30 December 2023 , 12:08
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New photos show Gypsy Rose Blanchard enjoying a welcome home party after being released early from prison where she was sentenced for her part in the murder of her own mum.
The 32-year-old can be seen in the images with a beaming smile as she posed with her stepsister Mia Blanchard in front of a 'welcome home' sign made out of golden balloons. She captioned the pic 'Sister Love'.
Gypsy persuaded an online boyfriend to kill her mum Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, after she had forced her to pretend for years that she was suffering from leukaemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses
In a video posted on TikTok, Gypsy popped a bottle of champagne as confetti rained down on her and her guests. One of the first things she did after release was go shoe shopping with her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, at an Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse near Kansas City, Missouri.
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The first selfie Gypsy shared after being released from prison (instagram/@gypsyrose_a_blanchard)Blanchard was released early in the day from the Chillicothe Correctional Center, said Karen Pojmann, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Corrections. Blanchard was granted parole after serving 85 per cent of her original sentence, Ms Pojmann said.
Blanchard’s case sparked national tabloid interest after reports emerged that her mum, who was slain in 2015, had essentially kept her daughter prisoner, forcing her to use a wheelchair and feeding tube.
Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard (Crime+Investigation)It turned out that Gypsy Blanchard, now 32, was perfectly healthy, not developmentally delayed as her friends had always believed. Her mother had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which parents or caregivers seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children, said her trial attorney, Michael Stanfield.
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Gypsy's mum convinced her she was ill for years (Lifetime)During her time in prison, Gypsy gained a number of fans. Under one of her pictures people voiced their support including Jennifer Turpin, who escaped parental abuse in 2018, who said: "Awesome! Looking fab!"
“People were constantly telling Dee Dee what a wonderful mother she was, and Dee Dee was getting all of this attention,” Mr Stanfield said.
Through the ruse, the mother and daughter met country star Miranda Lambert and received charitable donations, a trip to Disney World and even a home near Springfield from Habitat for Humanity.
Gypsy was released from prison after serving 85 per cent of her sentence (Gypsy Rose Blanchard)Stanfield said Gypsy Blanchard’s mother was able to dupe doctors by telling them her daughter’s medical records had been lost in Hurricane Katrina. If they asked too many questions, she just found a new physician, shaving the girl’s head to back up her story. Among the unnecessary procedures Gypsy Blanchard underwent was the removal of her salivary glands. Her mother convinced doctors it was necessary by using topical anaesthetic to cause drooling.
Gypsy Blanchard, who had little schooling or contact with anyone but her mother, also was misled, especially when she was younger, Stanfield said.
Gypsy gives an interview from prison (Gypsy Rose Blanchard/Instagram)“The doctors seem to confirm everything that you’re being told. The outside world is telling you that your mother is a wonderful, loving, caring person. What other idea can you have?” Stanfield said.
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But then the abuse became more physical, Stanfield said. Gypsy testified that her mother beat her and chained her to a bed. Slowly, Gypsy also was beginning to understand that she wasn’t as sick as her mom said.
“I wanted to be free of her hold on me,” Gypsy testified at the 2018 trial of her former boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn of Big Bend, Wisconsin, who is serving a life sentence in the killing. She went on to add: “I talked him into it.”