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She had her mother murdered by her boyfriend and spent more than eight years behind bars. Gypsy Rose Blanchard (32) has been free since last Thursday and is now starting to get used to her newfound freedom.
“At first I was very angry with her, very confused. And I’m still confused,” she told the AP. “I don’t think she was bad.”
It is one of the most bizarre cases in American criminal history: Deedee Blanchard (†48) pretended that her daughter Gypsy Rose was suffering from serious illnesses. At the time, she told those around her that she had leukemia and muscular dystrophy. Little Gypsy was in a wheelchair for years and was artificially fed – but was actually in perfect health.
She was malnourished, lived isolated and had no education. She finally met a man online who she encouraged to get rid of her tormenting mother. He stabbed her and has been in prison for life ever since.
Blanchard says in the interview about her mother: “I know she had a lot of psychological problems. I think that’s why I forgave her, I just tried to understand where it all came from.” Her mother wasn’t bad, just very sick. This process also helps her forgive herself for the crime.
Researchers believe the mother suffered from the rare Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Those affected by the syndrome deliberately cause damage to the health of others in order to gain care from doctors and attention to themselves, presenting themselves as apparently self-sacrificing caregivers.
She regrets not confiding in anyone, she says in the interview. For example, her father – whom she is now really getting to know as an adult. “I thought no one would believe me if I told the truth.”
In prison, she made up for many of the things she had been denied under her mother’s tyranny: education, friends – and even a wedding. She befriended a man through letters and married him while he was still behind bars. “I was in a cocoon, now I’m free and a butterfly.” (neo)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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