The tragic killing of Dee Dee Blanchard was a true real-life case, which Hulu brings to you as it’s first installment of real crime anthology series. The Act features actresses Joey King andPatricia Arquette as the lead characters reflecting the emotional turmoil between Dee Dee and her daughter Gypsy Rose, tortured for years by her mother’s Munchausen syndrome, and it all ends in murder. The story is equally tragic and terrifying and before watching the series, there are some dark facts that viewers should know.
The mother and daughter duo moved to Springfield, MO after their house was destroyed in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina. Dee Dee told family and friends that Gypsy suffered from multiple ailments, like muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, and leukaemia, besides having mental abilities akin to that of a 7-year-old, while she was actually much older. Though perfectly healthy, Gypsy was forced to use a wheelchair by her mother and she could not disobey her due to the fear of being harmed physically.
Dee Dee visited over 150 doctors, in different states, for her daughter’s so-called ailments. During checkups, physicians prescribed treatment for Gypsy’s alleged hearing, sleep vision, and salivation problems. Dee Dee sought donations to sustain themselves and their house was built by the non profit organization Habitat for Humanity to ensure Gypsy a handicap-friendly home. Neighbors and friends also generously helped them, not aware of what was really going on. Despite her mother strictly monitoring herInternet usage activities, Gypsy established an online relationship with one Nicholas Godejohn, the Wisconsin man who would eventually kill Dee Dee.
Godejohn used Dee Dee’s account on Facebook in June 2015 to post a chilling message that read that she was dead. Alarmed friends contacted authorities, who were the ones who found the body after several days, with multiple stab marks on it. A tip about Gypsy’s relationship from a family friend enabled the authorities to discover Godejohn’s IP address and both were found in his home at Big Bend, Wisconsin. Godejohn received and is currently serving a life sentence, while Gypsy was condemned to spend 10 years in jail, as she was charged with second-degree murder.
