Every family has its secrets, but the Blanchard household hid a reality so macabre it could chill even the most seasoned crime buffs to the bone. Welcome to another riveting session where we peel away the perfectly crafted facade of Dee Dee Blanchard to expose the gut-wrenching saga of her daughter, Gypsy Rose. Together, we'll traverse through a narrative that's more twisted than fiction, where maternal love morphs into a harrowing tale of control, abuse, and a desperate yearning for freedom.
Imagine a young girl trapped in a web spun from her mother's lies, her body a battleground for unnecessary medical procedures—all for the sake of sympathy and support from an unsuspecting community. This episode doesn't just recount the chilling events that led to Dee Dee Blanchard's murder; it lays bare the psychological warfare inflicted upon Gypsy Rose. The voices of family members and experts guide us through this dark journey, questioning our perceptions of victimhood and the sinister depths one might plunge to escape a life of torment.
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Every family has its secrets, but the Blanchard household hid a reality so macabre it could chill even the most seasoned crime buffs to the bone. Welcome to another riveting session where we peel away the perfectly crafted facade of Dee Dee Blanchard to expose the gut-wrenching saga of her daughter, Gypsy Rose. Together, we'll traverse through a narrative that's more twisted than fiction, where maternal love morphs into a harrowing tale of control, abuse, and a desperate yearning for freedom.
Imagine a young girl trapped in a web spun from her mother's lies, her body a battleground for unnecessary medical procedures—all for the sake of sympathy and support from an unsuspecting community. This episode doesn't just recount the chilling events that led to Dee Dee Blanchard's murder; it lays bare the psychological warfare inflicted upon Gypsy Rose. The voices of family members and experts guide us through this dark journey, questioning our perceptions of victimhood and the sinister depths one might plunge to escape a life of torment.
Thanks for being a loyal Crime Connoisseur! Enjoy your free 30-Day Audible Trial Membership
Discover your dog's DNA with a simple cheek swab for their genetic testing.
Your cat deserves better. Have fresh, human-grade meals for your cat straight to your door each month.
Welcome back crime connoisseurs. I'm your host, grace D. I'm sorry this has taken me so long to get out to you guys, but I've been battling a wicked cold. It was leaving me all congested and groggy and feeling blah and I didn't want to put out content that sounded that way. I truly believe in quality over quantity and it was more important for me to take the time, heal and get to a point where I could put out an episode that you guys could listen to. Because, let's be real, we don't want to be listening to episodes that have a meaningful impact and you can tell that someone's sick. It almost makes you start to listen less, and these cases are so important that I don't want the way I'm sounding with being sick to take away from that. So, with that being said, I hope you guys enjoyed the case of Gwen Shamblin and Reminette Fellowship Church. Talk about a wild ride of a case. That one was, and today's case is one that gripped the nation by storm.
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Before we jump in, I want to give a trigger warning right off the bat. This episode will contain topics of child abuse, sexual abuse of a child and molestation. A mother and daughter, an inseparable pair, a doting mother caring for her very ill daughter, a mother sacrificing for her daughter confined to a wheelchair, a daughter who, no matter how bad it was, always kept a smile on her face. The two were an incredible duo, or were they? This was the public perception of the two, but what was really happening behind closed doors? One day, when the mother is murdered, the truth of the two would soon come to light, or shall I say the darkness would be revealed the lies and torment a young girl's life stolen from her. When would the tragedies end? This is the case of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. For this case, we have to start from the very beginning.
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Before Gypsy was even born, rod Blanchard met Claudine Dee Dee Petrie while he was in high school. Rod was 17 and Dee Dee was 24. They started dating and three months after, dee Dee found out she was pregnant. Shortly after, rod married Dee Dee because he felt this was the right thing to do. However, the feelings wouldn't stay that way. Three months after their wedding, on Rod's 18th birthday, he woke up and realized that he had made a mistake. He thought to himself you're married to a woman you're not even in love with. In his interview with Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. He told them quote I said, dee Dee, I'm sorry, I'll always try to be there as a father but as a husband I don't feel that end quote. To say Dee Dee was upset by this would be an understatement. She grabbed their framed marriage license and threw it on the ground.
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After the divorce, dee Dee moved back in with her parents in Golden Meadow, louisiana. On July 27, 1991, dee Dee gave birth to a baby girl named Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Dee Dee liked the name Gypsy and Rod was a Guns N' Roses fan. Rod remained in Gypsy's life early in the beginning, but shortly after the divorce Rod started dating a woman named Christie. He later married Christie and they had two children together, dylan and Mia. Rod continued to make monthly child support payments of $1,200. He also sent gifts and spoke with Gypsy on the phone. However, dee Dee told neighbors that Rod was an abusive drug addict and alcoholic who never came to terms with Gypsy's health issues and never sent them any money.
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Gypsy had a whole slew of medical problems. When Gypsy was three months old, dee Dee told doctors that she didn't seem to be breathing properly. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea and giving a breathing apparatus. Dee Dee called Rod and told him about Gypsy's diagnosis the first of many ailments that Dee Dee would start to claim. Dee Dee's father confirmed that Gypsy had a breathing machine and said at night it would go off when Gypsy stopped breathing and they would have to go and wake her up. After waking her up and she began breathing again, the alarms on the machine would stop. Claude said it was scary and I can only imagine, especially at such a young age for a child. Gypsy's first surgery happened before she was even one years old. Gypsy had a bad wandering eye that needed to be corrected or she could have gone blind in her right eye. When Gypsy was old enough to talk, dee Dee instructed her not to volunteer any information. During the doctor's appointments, dee Dee was always the one relating Gypsy's medical records. Dee Dee told Rod that their daughter had a chromosomal disorder that had led to her many health issues.
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Rod complimented Dee Dee for her dedicated care. He said, quote I told Dee Dee she was the best mother. There's no way I can do what she was doing. You have a sick child. It's constantly 24, seven taking care of her and everything I mean. I always praised her and told her good job. End quote when Gypsy was old enough to attend school, she hadn't made it the year before Dee Dee pulled her out. She told Rod's new wife that she didn't trust the school to give Gypsy her medications. Evans Dee Dee's brother said that she started homeschooling Gypsy but that stopped when she was in the second grade.
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Gypsy spent a lot of time with her grandpa, claude Dee Dee's dad. Now I've seen many articles saying when she was 7 or 8, but in the prison confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, gypsy told the producers she was 5. So at some point between 5 and 8, gypsy was on the back of her grandpa's motorcycle when they got into an accident. Dee Dee made a bigger deal out of the accident and Gypsy's injuries than it was according to family members. Gypsy's leg was scraped and her leg was put into a brace. Then one day Dee Dee walked into the room and had a wheelchair with her and, according to Gypsy, dee Dee very bluntly told Gypsy to use the wheelchair. By the time Gypsy was 8, dee Dee had claimed that Gypsy had leukemia, paralysis and muscular dystrophy the reasons for using a wheelchair and why she had a feeding tube.
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Dee Dee's brother, evan's Petrie, told prison confessions with Gypsy Rose Blanchard about a time when there was a birthday party and all the kids were jumping on a trampoline, gypsy asked him if she could jump too. Dee Dee was at the grocery store and Evan told her yeah, go ahead. So Gypsy got up out of her wheelchair, walked over to the trampoline and started jumping on it and was having fun. According to Evan, as soon as she saw Dee Dee pull up, gypsy just dropped, as if her legs had stopped working. Evan said his sister was so mad and started screaming, saying things like quote, don't you know she's crippled. And quote. He replied quote, we all see different. And quote. She got Gypsy off the trampoline back into her wheelchair and took her inside, where she remained for the rest of the day.
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Rod had heard from Dee Dee's family members that Gypsy could walk, but given how fragile his relationship with Gypsy was because of Dee Dee, he didn't notice confronting her in fear of Dee Dee keeping Gypsy away from him. He admits that he should have done his due diligence and done more for Gypsy. Around this time Dee Dee's mom became very ill and had passed away. When this happened. Her brother, evans, said that Dee Dee's world just came crashing down. She stole her mom's credit cards and racked up the bills. She even had a warrant out for her arrest in Lafouche Parish for writing bad checks.
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In 2000, dee Dee and Gypsy were in a bad car accident. It was so bad that Dee Dee nearly lost her foot and she had to recover in the hospital for quite some time. While Dee Dee recovered in the hospital, gypsy stayed with her grandparents. She loved her grandpa, claude, and had great memories up until this point. Before we continue, I want to give a trigger warning.
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We're going to be discussing the sexual abuse of a child and molestation. Gypsy was nine years old when the car accident happened. Claude took Gypsy home to Golden Meadow while Dee Dee recovered At this point. Gypsy has had multiple procedures, has been diagnosed with leukemia, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, has had a feeding tube put in and has been confined to a wheelchair. Gypsy never imagined her life could get any darker.
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According to Gypsy, at this time she was sexually abused and molested by Claude. She told producers with prison confessions of Gypsy, rose Blanchard, that Claude would take her out of her wheelchair and bring her into a closet or out to the shack that was in the back behind the house where he would do woodworking and where he would perform sexual acts on her. He would make her touch him and he would touch her. Gypsy said at nine she didn't think she knew it was wrong, but then Claude would tell her not to tell anyone, saying, quote you don't want Papa to go to jail, do you end quote. Claude participated in the docu-series and the producers confronted him about this. However, they did so in a very particular way that his response raised some red flags for me. Here's how the interaction went interviewer Gypsy told us that there may have been some abuse that went on in this house.
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Claude, abuse with who? Interviewer with you? Claude, gypsy, gypsy, yeah, oh, no, no, I never the first. I've heard of it. We always would play together and always stuff together and stuff like that. But that's not true at all. No, she would try to touch me. I said no, don't do that. She was the one that was trying to touch me. I said don't do that. When she started that, when she was about four years old, I said don't do that and that's about it. But she, she was trying to touch me, hi. So the thing that raised red flags for me is that the interviewer never specified the type of abuse and Claude immediately denied everything, made it sexual and then blip the script, putting it all on Gypsy as a four year old. To me that just raises so many red flags and it's gross, it's disgusting, it's icky and I just wanted to smack the man. And if the allegations are not true, still the way that he handled himself. I just want to smack the man and I really hope I'm not alone on that.
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One. Evans told prison confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard that he believes this isn't true but does believe that Gypsy was told this and that it was drilled into her by her mom for attention, to throw the spotlight on someone other than herself. But Gypsy says this is something that she 100% remembers happened to her. Gypsy kept quiet. She didn't want to get him in trouble and when Didi got out of the hospital they stayed with Claude for a bit. His mom had recently passed away and Claude remarried to Laura May. In an interview with the prison confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, gypsy's cousin Bobby recalled one time he was visiting his grandfather Claude. According to Bobby, quote One day my grandfather and Gypsy were hanging out and Gypsy sees the roundup in the corner and tells my grandfather oh, that's the vitamins that mom gives to grandma, laura May End quote it was known that Deety was a vengeful person and that she did not like Laura May.
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One day Laura May and Deety got into a heated fight and Laura May told her she didn't want her there anymore. So after this, deety packed up their belongings, got Gypsy in the car and off they went. Deety started moving her and Gypsy around all over. Rod used to see Gypsy three to four times a year, but the more they moved, the further away they got from LaFouche Parish and it was more difficult for Rod to visit. Deety told Gypsy that Rod was abusive. She told her that one night he had picked Gypsy up by the neck and thrown her across the room towards Deety. But that had never happened.
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Deety had a feeding tube put in when Gypsy's weight was too low. When she was diagnosed with epilepsy, the doctors prescribed Tegretol which made her teeth crumble from inside of her mouth, causing them to have to be pulled. Deety also later insisted Gypsy had asthma and hearing and visual issues and had doctors prescribe medications and perform surgeries for these conditions. When Gypsy was 13, she got her first period and Deety did not educate her about it. She never taught her about pads or tampons she told Gypsy to use one of her diapers.
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In 2005, deety and Gypsy were living in Slidel, louisiana, when Hurricane Katrina made landfall. They stayed in the shelter for at least a month and a half. When they went back to the apartment they were living in, there was nothing but devastation. Deety received assistance to relocate her and Gypsy from Louisiana to Missouri. Hurricane Katrina provided the perfect excuse for Deety not having Gypsy's medical records. She claimed that they were all damaged by the tragedy. Deety continued to take Gypsy to medical appointments. As Gypsy got older, deety began to lie about her age, going as far as to altering the dates on Gypsy's birth certificate. When they arrived in Missouri in September 2005, they stayed at Mercy Hospital's temporary housing in Aurora. Deety told neighbors their apartment in Louisiana and Gypsy's medical records had been destroyed in Hurricane Katrina In March of 2008,.
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With no reason not to believe a seemingly devoted mother and her sick daughter, the local Habitat for Humanity built a pink, accessible home in Springfield with a wheelchair ramp for them. The community rallied around them in other ways hosting charity events, giving donations and sponsoring gypsy for trips and medical care. The entire time, dee Dee continued to bask in the attention that she received for being such a devoted caretaker. Between hospital stays, gypsy and Dee Dee flew across the country to concerts, celebrity meet and greets, gallows and even Disney World, with expenses paid by charitable organizations including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They were local celebrities in their Missouri town and the subject of many local news profiles and articles. Gypsy gave speeches about her condition around the country at various conferences, including Relay for Life events. Dee Dee and Gypsy also received gifts and cash donations from Good Samaritans, including country music star Miranda Lambert.
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When they moved to Missouri, dr Rob Steele became Gypsy's pediatrician. Dee Dee had been able to convince people before because she had some nurses training so she could accurately describe symptoms and she even gave Gypsy medications to mimic certain conditions. She was also charming and seemed devoted to her daughter. When Dee Dee told him that all of Gypsy's medical records were lost in Hurricane Katrina, he asked Dee Dee about Gypsy's different ailments. She couldn't really give exact specifics to his questions. So Dr Steele contacted Gypsy's other doctors back in Louisiana and ran his own tests. Medable tests often showed inconclusive or contradictory results regarding Gypsy's diagnosis. When Gypsy was 14, she saw neurologist Dr Bernardo Flasterstein. He ordered an MRI and blood test which found no abnormalities. After contacting Gypsy's doctors in New Orleans. He learned that Gypsy's original muscular biopsy had come back negative, which undermined Dee Dee's self-reported diagnosis, as well as the claim that all of Gypsy's medical records had been destroyed by flooding.
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In September 2008, according to Gypsy's pediatrician, dr Steele, his nurse came to him with three documents and on the three separate documents were three different birthdays for Gypsy. They had the same month and day, but each had a different year. The dates were July 27, 1991, july 27, 1993, and July 27, 1995. The nurse said to Dr Steele quote I'm now really concerned. End quote. After going over the documents, dr Steele called the Department of Children's Services and said quote I am concerned, this child has been kidnapped. End quote.
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Dcs came to the Blanchard home to investigate the doctor's claims. They kept Dee Dee in the living room and spoke with Gypsy alone in her room. They asked her if she had any bruises, who Dee Dee was to her and things of that nature. She could hear the other DCS workers talking to Dee Dee. Dcs told Dee Dee she needed to obtain a real birth certificate for Gypsy. Dee Dee played it off as if she was just a mom in a difficult situation just trying her best. Dcs eventually left, but they never followed up.
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Dr Steele didn't know what happened after his report, so he called Dee Dee and asked her to bring Gypsy in. When they arrived he asked Dee Dee if anyone from the state had contacted her and Dee Dee said they did. Dr Steele told Dee Dee quote I want you to know that I was the one who called them. End quote. At that point he asked Dee Dee to leave the room because he wanted to speak with Gypsy privately. Dee Dee was hesitant but agreed and stepped out. Dr Steele asked Gypsy quote Is everything okay? Is there anything you want to tell me? This is a safe place, end quote. Gypsy replied quote no, everything is fine. My mom loves me and I love my mom. End quote. Dr Steele's concerns were still there, but there was nothing else that he could do.
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After the DCS visit, dee Dee became increasingly paranoid about doctors and social workers. She put filters on the windows so that it would be difficult for people to see inside the home, but it also prevented Gypsy from being able to see outside, feeling more like a prisoner within her own home. In a letter obtained by ABC News from Dr Flasterstein to Gypsy's primary care doctor, he wrote, quote I believe that the mother suffers from munch-housing. By proxy end quote. The outlet found another doctor had called authorities in 2009 when he could not find any symptoms to support what Dee Dee alleged to be wrong with her daughter. Medical records show that Gypsy and Dee Dee visited more than 150 medical professionals over the years. According to the ABC News report On Gypsy's 18th birthday, rod called to wish her a happy birthday. When Dee Dee answered the phone, he said he was calling to tell Gypsy happy 18th birthday, but she told him not to say that, and when he questioned her as to why not, she said that Gypsy didn't know she was 18. This was strange and didn't make any sense to Rod, but it turns out Dee Dee had told Gypsy that she was only 14.
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In 2011, dee Dee took Gypsy to the sci-fi convention called VisionCon. Here, gypsy met a guy that she bumped into with her wheelchair and they talked for a bit before parting ways. Later, the guy found Gypsy on Facebook. Gypsy and Dee Dee had a shared Facebook, but Gypsy also had a secret Facebook account and this guy had found her secret account. The guy's name was Dan, and the two started talking and immediately hit it off. Dan was 36, and Gypsy was 19, but she thought she was only 15 at this time. Dan was the first person that Gypsy confided in and actually told that she could walk. Gypsy and Dan had feelings for each other but knew with her supposed age they couldn't be together. That wasn't until Gypsy found her Medicaid card and learned the truth about her age. The Medicaid card had Gypsy's birthdate of July 27, 1991, revealing that she was really 19 years old. She told Dan about finding the Medicaid card and what she had learned about her actual age. Dan told Gypsy to leave, but she said she couldn't because Dee Dee would find her and Dan said that he would protect her.
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After this, dan and Gypsy came up with a plan for Gypsy to leave in the middle of the night and to run away together. They planned on moving Gypsy to his farm in Arkansas. One night Gypsy stole Dee Dee's phone while she was asleep and she texted Dan. He asked if tonight could be the night they run away together. Gypsy said okay and packed a bag. She packed a few costumes because she didn't really have any real clothes and wore a wig to help disguise herself. Gypsy also took some pills and money from Dee Dee. Gypsy hitchhiked to a house where Dan's friend lived. Gypsy left a note for Dee Dee so that she wouldn't worry. In the note, gypsy wrote that she knew she was really 19 and that she was an independent woman and loved her, but that it was time for her to spread her wings and fly. Gypsy was excited to see Dan, but after she got to Dan's friend's house, dan told Gypsy that he was on parole and that he couldn't leave the state. Gypsy immediately thought oh my god, she's going to find me.
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When Dee Dee woke up around 4am and found that Gypsy had run off, she started looking around for clues. Dee Dee knocked over Gypsy's backpack and her phone fell out. Dee Dee saw texts with Dan and started calling mutual friends from the convention to try and track them down. One of the mutual friends told Dee Dee where Gypsy was. Dee Dee headed off to get her daughter back. She arrived around 8am while Gypsy and Dan were asleep. Dan's friend woke Gypsy up saying your mother is here.
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Gypsy's heart sank upon hearing that her fears had become a reality. She saw Dee Dee walk through the door and the first thing Gypsy said was quote. I know I'm 19 and I can be here if I want to end quote Dee Dee asked her where the pills and money were and Gypsy gave them back to her. Dee Dee then asked if they could talk on the porch and Gypsy agreed. She told Gypsy if she came home with her she'd allow Gypsy to see Dan. Gypsy believed Dee Dee and decided to go home with her. She realized that she was completely dependent on Dee Dee.
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On their way home, gypsy confronted Dee Dee about her age, but Dee Dee continued to deny that she was 19. Gypsy said she wanted to see something in writing about the age that Dee Dee was claiming her to be. They stopped at Staples and Dee Dee had a copy of Gypsy's birth certificate. She went inside and 10 minutes later came back out with Gypsy's birth certificate, which then said she was born in 1995. After seeing the birth certificate, gypsy believed Dee Dee. She saw it with her own eyes. She loved Dee Dee. She was her mother after all.
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Once they got home, gypsy never saw what was coming next. Dee Dee chained Gypsy to the bed. She proceeded to smash her laptop and cell phone. Gypsy was chained to the bed for two weeks. Dee Dee used handcuffs and a dog leash. The dog leash was connected to Dee Dee so that at any time Gypsy moved, dee Dee would know. Once they got home, gypsy never saw what was coming next. Dee Dee chained Gypsy to the bed. She proceeded to smash her laptop and cell phone. Gypsy was chained to the bed for two weeks. Dee Dee used handcuffs and a dog leash. The dog leash was connected to Dee Dee so that at any time Gypsy moved, dee Dee would know.
Speaker 1:
Gypsy was at Dee Dee's mercy for everything the bathroom, food, something to drink and up until this point Dee Dee had never laid a hand on Gypsy. But when Gypsy ran away and started going against Dee Dee, this enraged and foiled things for her. Anything that Dee Dee found displeasing, she'd hit Gypsy with a coat hanger or her hand or fist, or would punch her in the leg. Gypsy begged and pleaded with Dee Dee trying to regain her trust. When it finally happened, dee Dee unchained Gypsy. But now more than ever, dee Dee was extra sensitive to when Gypsy would move in bed. Dee Dee kept a knife by the bed and, according to Gypsy, dee Dee said that she would pay if she tried to run away again. Gypsy said that Dee Dee put a hex on her. Now Dee Dee believed in magic and witchcraft, so it was very believable to Gypsy that the hex was real.
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According to Gypsy, didi bought a mason jar and inside of it she put pictures of Gypsy, a cow's tongue and a little of Gypsy's menstrual blood. She buried it in the backyard and told Gypsy quote you will never find love, you will never be happy, end quote. Gypsy realized she needed out of the relationship with Didi. She thought maybe she could wait for Didi to die for natural causes. But how long would that take? She could live well into her 70s and by then Gypsy would be too old to do the things she wanted in life settle down and have kids. She knew she needed to do something to escape, but what? And this is where we're going to leave off for part one.
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In part two we'll be discussing the lengths that Gypsy went to to escape the horrendous torture from the hands of her mother, the woman who was supposed to love and protect her. We'll also be discussing what happens to Gypsy after that and where she is now, and whether you believe that Gypsy is this innocent victim or a master manipulator. At the end of the day, both Didi and Gypsy are victims in this case, for very different reasons, but we cannot ignore the fact that they are both victims and we are able to feel bad for what is happening to them in those moments of time while they're victims. So be sure to download and subscribe to Crime Connoisseurs wherever you listen to your podcast, and if you're enjoying the show and would like to show some support, you can click the link in the Instagram account at Crime Connoisseurs. In the link you'll see one that says buy me a coffee.
Speaker 1:
Any amount is greatly appreciated and I really love putting together this content for you guys and getting the lesser known cases out there, advocating for the victims, being it known more about missing persons and unsolved and Jane does and John does. It's something that I'm very passionate about and I know you guys are just as passionate about it as well. Otherwise you wouldn't be listening. So thank you. Thank you for all the support that you guys give me in every way, shape and form, from the listens and the downloads and the shares and subscribing and the likes and the comments on Instagram and everything, just everything. I appreciate you guys so much. So again, thank you. So in the meantime, keep it classy, connoisseurs, and I'll catch you on the next case. Bye.