Even though police have charged Gypsy Rose Blancharde with the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blancharde, they still have far more questions than answers about the young woman’s life.
The Springfield News Leader in Missouri reports concerned friends went to check on Dee Dee on Monday morning after a message was posted on the mother and daughter’s shared Facebook page saying “That B*tch is dead!”
Dee Dee was found “deceased of a violent nature” inside the home — and wheelchair-bound daughter Gypsy was reported missing. Neighbors expressed concern for the young woman, whom they believed had leukemia and muscular dystrophy.
Gypsy and older boyfriend Nicholas P. Godejohn were found hours later in Wisconsin, where Gypsy was seen walking down the street.
“It’s a very twisted story trying to sort out what is true and what’s not and as far as motives and how that all links back,” Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott said. “We just know there is a lot of deception.”
Sheriff Arnott said investigators now believe Gypsy and Dee Dee were in on a long-running financial scheme together. In addition to lying about Gypsy’s medical conditions, they are also suspected of lying about moving to Missouri when they were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Because of their stories, Sheriff Arnott said they received an unknown figure in donations from the public, Habitat for Humanity, and the Ronald McDonald House.
At this point, it isn’t even clear how old Gypsy really is.
“That is what is tough about living in Springfield, Missouri, is we are a giving community, said Sheriff Arnott. “We surround people with love and finances that we believe that needs it. However, a lot of times we are deceived, and I think this is might be the case.”
Upon her arrest, Gypsy confessed to stabbing her mom to death two days before leaving for Wisconsin. She said she posted the Facebook messages so the body would be discovered sooner. Gypsy and boyfriend Nicholas have both been charged with first-degree murder and remain in jail with $1 million bonds.
