. So it's like
this guy obviously knows him more than a state psychologist that just interviewed him once you
know. So why is he testifying on behalf of the defense? Yes. Oh I see okay. So in denying the
motion Judge Jones stated that the court could find the point about the psychologist's testimonies
as significant and consider it a reversible error. Hmm. Although he has no possibility of parole,
Nick is still holding out hope that quote there is something better waiting for me. There's a
better verdict waiting for me end quote. Of course the Blandshard's neighbors were shocked to learn
that Gypsy's illnesses were false. Aliyah was noted as crying out in disbelief upon hearing that Gypsy
had never been sick or disabled. Because they spent quite a bit of time together. Yeah and like can
you imagine feeling like so betrayed by your friend. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Aliyah's mother would recall that
nobody really ever asked for proof of Gypsy's ailments but like who would you know what I mean?
That's kind of like fucked if you're like yeah let's see proof. Yeah. No fact. Oh you can't walk,
show me. Show me. Like no. Do it. Do it anyways. Dee Dee's family in Louisiana who had tried for
many years to confront her about Gypsy's health were not broken up about her death at all. Her
father, stepmother, and nephew would later state that Dee Dee deserved her fate and Gypsy had been
punished as much as she needed to be for the murder. So they were like Dee Dee deserved it and Gypsy
needs to be released. Because she's had a lifetime of suffering. Exactly. None of them would pay for
Dee Dee's funeral, her family, and her father and stepmother would ultimately flush her ashes down the toilet.
No they did not. Yeah. It's fucking nuts. That's horrific. I know. It's not funny. It's not funny.
Only kind of funny. It's not. It's really not. But I know that the stepmom was like oh shit you tried
to kill me. You know what I mean? They're just ashes but you know but still like I mean that's
that's I mean that is that's not something that one typically does. It's more of like a to prove a
point kind of thing. It's like a significance kind of thing. Right. You know it's not like really
disrespectful. It's for the livings. It's not for her. Yeah. So Rod Blanchard Gypsy's father was a
little bit less aggressive with his approach. He stated quote I think Dee Dee's problem was that
she shared started a web of lies and there was no escaping after. It was like a tornado got started.
Yeah. He also admitted to being extremely happy when he first saw a video of Gypsy walking on her own.
Oh. You know it's really sweet. Even though it was in prison. Yeah. Dr. Flasterstein,
the pediatric neurologist who believed from the beginning that Gypsy was fully capable of walking
stated that this was only the second case of Munchausenberg proxy had ever come across.
It's very rare. It is. He learned of the murder of Dee Dee when a former nurse emailed him the
news story. He stated about this quote poor Gypsy. She suffered all those years and for no reason.
End quote. It's really interesting and I think that's what makes this case so
highly publicized and talked about is because it's probably the most extreme
the most extreme case of Munchausenberg proxy that's ever been you know hit by media or anything.
The doctor would also admit that he wished he had done more to help Gypsy.
Mark Feldman I mentioned him earlier. He's an international expert on fictitious disorders.
He stated that this was the first case he had experienced in which a child killed an abusive
parent. He had a very strong opinion on the fact that Dr. Flasterstein was made out to be the hero
in a documentary about the case later on and he would say about this quote. He had a gross
misunderstanding of his obligations as a physician as well as the legal requirements to report
suspected abuse or neglect. This conundrum arises in case after case where innumerable doctors have
evaluated the patient perhaps had questions they kept to themselves and just proceeded to treat or
make referrals and ditch the case that way. End quote. While a formal diagnosis of Munchausenberg
proxy for Dee Dee is technically impossible due to the fact that she is deceased Feldman stated
that after Gypsy is guilty plea he was confident that Dee Dee had it. He stated quote Gypsy was
infantilized and kept away from her peers. She was a little more than a tool for Dee Dee to
navigate through the world the way she wanted to end quote. He also stated that it was quote
unprecedented in the 24 years that he had been researching the disorder for an abused child to
kill the parent which is really interesting because she was 24 when when when Dee Dee died
yeah or maybe when she was arrested but either way like that's how long this guy's been studying
this. Right. So Gypsy Gros Blanchard is still in prison her sentence actually being up in
2026. Wow. However she is eligible for parole next year in 2024 and I personally think that she
has a really good chance of getting out. Yeah. Nick will never be eligible for parole. Gypsy has made
it very clear multiple interviews that her and Nick are no longer together. She stated about this
quote he was very much like my mother in certain ways both of them were very controlling and I
feel like I was trained my whole life to do as I was told and I feel like he wanted that for a
girlfriend end quote. Nick had his own things to say about Gypsy in his interview quote unfortunately
because of how far I went I feel as if she's betrayed me I feel that she's abandoned me end quote.
He's probably still in love with her. Oh yeah in an interview in 2018 Gypsy was quoted as saying
quote I feel like I'm more free and present than when living with my mom because now I'm allowed
to just live like a normal woman end quote. Her idea of living like a normal woman is having to
make about eight choices a day. In the real world you make about like what two to three hundred or
something choices a day and prison I think it's like an average of like eight to twelve because
you don't have a say in a lot of things that happen. That's still more than that's still better than
what she had. Like I literally have full body heaps like that's just so fucking sad because she
can choose to eat what she wants and what she doesn't want. She can choose to do her hair or not she
can choose to who she wants to speak to and who she doesn't want to speak to. Exactly that's just
incredible. While serving her sentence in Missouri in Missouri Correctional Center Gypsy said that
she had been able to research Manchaz and send him by proxy syndrome excuse me stating that her
mother had every single symptom. She mentioned quote I think she would have been the perfect mom
for someone that was actually sick end quote. Oh I know oh my gosh that is heartbreaking. They're
like actually choked me up like I have like a little bit of tears. Gypsy stated that she believed
her mom's claims that she had cancer even though she knew she could walk and eat solid food. However
she always found herself secretly hoping that doctors would see past her mother's acts and they
never did. When asked by a reporter what made her want to escape her situation Gypsy said that during
the 2011 incident at the science fiction convention she wondered why she was not allowed to have friends
her age or really at all. It wasn't until she met Nick and he had become very serious about the
murder that she thought she would actually be able to get out of her situation. She also stated that
she accepts that she committed a crime and she has to live with the consequences of her actions but
she also hopes that she has helped other abuse victims. According to Gypsy's family and reports
she also exhibits at times the same sociopathic manipulative behaviors as her mother. Mark Feldman
commented on this quote she is already psychologically really compromised and she's going to need as
much family underpinning and support as she can get end quote. He also stated that PTSD is likely
to be an issue in her continuing development stating quote I hope they find someone wherever
she chooses to settle who who is willing to provide supportive psychotherapy end quote.
You want to hear some good news? I was gonna say yeah just touch on that just a little bit. I was
gonna say I hope that she is able to get the help that she needs not only like you said for the PTSD
that she experienced but furthering you know her her mental needs that she's gonna need
structured she's gonna need that support if she does get out or when she gets out because you
said it's up in 2026. Yeah I mean it's just such a traumatizing case like it's so traumatic like
both horrific like both ends you know and I feel so bad for a for a DD one because she was struggling
with this mental disorder yeah and she obviously got murdered and I feel so bad for Gypsy too because
she didn't struggle with this mental disorder and she suffered from it as well and she felt like she
really didn't have any other choice. Who's to say that if either of them had gotten help that
DD would have been able to regulate herself get the mental help that she needed and the Gypsy could
live a full-fledged life and not you know and they both could have lived through this you know.
Who's to say that if Gypsy tried to ask someone for help out in the real world DD wouldn't have
harmed her further potentially killing her you know. It's true it's just every all the times
you were talking about certain situations with them I just imagined the scenarios in my head and
it's always this very dark feeling like a very dark color palette you know when I when I think
about these scenarios with them it's just yeah. Now while in prison Gypsy was using a pin pal program
to talk to some gentlemen and she would ultimately meet and get engaged to a man by the name of Ken
in April of 2019. They would reportedly call off their engagement in August of the same year
but Gypsy would meet another man by the name of Ryan Scott Anderson and the two would actually
marry on June 27th 2022 and are still together today. Oh wow okay so she's recently married.
Yes Gypsy is working toward her GED last where I saw the source it she might have already
accomplished it and apparently she's thriving. Her stepmother Kristie Blanchard told the news
quote despite everything she still tells me that she's happier now than with her mom and that if
she had a choice to either be in jail or back with her mom she would rather be in jail for Gypsy it's
a lot of freedom end quote. So obviously there's been a lot of documentaries and shows about the
case and the Blanchard family especially on DD's side are not too pleased with the shows
yeah and they feel like it's probably glorifying well just a very like a stain. Yeah her cousin
Bobby stated quote DD's sisters think it's pretty fucked up they hate all of it they don't know why
people keep making stories about it end quote. So just lastly if you would like to learn more about
Munchausen's syndrome by proxy or now known as fictitious disorder check out our mental breakdown
episode because we did do that episode but yeah that is the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard,
DD Blanchard and Nicholas go to John and cut. That isn't it wild? It's wild. I heard the story but
even hearing it again it's just yeah it's I forget again like I you you heard me seething earlier I
was just like I'm just fucking pissed I just want to you know go back in time and punch this woman
in the face yeah man it's a really hard one like sorry but just to say again she suffered from a
mental disorder a very severe mental disorder yeah absolutely. So you know what do you how do you
where's the blame yeah I know it exactly like that's why it's such a hard one it's like who do you
put the blame on like do you put it on her for starting it do you put it on her parents or maybe
causing her to have trauma that DD's parents I mean for cause you're gonna have trauma that
developed that mental disorder or you know you never know and you know I again speak for myself
I'm not speaking for anybody else I personally think that Gypsy will not be a danger to society
if she's released. Isolated case that's the way I feel about Menendez. I think that Nick needs to
serve the remainder of his life in prison like he's going to but I definitely think that every
single person in this story was mentally ill yeah and not to say that Gypsy was but I think that her
mother kind of put so much trauma into her life that she almost like caused one to develop. She
was saying you know you're sick you need to protect yourself from other people germs diseases
um she she used scare tactics in order to get Gypsy to do what she wanted to do because of
her mental disorder and she's there creating mental disorders you know I mean whether or not
DD would have gotten help you know the damage was done is what I'm saying and and had either of
them lived through this and unscathed if you will um with even then with therapy and stuff like
Gypsy would still have some of the things that she's exhibiting now. I completely agree. If you guys
are interested in looking at any like documentaries or anything on this case I know that Mommy Dead
and Dearest is like an actual documentary and then there is a reenactment like kind of like
docu- not docu-series but like a series called The Act. It's a reenactment but just gonna shout
out my girl Joey King. She's like one of my favorite actresses and she plays Gypsy. Yeah and
Patricia Arquette who is like one of my queens and she plays DD so yeah. It's a really great
great show and it honestly like kind of gives you a little bit more and I'm sure they like fabricated
a couple of things you know like minimal like detailed conversations probably not completely
accurate but it's really really good show and right and I watched it like as soon as it came out
I was like oh my god but yeah um I think that's all I have that was uh that was a whopper there.
Oh but I think it's time for me to announce I think my oh yeah okay so not to be confused with
the first case that I did for our bonus Patreon episode the Toybox Killer. Okay. I will be doing
the Toolbox Killers for my next Toolbox Killers. Toolbox Killers. Not Toybox Killer. Yes okay.
Toolbox Killers and that is Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris. Interesting. And they are some
ruthless sons of bitches they were some ruthless sons of bitches and when I tell you Patreon members
we never get a content warning I almost still want to put one in but I'm not going to because
you know what you're getting yourself into with the Patreon MIP episodes. Just get ready
because it's fucking gnarly. If you are interested in listening to the Toolbox Killers episode that
Kena is going to bring on the 29th of this month which is July depending on when you're listening
to. Boyfriend's breakey. We will be releasing that for our tier two and tier three Patreon members
only on that Patreon exclusive. You get no content warning no ads hardly any editing and that's
going to be like sometimes we're leaving coughs honestly. Honestly. You guys love us already.
Just raw stuff because we know what you guys are into if you become a Patreon member and don't forget
that even arts tier one which is the five dollar tier also gets ad free episodes as well. Yeah
absolutely. Well thank you guys so much for joining us I'm really glad that we were able to do that
case honestly because I know that we've talked about it in like probably eight of our other episodes.
I told you I was never going to do it. Yeah. Can I and I sometimes like we we talked to each other
like oh okay you know what I heard about this case but I really want you to do it. Yeah I'm not
going to do it. I want to listen to it. Yeah exactly. I want you to tell me about it. Yeah.
Okay well we will see you guys on Monday with another Minty Breakey.
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