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Does Nicholas Godejohn Think Gypsy Rose Blanchard Manipulated Him?
Oxygen’s Killer Couples took a deep dive into the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case as experts and people who worked the case weighed in on whether Nicholas Godejohn was manipulated into murdering her mother in 2015.
In 2015, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard was found face down, stabbed to death in her Missouri home. The murder led law enforcement on a search for her daughter, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was missing at the time, and thought to be wheelchair-bound and suffering from several illnesses.
The brutal nature of Dee Dee’s death wasn’t the only shocking discovery investigators uncovered. As it turned out, Gypsy could walk, and was not suffering from leukemia or muscular dystrophy, as her mother led doctors and family to believe. Investigators found Gypsy on the run with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, who she met on a Christian dating site.
RELATED: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Blasts Her Husband's Haters, Says He's "Rocking My World Every Night"
Why did Nicholas Godejohn mostly keep to himself?
In an episode of Killer Couples: Gypsy Rose & Nick: A Love to Kill For, Godejohn spoke out about his relationship with Gypsy and his psychological issues. “I was basically a good description of a recluse,” Godejohn said on the show. “I kept to myself. The reason I kept to myself is because I didn’t really have the social skills...”
His learning disability hindered him from being able to communicate, according to Godejohn.
Dr. Marc Feldman, author of the book Dying to Be Ill: True Stories of Medical Deception, also appears on Killer Couples. “Gypsy learned at the feet of the master [Dee Dee], and she learned that people can be manipulated, and she found an individual who was in love with her,” Feldman said in the episode.
Dr. Feldman elaborated on his perspective on Godejohn and Blanchard’s relationship in an interview with Oxygen.com.
“Gypsy was trapped in this situation,” Feldman said. “There was no hope that she could see for escape, other than violence, and I think that made her a somewhat manipulative person, especially for how she interacted with Nicholas Godejohn.”
Gypsy got Godejohn to do her bidding, according to Feldman.
“She was the one who was trapped in an unfortunate situation and wanted to escape, but he ended up being the mechanism for the murder of Dee Dee, and that does show some real skill in manipulating another person, even though Nicholas had his own psychological problems, even before he met Gypsy,” Feldman said.
Godejohn was diagnosed with autism in elementary school, according to his father, Bobby, who spoke out on Killer Couples.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Denney was called by the prosecution during Godejohn’s trial. He testified that Godejohn scored a 28 on an autism assessment, while other people with traits associated with autism normally score above 32.
Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was let out early on parole on December 28, 2023. Meanwhile, Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after his first-degree murder conviction.
Expert thinks Gypsy Rose Blanchard groomed Nicholas Godejohn to kill her mom
Dr. Feldman added that he thinks it’s debatable whether Gypsy deserved a 10-year prison sentence.
“I think there had to have been some penalty, because, after all, she did spend over a year putting the pieces in place for the murder of her mother,” Feldman said. “This wasn’t sort of an instant decision, and in a real sense, she groomed Nicholas to be the instrument by which Dee Dee was killed.”
Feldman said he believed Godejohn’s sentence may have been too harsh in comparison.
“I don't know if Nick himself didn't want his mental status brought up at trial, but he clearly has some level of impairment. It may be a significant level of impairment,” Feldman said.
Does Nicholas Godejohn think Gypsy Rose Blanchard manipulated him?
Godejohn shared his take on Gypsy’s role in Dee Dee’s murder. “I did feel that she was not taking responsibility for her actions, but at the same time, due to the way I know she was raised, I can’t blame her,” Godejohn said on Killer Couples.
Originally published Jul 9, 2019.
