What We Know
Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard: What We Know
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What is the full record in the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard? Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard was killed at her home in Springfield, Missouri, in June 2015. Her daughter, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years. Nicholas Godejohn was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Why the gap? The prosecutor's own 2016 release says what the plea took into account.
What's confirmed
- June 2015Dee Dee Blanchard found dead in her Springfield home (TIME; NBC News).
- July 5, 2016Gypsy Rose Blanchard pleads guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder, 10 years, probation denied. The prosecutor says the evidence "clearly established" she was guilty of murder, and that the plea took into account "extreme mitigating circumstances of the nearly two decades of systematic and purposeful abuse of Gypsy Blanchard by her mother" (Greene County Prosecuting Attorney news release, 07/05/2016).
- Nov. 2018a Greene County jury convicts Nicholas Godejohn of first-degree murder and armed criminal action (KY3).
- Feb. 22, 2019Godejohn sentenced to life without parole, plus 25 years for armed criminal action, served at the same time (KY3).
- June 4, 2024the Missouri Supreme Court denies his application for transfer, No. SC100575 (Missouri Supreme Court minutes).
- 2023Gypsy Rose Blanchard granted parole; released Dec. 28, 2023 (NBC News; NPR; TIME).
What's disputed / what we don't know
- Godejohn's lawyers argued he is on the autism spectrum and could not deliberate. The jury convicted him anyway (KY3; Scripps News).
- Outlets and outside experts link the pattern reported about Dee Dee Blanchard to Munchausen syndrome by proxy. No formal diagnosis of her is public, and no court ruled on it.
- Whether either outcome was fair is not something the record answers, and we don't argue it.
What happens next
Nothing is scheduled in the sources we found. Godejohn's state appeals ended with the June 2024 order. If a court records a new filing, we'll update this page.
Sources
- Greene County Prosecuting Attorney news release, July 5, 2016greenecountymo.gov/files/PDF/file.pdf?id=10449
- Missouri Supreme Court, minutes of June 4, 2024courts.mo.gov/SUP/index.nsf/cfc8c4b5bc15cb158625661d0073593c/1c81e5e96c38c01c86258b310066291f
- KY3, sentencing, Feb. 22, 2019ky3.com/content/news/Sentencing-506216361.html
- KY3, new-trial motion denied, March 2, 2023ky3.com/2023/03/02/greene-county-judge-denies-nicholas-godejohns-motion-new-trial/
- Scripps News, Godejohn appealscrippsnews.com/us-news/crime/nicholas-godejohn-gypsy-rose-blanchard-s-ex-files-new-appeal
- NBC Newsnbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna131423
- NPR, Dec. 28, 2023npr.org/2023/12/28/1221959446/gypsy-rose-blanchard-released-from-prison-early-in-the-case-of-abusive-mothers-m
- TIMEtime.com/6550568/gypsy-rose-blanchard-prison-release-murder-charge/
- Biography.combiography.com/crime/gypsy-rose-blanchard-mother-dee-dee-murder
Gypsy Rose Blanchard pleaded guilty and Nicholas Godejohn was convicted by a jury; both are named only as the court record shows. No part of Dee Dee Blanchard's death is shown or recreated. The prosecutor's statement and the defense's arguments are attributed to their sources.
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