Do We Become Our Mothers?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard murdered her mother, who murdered her own mother
Previously published on Substack
I’m working on a longer piece regarding Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the young woman who planned the murder of her mother and whose boyfriend carried it out. Her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, confined her daughter to a wheelchair her entire life. She manipulated doctors into performing all kinds of unnecessary surgeries on Gypsy and even changed her birth certificate to keep her a child. Dee Dee, a former RN, created symptoms to mimic certain diseases by giving Gypsy medications that caused the desired side effects. Doing so allowed her to defraud charities like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and Habitat for Humanity out of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions when you add up all of Gypsy’s surgeries.
At 19, Gypsy attempted an escape, and Dee Dee retrieved her and chained her to the bed, starving her intermittently. She then had papers drawn up by lawyers labeling Gypsy an incompetent. If she ever tried to get away again, Gypsy would have no legal recourse. Meanwhile, Dee Dee had other surgeries planned.
Gypsy didn’t snap. She premeditated the murder. It took several years before all the pieces were in place, and the person she believed was her knight in…
