Gypsy Rose Blanchard is free.
The 32-year-old, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016 for her role in the murder of her mom Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, was officially released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 28 after serving seven years of her sentence, the Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed to KSHB 41 News.
Though she was originally set to be released in 2026, Gypsy was freed after serving 85 percent of her time, as required by state law. According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, she was also credited with time served for the year she spent behind bars prior to pleading guilty to second degree murder.
In 2015, Gypsy and her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn were arrested in connection to Dee Dee's murder after police discovered the 48-year-old's remains in her home in Springfield, Mo.
After her arrest, Gypsy, then 23, subsequently pleaded guilty to second degree murder. As for Nicholas, in 2018, the then-29-year-old was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
While in court, Gypsy testified about her mother's alleged abuse, saying that Dee Dee forced her to undergo unnecessary medical treatments, kept her isolated from the outside world, made her use a wheelchair and told relatives that she suffered from various illnesses, including cancer.
Gypsy's dad, Rod Blanchard, previously told ABC's 20/20 that his ex told him their daughter had "leukemia, paralyzed, muscular dystrophy," and "was also using a wheelchair and now had a feeding tube."
After her arrest, police discovered that Gypsy was healthy and had the ability to walk on her own.
"People felt sorry for me," she said during her testimony, per St. Louis TV station KSDK. "They believed the lie; they believed the fraud." She also testified that it was her idea to kill her mother and convinced her then-boyfriend to complete the crime, stating that she thought it was the only way out.
"I wanted to be free of her hold on me," Gypsy said in court, per the outlet. "I talked him into it."
Nicholas detailed his side of the story, telling 20/20 in 2018, "[Gypsy] comforted me about it. I prayed once I got here. I tried to get her mother's soul to forgive me."
"I did what I did because I loved her," he shared of his ex-girlfriend. "I really wanted a life with her, I really did."
While in prison, Gypsy went on to marry Ryan Scott Anderson in June 2022, legally changing her legal last name to his. She's also set to speak out about the harrowing details of her life in an upcoming docuseries.
"After a lifetime of silence, I finally get to use my voice to share my story and speak my truth," Gypsy says in the trailer for The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which will air on Lifetime in January. "As a survivor of relentless child abuse, this docuseries chronicles my quest for liberation and journey through self-discovery."
As she noted, "I am unapologetically myself and unafraid to expose the hidden parts of my life that have never been revealed until now."
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