During the early morning hours of June 10, 2015, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard (née Pitre; born May 3, 1967, in Chackbay, Louisiana, United States) was stabbed to death in her Springfield, Missouri, home. She was murdered by Nicholas Godejohn. The murder was planned by Godejohn and her daughter, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard.
The murder went undiscovered for four days; neighbors called police after seeing alarming Facebook posts written by Gypsy-Rose the day before. Hours later, both Gypsy-Rose and Godejohn were arrested in his native Big Bend, Wisconsin, and confessed to the murder. The media revealed that Dee Dee had forced Gypsy-Rose to pretend to have severe physical and mental disabilities for financial and social advantage, a condition known as factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA).
In 2016, Gypsy Rose Blanchard accepted a plea agreement, pleading guilty to second-degree murder and receiving a ten-year prison sentence. Court records established that she had planned the killing with her online boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, whom she had met on a Christian dating website. In June 2015, Godejohn traveled to Springfield, Missouri, where he fatally stabbed Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard while Gypsy Rose was present in the home. After the murder, the pair fled to Wisconsin, where they were later arrested after posting messages on social media that drew attention to the crime.
During Godejohn's trial in November 2018, prosecutors presented evidence of premeditation, including online messages between the two discussing plans for the killing. The defense argued that Godejohn had diminished capacity due to autism spectrum disorder, but the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Blanchard, who had cooperated with investigators, was granted parole and released in late 2023 after serving more than eight years. The case drew widespread attention after investigators uncovered evidence that Dee Dee had subjected her daughter to years of medical abuse, including falsifying illnesses and unnecessary treatments, which became a significant factor in public discussion. Blanchard was paroled at the end of 2023.
Dee Dee Blanchard
Early life and family
Dee Dee Blanchard (born Clauddine Pitre on May 3, 1967) was born in Chackbay, Louisiana, United States, and raised in nearby Golden Meadow, Louisiana. She was one of several children born to Claude Anthony Pitre Sr. and Emma Lois Gisclair Pitre.
Her mother died in 1997.
Education and early adulthood
Public documentation regarding Blanchard's formal education is limited. She is reported to have attended local schools in Louisiana but did not pursue higher education.
During this period, Blanchard reportedly experienced instability in personal relationships and living arrangements, though detailed records are limited.
Relationship, marriage, and early family life
At age 23, Dee Dee Pitre met Rod Blanchard, then 17, at a bowling alley bar in Louisiana. The two began a relationship that progressed quickly, and Blanchard became pregnant soon afterward.
The couple married on December 27, 1990. Their daughter, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, was born on July 27, 1991, in Louisiana. Following the birth of their daughter, the marriage quickly deteriorated. Rod Blanchard later stated in interviews that he felt he had married "for the wrong reasons" and was not prepared for family life at the time. He and Dee Dee Blanchard separated prior to or shortly after Gypsy-Rose's birth, and the couple later divorced.
Transition into later life patterns
Following the birth of her daughter, Dee Dee Blanchard told family members that Gypsy-Rose had a number of serious health conditions, including reported leukemia, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, and developmental disabilities.
Blanchard sought medical treatment for her daughter from numerous healthcare providers across several states and frequently relocated which contributed to fragmented medical records and repeated diagnostic evaluations. According to law enforcement records and reporting based on court proceedings, some of the conditions described were not supported by medical findings and were determined by authorities as having been misrepresented.
Evidence presented in court proceedings and media reports indicated that Gypsy became aware over time that her health was not exactly as it had been portrayed. During later testimony, she stated that she sought to escape her mother's control and ultimately conspired with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, in the murder.
According to the probable cause statement and court findings, Gypsy participated in the planning of the killing, including communicating with Godejohn in advance and facilitating the murder. Reports based on the affidavit state that she provided the weapon and hid in another room while the attack was carried out. In sworn testimony during Godejohn's trial, Gypsy stated that she had persuaded him to commit the murder, stating that she "talked him into it".
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard
According to Rod Blanchard, when Gypsy was three months old, Dee Dee became convinced that the infant had sleep apnea and began taking her to receive medical care. Repeated overnight stays with a sleep monitor and other tests found no evidence of the condition. Over time, Dee Dee asserted that Gypsy had a wide range of medical issues, which she attributed to an unspecified chromosomal disorder. In 2012, Gypsy was diagnosed with 1q21.1 deletion syndrome which can increase the risk of delayed development, intellectual disability, physical abnormalities, and neurological and psychiatric problems. Additionally, Gypsy's former pediatrician, Dr. Rob Steel, confirmed in an interview that Gypsy had strabismus as an infant, which required surgery to correct and prevent blindness.
In later accounts of her life, including interviews and her memoir, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard described aspects of her early childhood and family environment. She alleged that when she was about five years old, her maternal grandfather behaved inappropriately toward her and her mother during bathing. She also recalled that at around seven or eight years old, she was involved in a minor motorcycle accident with him, resulting in a knee abrasion. These claims form part of her personal narrative and have not been independently substantiated in court findings.
Blanchard has also described a childhood marked by instability following her parents' separation. She reported that she and her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, frequently moved residences and relied on assistance from charities. After Hurricane Katrina, they relocated to Missouri, where Dee Dee presented Gypsy as suffering from multiple severe illnesses, while Gypsy herself later stated that she was also involved in helping maintain or reinforce some of those false claims about her medical condition. Medical records and subsequent investigations indicated a pattern in which Dee Dee misrepresented her daughter's health, leading to unnecessary treatments and interventions. These circumstances have been widely discussed in connection with factitious disorder imposed on another (formerly called Munchausen syndrome by proxy) and were a significant element in understanding the background of the case.
Gypsy frequently attended Special Olympics events with her parents. She was named the honorary queen of the Krewe of Mid-City, a child-focused Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. At the event, she described herself as an animal lover with four cats and her grandfather as her "best friend".
Dee Dee sustained a leg injury that Gypsy later recalled resulted from a car accident, requiring a two‑month hospital stay. During this period, Dee Dee and Gypsy lived with Gypsy's maternal grandfather, Claude, for about ten months. In her 2024 book, Gypsy accused Claude of abusing both her and her mother during this time.
Around this period, Dee Dee began taking Gypsy to science fiction and fantasy conventions. They sometimes attended in costume, which allowed Gypsy to blend in.
Gypsy appears to have stopped attending school after second grade, possibly even earlier. Dee Dee homeschooled her thereafter, citing Gypsy's alleged illnesses. Gypsy has said she learned to read independently by reading the Harry Potter books.
After Claude remarried, Dee Dee and Gypsy moved in with him and his new wife, Laura. Family members later alleged that Dee Dee poisoned Laura's food with Roundup weed killer, contributing to Laura's chronic illness during this period.
According to relatives, when they confronted her about her treatment of Gypsy and raised concerns about Laura's health, Dee Dee left the household with Gypsy. The family said that Laura's condition improved afterward.
Move to New Orleans
Dee Dee and Gypsy settled in the New Orleans suburb of Slidell, where they lived in public housing. Dee Dee supported herself through child‑support payments from her ex‑husband, Rod, and through public assistance tied to Gypsy's purported medical conditions. She continued taking Gypsy to numerous specialists, primarily at Tulane Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of New Orleans. Some physicians provided treatment based on the conditions Dee Dee reported. After she told doctors that Gypsy experienced seizures every few months, they prescribed anti-seizure medication. During this period, Gypsy underwent surgery, and Dee Dee frequently took her to the emergency room for minor ailments.
According to the Springfield News‑Leader, Dee Dee regularly consulted with Dr. Robert Beckerman, who was said to have treated Gypsy for ten years.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in August 2005, Dee Dee and Gypsy left their damaged apartment and relocated to a special‑needs shelter in Covington, where they stayed for three months. Dee Dee told officials that Gypsy's medical records and birth certificate had been lost in the flood. A doctor at the shelter, who was originally from the Ozarks, suggested that they relocate to Missouri. The following month, they were airlifted there as part of the resettlement program for people displaced by the hurricane.
Move to Missouri (2005)
Dee Dee and Gypsy initially lived in a rented home in Aurora, in southwestern Missouri. During this period, Gypsy was honored by the Oley Foundation, an organization that advocates for the rights of feeding‑tube recipients, as its 2007 Child of the Year.
Move to Springfield
In 2008, Dee Dee and Gypsy moved east to Springfield. Habitat for Humanity built a small house for them on the city's north side, equipped with a wheelchair ramp and hot tub as part of a larger development project. The story of a single mother caring for a severely disabled daughter who had fled Hurricane Katrina drew considerable local media attention. The community frequently offered assistance to the family, and Dee Dee—now identifying as Clauddinnea Blanchard—continued to go by her longtime nickname. She also set up an outdoor movie screen at their home and charged neighbors $1 or $5 to watch films. Neighbors described Dee Dee as a friendly and caring woman.
In the summer of 2009, Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics published a story highlighting a reunion between Dee Dee, Gypsy, and Dr. Robert Beckerman following an appointment at the Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center.
The outpouring of support in Missouri included numerous charitable contributions. While living in Louisiana, the pair had primarily relied on occasional stays at Ronald McDonald Houses during medical appointments; in Missouri, they received free flights to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, trips to Walt Disney World, and backstage passes to Miranda Lambert concerts through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Rod Blanchard continued to make monthly child‑support payments of $1,200, sent gifts to Gypsy, and occasionally spoke with her by phone. He later recalled that during one call on Gypsy's eighteenth birthday, Dee Dee told him not to mention her daughter's real age because "she thinks she's 14".
Rod and his second wife hoped to visit Springfield, but Dee Dee repeatedly changed plans. She allegedly told neighbors that Gypsy's father was an abusive drug addict and alcoholic who had never accepted his daughter's health issues and had never provided financial support.
Many people who met Gypsy-Rose were charmed by her. Her 5-foot (150 cm) height, nearly toothless mouth, large glasses, and high, childlike voice reinforced the perception that she had the medical problems her mother described. Dee Dee regularly shaved Gypsy's head to mimic the appearance of a chemotherapy patient, allegedly telling her that medication would eventually cause her hair to fall out and that shaving it in advance was easier. Gypsy often wore wigs or hats to cover her baldness. When they left the house, Dee Dee frequently brought an oxygen tank and feeding tube, and Gypsy was fed the children's liquid nutrition supplement PediaSure well into her twenties.
Medical interventions continued. Dee Dee had some of Gypsy's saliva glands treated with Botox and later removed entirely to address her purported drooling. Gypsy later claimed that Dee Dee induced drooling by applying a topical anesthetic to numb her gums before doctor visits. Tubes were implanted in Gypsy's ears to treat her many purported ear infections.
In her memoir, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy‑Rose, Gypsy wrote that she developed an addiction to pain medication beginning at age sixteen.