A woman who persuaded an online boyfriend to stab her abusive mother to death in a case that gripped America has been released early from prison.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard, 32, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard in Missouri.
In 2015, she conspired with Nicholas Godejohn following years of abuse.
Clauddine forced Gypsy to pretend she was suffering from leukaemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses.
She essentially kept her daughter prisoner, making her use a wheelchair, feeding tube and an oxygen tank even though she was perfectly healthy.
Godejohn, now 34, stabbed Clauddine with a knife Gypsy gave him.
The pair fled the scene but were then arrested hundreds of miles away in Wisconsin where Godejohn lived.
On Thursday, Gypsy was freed on parole from the Chillicothe Correctional Centre, spokesman Karen Pojmann said.
The case sparked intense media interest and spawned a number of TV documentaries and shows.
Clauddine had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which parents or caregivers seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children.
Throughout the ruse, mother and daughter met country star Miranda Lambert, received charitable donations, a trip to Disney World and even a home near Springfield from Habitat for Humanity.
Her trial attorney, Michael Stanfield, said Gypsy’s mother was able to dupe doctors by telling them her daughter’s medical records had been lost in Hurricane Katrina.
If they asked too many questions, she just found a new physician, even shaving the girl’s head to back up her story.
Among the unnecessary procedures Gypsy underwent was the removal of her salivary glands.
Gypsy, who had little schooling or contact with the outside world, testified her mother beat and chained her to a bed.
She reached a plea deal with prosecutors due to the abuse she had suffered, which meant a 10-year sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. Godejohn is serving a life sentence in the killing.
While in prison, Gypsy gave a number of interviews detailing Clauddine’s behaviour.
Her book is due to be published in January.
In a recent People magazine interview, she said: “Nobody will ever hear me say I’m glad she’s dead or I’m proud of what I did. I regret it every single day.”
