Mommy Dead and Dearest

[kathe5133]

36 minutes ago, annewithaneee said:

Another thing I wondered about with the boyfriend was the costuming. I wanted to know more about how she got the Hot Topic-y bondage gear and wigs and whatnot, and what conflict that caused between her and Dee Dee. Because that was....a lot. 

Yeah.......................  I've thought about this for a few days and I'm thinking there's a much bigger con going on.  Things are not what they seem.  Her mother forbid the computer, yet she had enough access to build a "relationship" with Goodejohn.  Well, she could order costumes on line while her mother was sleeping.  But, you can't receive them online.  How did she account for the packages?  How could her mother not know?  If her mother was so completely controlling how could sexy clothing items be in the house and Dee Dee not know?  I think Gypsy was a lot more complicit than she lets on and I think Dee Dee was not completely unaware of Gypsy's online life.  Gypsy was raised by a liar and a thief, who taught her to lie and steal.  I believe she knew how old she was, she knew she wasn't sick.  She was faking right along with Dee Dee.  For whatever reason she longed to break free, and being a liar and a thief, didn't think about reaching out to the authorities.  Just decided to take matters into her own hands and now is following her mother's teachings to play the victim.  I guess time will tell.  Perhaps 30 years from now there will be an HBO documentary about Gypsy's post prison life!  I can't see her story ending well at all.....

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Mommy Dead And Dearest Has Two Problems

One is the title, which is trashy. The other is that it's only 82 minutes, and Sarah D. Bunting could have kept watching this crazy story all day.

[Armchair Critic]

14 hours ago, annewithaneee said:

Another thing I wondered about with the boyfriend was the costuming. I wanted to know more about how she got the Hot Topic-y bondage gear and wigs and whatnot

Dee Dee taught Gypsy how to steal by hiding things in her wheelchair. The costumes & wigs Gypsy stole from WalMart. The documentary maker did a Reddit interview, I think that's where I read it. Reddit with Doc Maker and she said she got her info from this article MJ Pack thoughtcatalog

Edited May 20, 2017 by Armchair Critic

[skittl3862]

On 5/19/2017 at 10:07 AM, annewithaneee said:

Then again -- DOB? Wouldn't that be a huge issue with Dee Dee's con? I could see her explaining away Gypsy's own confusion about her age with tales of her mental delays, but does that mean she also found a fake ID for her and stuck with it rigidly? That's the one thing I'd expect all these hospitals and clinics to keep a sharp eye on, they verify DOB repeatedly for every trip, and I'd hope that would trace back to IDs and insurance info rather than some bullshit mom spewed during intake.

In the Buzzfeed article, they said that Dee Dee claimed they lost everything in Katrina, including her childhood medical records. She probably made up a new DOB for her and used that every time.

[Guest]

On 5/19/2017 at 9:50 AM, FozzyBear said:

Was that why he refused to do anything when DeeDee showed up? Like maybe he thought he and Gypsy would just start dating and then she started feeling him out to see how far he would go and he backed off? I feel like there was way more to that story.

I think the issue with the first guy was that DeeDee was threatening him with charges of child abuse since Gypsy was "underage." The guy had no idea but backed off when she threatened to press charges. But there was no way she could have pressed charges since Gypsy was over 18 -- despite whatever fraudulent records she had to "prove" otherwise.

On 5/19/2017 at 10:54 AM, kathe5133 said:

Gypsy was raised by a liar and a thief, who taught her to lie and steal.  I believe she knew how old she was, she knew she wasn't sick.  She was faking right along with Dee Dee.  For whatever reason she longed to break free, and being a liar and a thief, didn't think about reaching out to the authorities.  Just decided to take matters into her own hands and now is following her mother's teachings to play the victim. 

I agree with this. I don't know whether there was some element of Stockholm Syndrome going on or just that Gypsy decided to go along with the con willingly at some point, but she was raised to be a liar and thief and is using those skills at this point to survive and thrive. No amount of therapy is going to undo what's been done. The monster has been made. 

[annewithaneee]

22 hours ago, skittl3862 said:

In the Buzzfeed article, they said that Dee Dee claimed they lost everything in Katrina, including her childhood medical records. She probably made up a new DOB for her and used that every time.

Thanks! Clearly I need to lose an afternoon combing through the wealth of Gypsy Rose not found in the doc.

I don't have kids, so I don't know the hoops parents have to jump through to verify their kid's ID versus their own. I mean, for me I have to had over my license for every new doctor and often for any prescription I fill. My insurance, of course, is tied to my SSN and has to be forked over at all times. But kids don't really need to have their own ID until they're getting a passport or driver's permit/license, I guess? I know for me personally not having a copy of my birth certificate didn't pose an issue until I was 15 and needed it for my permit. So maybe nobody's ever ID-checking the child, just the parent if they're picking up controlled prescriptions, but their SSN and insurance details should reveal the discrepancy. You'd hope somebody would eventually notice.

[kassa]

This was definitely fascinating.  While I understand the suspicion that Gypsy herself has become a master manipulator, I'm not sure anybody else would be in physical danger from her.  I fear the eventual release of people who randomly kill people they don't know more than people who kill someone who sadistically tortured them as children.  Maybe she'll get out and run a big time scam or two, but I don't know that she's necessarily likely to murder anybody else.

Boyfriend, on the other hand... even if he truly loved her, there's a problem with anybody capable of stabbing somebody.  Pretty much anybody can pull a trigger under certain circumstances -- even under the same circumstances, very few could repeatedly stab another human being.  Those who have proven they are capable of it probably shouldn't be out among us.

[GaT]

On 5/15/2017 at 7:16 AM, funky-rat said:

If this turns up on YouTube or somewhere that I could watch it, would someone let me know?  We gave up HBO last summer when we found we only watched it every 2-3 months, and I don't do Amazon Prime or Netflix.

I don't know if you're still looking for it, but it turned up on YouTube

Edited May 25, 2017 by GaT

[funky-rat]

14 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't know if you're still looking for it, but it turned up on YouTube

 

Woo hoo!  I think I'm taking off work tomorrow, so I can watch it tonight, or sometime tomorrow.  Thanks!

[MarMar]

In watching the second time I have a question. We see that Gypsy Rose knew that her mom was lying about her ability to walk.   Gypsy Rose

Spoiler

 

 knew to hide it.  Why did she think she was hiding it?  Was reason did her mom give her?  The answer to this question could impact how I see this documentary and I am not sure if I missed the explanation on the show. 

Edited May 29, 2017 by MarMar

[funky-rat]

Finally got to see this.  The YouTube link was shut down quick, but I found it on some website that was probably illegal and I hope didn't give me a virus or something.

So messed up.  But I found it somewhat refreshing to see people speak of the dead as they felt - not that she was some saint crap.  And because I'm married to an adult survivor of child abuse, her family didn't bother me.  When his mom died, the family all finally said what they felt - well, most of them.  Some still gave her saint status.

As for her voice, it was mentioned she had throat surgery at least once, and that can permanently alter the vocal cords.  I had surgery on my nose (severe scar tissue resection) and my throat was damaged by the breathing tube.  I now have a cyst on my vocal cords, my voice is much lower than it used to be, and any efforts to change it sound odd, and make my throat hurt.  They wanted to do a second surgery to remove the cyst, but in involves complete silence for almost a month on my part, and the chance of further damage or the cyst growing back are too great for my comfort, so I deal.

Did she get dental implants at some point?  I know seizure meds do all kinds of nasty stuff to the gums - my college roommate took them and her gums were always red, swollen, etc.  She complained constantly about how much they hurt.  They did tell her if she went seizure free for 2 years, she could stop the meds (she was not epileptic and had only one seizure that they were aware of).

Her mom was a pro grifter, and I believe she was grooming her daughter to do the same.  And I would believe she'd threaten Gypsy to keep it up or they would both get arrested, or something equally terrible would happen.  My husband's mom would tell him over and over that if he reported her abuse, he'd be taken to a foster home or an orphanage and be treated worse, or sent to reform school because of his issues (brought on by her treatment of him), and would also tell him that no one would believe him anyway.

Poor girl is all kinds of messed up, but to what degree, we'll never know for sure.

[kassa]

On 5/29/2017 at 10:54 PM, funky-rat said:

er mom was a pro grifter, and I believe she was grooming her daughter to do the same.  And I would believe she'd threaten Gypsy to keep it up or they would both get arrested, or something equally terrible would happen.  My husband's mom would tell him over and over that if he reported her abuse, he'd be taken to a foster home or an orphanage and be treated worse, or sent to reform school because of his issues (brought on by her treatment of him), and would also tell him that no one would believe him anyway.

I'm glad your husband was able to survive his mother.   I agree with your line of thinking about threats.  And also, though obviously Gypsy knew she could walk, do we know if she knew the medical diagnoses were wrong and the surgeries unnecessary?  An evil parent could easily spin that as "I've given up my whole LIFE for you and all your sickness and people want to give us money and it's the least I deserve for being chained to you, so sit in that chair and make a two minute video so I can put a roof over our heads!" blah blah blah.  

[funky-rat]

17 hours ago, kassa said:

I'm glad your husband was able to survive his mother.   I agree with your line of thinking about threats.  And also, though obviously Gypsy knew she could walk, do we know if she knew the medical diagnoses were wrong and the surgeries unnecessary?  An evil parent could easily spin that as "I've given up my whole LIFE for you and all your sickness and people want to give us money and it's the least I deserve for being chained to you, so sit in that chair and make a two minute video so I can put a roof over our heads!" blah blah blah.  

Yeah, or perhaps something like "Well, you're better now, but if you tell people you're better, we'll lose our house, they'll arrest me for fraud, etc."  Stockholm Syndrome.

[Rlb8031]

On 5/16/2017 at 0:11 PM, AgentRXS said:

Absolutely. I'm not sure why her lawyer couldn't get her an insanity plea, so she gets the treatment she needs. Even then, it might not be enough, but when she is released she is going to be 32 year old woman that has no clue how to handle a life of freedom. I don't see things ending well for her, if she doesn't decide to seek help on her own.

 

I just finished reading a book by a guy who was institutionalized after killing his mother while he was high (he was diagnosed with drug induced psychosis and schizophrenia). He talked about the fact that in NY, had he been tried and found guilty, he would have served his sentence and then been released. However, as someone who was deemed to be mentally ill and unable to comprehend his crime, he was sentenced to a mental institution and could be held indefinitely. He ended up spending more time incarcerated that he would have had he just gone to jail. The flip side was that had he gone to prison he would have received no treatment for his mental illness. I wonder if her attorneys took the same tack - shorter prison time with no treatment vs. treatment but the possibility of a lifetime of institutionalization.

[kassa]

From what I've gathered over the years, if you're sane enough to rationally consider your options and the odds, regular prison is the much better bet. As explained above, a prison sentence is a prison sentence and you usually don't serve the whole thing anyway. But being committed puts you at the complete mercy of whoever is making that decision years from now, under whatever political climate exists at that time. Not to mention that being trapped under isolation with insane people and being treated as one for decades probably erodes what sanity you do have.

To be clear, I'm not talking about organically mentally I'll people who can benefit from medication and adjusted environment to accommodate that, but people who have the ability to function freely in general population.

[Kairay]

I can see how Dee dee could have manipulated the doctors. Sometimes they don't even try to find out what is wrong with the patient. They just prescribe a medication. I can't believe that they actually operated on Gypsy. Didn't they see that she was perfectly healthy?? 

I think that Gypsy waited for the right person to come along to do her dirty work. I truly think she felt killing Dee dee was the only way she would be free. Maybe she thought that she wouldn't go to jail because of what her mom did to her. I felt bad for her in the beginning but by the end I felt that she had a plan and she manpulated that boy the way her mom manipulated everyone they ever met. 

Also the whole time I was watching this, I was wondering where her father was. He just seemed to have abandoned them. Gypsy should have had someone on her side. Dee dee might have got the help she obviously needed and Gypsy might have been able to be a normal ( whatever that is) young woman.

[ShellSeeker]

14 hours ago, Kairay said:

I think that Gypsy waited for the right person to come along to do her dirty work. I truly think she felt killing Dee dee was the only way she would be free. Maybe she thought that she wouldn't go to jail because of what her mom did to her. I felt bad for her in the beginning but by the end I felt that she had a plan and she manpulated that boy the way her mom manipulated everyone they ever met. 

I agree with this too. Wasn't there something in there about how Dee Dee said that she hoped they'd both die at the same time? It's possible Gypsy made that up, but if Dee Dee really did say that (and I tend to believe that she did), then I think Gypsy was rightfully in fear for her life. The fact that no one in Dee Dee's family was surprised about how she met her end really speaks volumes about what an evil person she was.

I'm with those who felt like there's something off about Gypsy's story. I think she was being pretty forthright and genuine about what happened, until she was talking about what transpired after the murder. I didn't really buy that Godejohn was planning to rape Dee Dee, and that he told Gypsy about it. Her story about making a deal with him to let him rape her instead of Dee Dee it just doesn't add up for me. It makes it sound like he had some sort of macabre checklist of things to do, and it was pretty clear that Gypsy was the mastermind. She took that lovey-dovey video the morning after, and she was the one that posted those Facebook updates. To me it seems like she's saying that to try and martyr herself in some twisted way -- like yes, I manipulated my boyfriend into killing my mom, but at least I didn't let him rape her, so I can't be all bad!

Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that she suffered from years of horrible, systemic abuse, and we can only imagine what kind of effect that had on her. And as I said above, I think she was afraid that if she didn't take action, Dee Dee would have ended up killing her, one way or another. But I also think she's a extraordinarily talented manipulator -- how could she not be, having been schooled at the feet of the master? I'm sure it's second nature for her, and on some level, she may not even be aware that she's doing it. A fucked up shitshow of crazy, from every angle.

@Sarah D. Bunting, thank you for covering this on The Blotter Presents. I remember hearing something about this at some point, and meaning to read more about it, but never got around to it. The BuzzFeed article was a great lunchtime read, and then I watched the documentary a couple of days ago. 

[TaraS1]

On 5/19/2017 at 10:07 AM, annewithaneee said:

I'm surprised I'd managed to miss this one, as true crime and human disasters are two of my chief interests. 

Well hello there, soulmate! 

Man, DeeDee's dad agreeing that her remains should've been flushed?  Damn lol.

[anyanka323]

On 5/20/2017 at 9:05 PM, skittl3862 said:

In the Buzzfeed article, they said that Dee Dee claimed they lost everything in Katrina, including her childhood medical records. She probably made up a new DOB for her and used that every time.

In the same article, Dee Dee used different forms and variations of her given name Clauddine and changed the spelling of her last name Blanchard, adding an -e to the end of it.  That manipulation plus the claims that her and Gypsy's records were lost in Hurricane Katrina made it difficult for doctors to connect the dots and alert law enforcement and child protection services. 

It's a great and very strange story that needs more than a 80 minute documentary. 

[CaughtOnTape]

I think as far as the doctors were concerned, it's hard to place blame on them.  Doctors only know what they're told.  Sure, some things were medically apparent, but sometimes they're not.  And these days, doctor's are so over tasked that they just prescribe a medication and go on to the next patient.  Dee Dee knew that and played it to her advantage.  I mean....Gypsy looked sick for all intents and purposes.  As the other poster who had to wait 30 years for a diagnosis probably gets is that sometimes doctors don't know what's wrong with you.  I think people watch Grey's Anatomy and think there's always some diagnosis for what's wrong but sometimes there's not.  10 years ago the hearing in my left ear got worse.  I can hear my blood racing sometimes and hear myself speaking in my head.  And if there's a loud bass sound (like at a concert or fireworks) I can feel my brain shake.  No doctor has ever found a thing wrong with me.  For two years I was sent to ENT's and ear specialists and had every ear test known to man done.  I had a deviated septum fixed thinking that was what it was and there has been no improvement.  I finally just stopped searching for answers.  I deal with it.  It's not a huge deal anymore...I just don't stand near speakers at a concert anymore.  I have had nothing come up on any test that states I have lost any hearing or that I have any tears in any part of the ear or that anything is stuck in there.  They simply just don't know.

So....maybe that's where these doctors came in.  Although the one that recognized something was wrong should probably be investigated.  He should have said something at least.  I would imagine they can do so anonymously and with how many doctors Dee Dee was taking Gypsy too, she'd have been hard pressed to figure out which one did it.

That being said...Gypsy scared the hell out of me.  When she walked in and giggled about not having been honest with anyone, even her lawyer...ummmmmmk.  She needs massive amounts of therapy and time away from other humans so she can gain some perspective.

Edited September 5, 2017 by CaughtOnTape

[Guest]

Gypsy will be appearing on Dr Phil (UGH) on November 21. There's a clip at this link. Gypsy seems to have gotten herself quite a dramatic prison makeover. On the one hand, I feel all "good for her!" but, on the other, she scares me. I feel like she's attempting to approximate how a normal 21-year old behaves in an effort to conceal the kind of sociopath she clearly is. She strikes me as manipulative and cunning -- which is exactly what she was raised to be. 

[bilgistic]

H-how did she get new teeth?

[funky-rat]

On ‎11‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 2:50 PM, bilgistic said:

H-how did she get new teeth?

People who are incarcerated do get dental care.  She'd have needed dentures, and I'm sure they were provided for her.

[Darknight]

I just heard about this case. It's so  sad. 

[KariLois]

Dr. Marc Feldman is my cousin so I knew about Munchausen by Proxy long, long, ago.  What a bizarre syndrome and how sad.

[CoachWristletJen]

Gypsy's childhood was very sad, but she's a dangerous psychopath now and spooky as hell to listen to because she doesn't know what honesty is.

Edited February 11, 2018 by CoachWristletJen

[Scarlett45]

I saw this today. Thank you @walnutqueen for sending me to the right forum. 

[walnutqueen]

1 minute ago, Scarlett45 said:

I saw this today. Thank you @walnutqueen for sending me to the right forum. 

I went back & amended my post to tell you that I'm pretty sure some of the other true crime shows I watch have also covered this story, but I couldn't remember which ones.  You could probably do a content search on Gypsy's name and find more that way, if you're so inclined ...

[Scarlett45]

On 5/15/2017 at 10:35 PM, MarMar said:

I was not sure if Gypsy was being honest in her jailhouse interviews or just saying what she thought she was supposed to in her situation.  I am curious how others perceived it.  Is Gypsy now the manipulator?  Does she know anything else?

I think Gypsy wanted her mother dead after years of abuse and imprisonment. I think that after years of living with Dee Dee she is psychology damanged, and that’s one of the reasons she involved the boyfriend. She didn’t snap one day and hit her mom over the head with a skillet, she planned and enlisted the help of someone else, so if this all went wrong she would have someone to pin it on. 

On 5/31/2017 at 3:30 PM, kassa said:

I'm glad your husband was able to survive his mother.   I agree with your line of thinking about threats.  And also, though obviously Gypsy knew she could walk, do we know if she knew the medical diagnoses were wrong and the surgeries unnecessary?  An evil parent could easily spin that as "I've given up my whole LIFE for you and all your sickness and people want to give us money and it's the least I deserve for being chained to you, so sit in that chair and make a two minute video so I can put a roof over our heads!" blah blah blah.  

 

On 6/1/2017 at 8:36 AM, funky-rat said:

Yeah, or perhaps something like "Well, you're better now, but if you tell people you're better, we'll lose our house, they'll arrest me for fraud, etc."  Stockholm Syndrome.

I most certainly see this happening. And as Gypsy aged but wasn’t allowed peer relationships or to be alone with anyone I could see her bitterness and anger building. 

[Sarah D. Bunting]

ID airs an update on the case 11/6 at 9 PM, "Gypsy's Revenge."

[slf]

God, that video of her plunking into the snow. When she's on the ground laughing and moving around, there's a moment when she moves her legs with her arms then rolls around a bit and obviously moves her legs on her own before remembering she's supposed to be paralyzed and lifting them with her arms again. So many people had to have seen things like that that should have, at the very least, raised their suspicions.

It's a tough situation because Gypsy Rose (HER MOTHER NAMED HER GYPSY ROSE, HELLO?!!) was clearly horrifically abused by her mother who was a skilled manipulator and liar. But it's equally clear that Gypsy Rose has learned her mother's craft and used it to manipulate others (with fatal consequences in one instance).

[funky-rat]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 10:52 PM, slf said:

God, that video of her plunking into the snow. When she's on the ground laughing and moving around, there's a moment when she moves her legs with her arms then rolls around a bit and obviously moves her legs on her own before remembering she's supposed to be paralyzed and lifting them with her arms again. So many people had to have seen things like that that should have, at the very least, raised their suspicions.

It's a tough situation because Gypsy Rose (HER MOTHER NAMED HER GYPSY ROSE, HELLO?!!) was clearly horrifically abused by her mother who was a skilled manipulator and liar. But it's equally clear that Gypsy Rose has learned her mother's craft and used it to manipulate others (with fatal consequences in one instance).

We have the knowledge that she was faking.  At the time that video was made, only Gypsy and her mom knew she could really walk.  So I can believe no one saw it.  Plus if you're looking at it on a phone screen or YouTube sized square on a computer, it may not be that obvious.

[Calamity Jane]

On 11/4/2018 at 10:51 AM, Sarah D. Bunting said:

ID airs an update on the case 11/6 at 9 PM, "Gypsy's Revenge."

Is this the place to discuss ID's update, or is there a separate thread?  

[funky-rat]

9 hours ago, Calamity Jane said:

Is this the place to discuss ID's update, or is there a separate thread?  

There is a "General True Crime Shows" thread where a few of us are discussing it.  It's under "Misc TV Talk", then "Genre Talk" , then "General True Crime Shows".  Personally, I'm not sure why you couldn't talk about it here (I mentioned this thread there) but I'm not a Mod, and I'll defer to them.

[Guest]

Nicholas Godejohn was convicted of first degree murder yesterday. And I somehow doubt, once Gypsy's out of jail, that he'll be the last man she swindles into doing her doing dirty work. 

[Angelsmom1009]

On 11/17/2018 at 7:03 AM, Giant Misfit said:

Nicholas Godejohn was convicted of first degree murder yesterday. And I somehow doubt, once Gypsy's out of jail, that he'll be the last man she swindles into doing her doing dirty work. 

He served his purpose, she doesn’t need him anymore *shrug* I feel bad for what happened to Gypsy but I don’t really see her as a victim in this. She learned how to be a master manipulator from her mother and when she gets out of jail she’ll still be young enough to learn how to be independent and enjoy an independent life. I’m really curious to see what her next chapter is going to be.

Edited November 22, 2018 by Angelsmom1009
Cause grammar is important

[slf]

I think Gypsy was very much a victim, essentially held captive and tortured. Then paraded around so her torturer could be praised for how well she was taking care of Gypsy. Two things can be true, tho, so she's become as manipulative and dangerous as her mother.

If all of those doctors had just done their jobs so much of this could have been prevented. It's tragic.