Gypsy Rose Blanchard‘s current love life has been in the headlines since her prison release. So much so, that some may forget a crucial detail from the Blanchard case: Nicholas Godejohn, Blanchard’s boyfriend at the time, was the one who brutally stabbed and killed Blanchard’s mother — so, what is Godejohn’s release date?
If you recall, Blanchard’s mom, Dee Dee Blanchard kept her daughter under near-constant medical treatment that she didn’t need, for serious conditions she did not suffer from, including muscular dystrophy and leukemia. Experts think Gypsy was the victim of Munchausen by proxy, a rare psychological condition when caregivers, often mothers, seek unnecessary medical care for others as an attention-seeking behavior for themselves.
Blanchard met Godejohn in secret online, and in 2015, the couple conspired to murder Dee Dee so Gypsy and Godejohn could be together. That year, Godejohn traveled from Wisconsin to Missouri, where the Blanchards lived, snuck into the Blanchard home, and stabbed Gypsy’s mom to death while Dee Dee slept. Gypsy hid in the bathroom while it happened.
Nicholas Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison
In 2016, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the role that she played in her mother’s murder. Nicholas Godejohn was also found guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. And in 2019, Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years, The Springfield News-Leader reported. By that point, Gypsy was engaged to someone else.
Godejohn later told ABC 20/20 that he felt horrible about killing Dee Dee. He said, “Me and [Gypsy] were in the hotel room … she kept on telling me, ‘Stop crying, stop crying. There’s no reason, reason to cry. It was my idea, it wasn’t yours.’ I did what I did because I loved her. I really wanted a life with her, I really did.”
Today, Godejohn is housed at the Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri. In 2022, Godejohn appeared in court and asked for his conviction to be set aside and a new trial, claiming he had ineffective counsel. The next year, Godejohn’s request was denied. Godejohn’s latest appeal claims he has “diminished capacity” due to autism and “low IQ,” and that his murder conviction should be downgraded to manslaughter, with a commensurately shortened prison sentence.