Just days after being released from prison on December 28, Gypsy Rose Blanchard had amassed millions of followers on social media, appeared on magazine covers and previewed an upcoming book . With the Lifetime show "Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Prison Confessions" also premiering on January 5, her story and that of her partner-in-crime, Nick Godejohn, will likely continue to dominate the conversation.
For those who need a quick refresher: In 2015, Blanchard and Godejohn conspired to kill Blanchard's mother, DeeDee Blanchard, who, by proxy, made Blanchard the Munchausen Comprehensive victims of the disease. In 2016, Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 2018, a jury convicted Godejohn of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Godejohn is now appealing his sentence. Here's more about Godejohn's relationship with Blanchard and the status of his appeal.
love becomes fatal
Blanchard had been a victim of Munchausen Syndrome since infancy, with Diddy falsely claiming her daughter had multiple illnesses, including cancer, and forcing her to use a wheelchair. Blanchard also claimed that her mother emotionally and physically abused her.
Blanchard met Godejohn in October 2012 on a Christian dating website. But as Blanchard says in "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard ," they couldn't be together because Dee Dee "controlled every aspect of her daughter's life." "I'm starting to think it's either her or it's me," Blanchard said during a sneak peek of "Doctors for Life." "She never wanted me to find love or happiness."
She added that she ultimately "participated in the events that required" Godejohn, who lived in Wisconsin, to travel to her home in Missouri and kill her mother in June 2015. Police found Dee Dee stabbed to death in her bedroom and they tracked Blanchard to Godejohn's home. They arrested them on murder charges at their home in Wisconsin.
life imprisonment
Although Blanchard accepted a plea deal on a second-degree murder charge and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Godejohn rejected the plea deal in 2016 and went to trial. At his sentencing in February 2019, he reiterated that his motive was to save Blanchard, saying: "I fell in love blindly. That's always the case."
Godejohn is currently serving a life sentence at Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri.
He has appealed several times since his conviction and sentence. In August 2022, Godejohn requested a new trial, with new counsel arguing that he had not previously received effective assistance from counsel and that Godejohn lacked understanding due to his mental capacity. However, the judge denied his motion. In December 2023, his public defender appealed again, asking for a new trial, but the court reportedly gave no deadline for a ruling, according to the local NBC affiliate.
Gode John speaks
In 2019, Godejohn was interviewed for Oxygen Television's Snapped: Killer Couples series. He said he wrestled with "angels" and "devils" on his shoulders before murdering Diddy. Godejohn also called Blanchard his "soulmate" and said he "will always have feelings for her," adding, "I want to make sure her mom never hurts her again."
Still, he expressed regret for his crime. "Of course, if I had to change anything, one of the most obvious changes would be that I would run away with Gypsy," Godejohn said. "I want everyone to know that I am not this emotionless cold killer. I am a human being. Human beings make mistakes."
