Prosecutors will not seek death penalty for Gypsy, Godejohn

Prosecutors announced at a court appearance Monday they will not to seek the death penalty in the cases against Gypsy Blanchard and her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn.

Blanchard and Godejohn are charged with first-degree murder in the June killing of Gypsy's mother Clauddinnea "Dee Dee" Blanchard.

Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson said he didn't believe the cases met the aggravating factors needed to pursue the death penalty in Missouri. He added that the defendants don't have extensive criminal records.

"Not all first-degree murder cases are appropriate for the death penalty," Patterson said. "In looking at these cases, they simply weren’t appropriate."

Gypsy's attorney Mike Stanfield said he was not surprised with Monday's decision, and he thinks prosecutors made the right call.

Stanfield said he is still sorting through 75 discs of photo and video evidence and thousands of pages of social media posts that prosecutors have said they intend to use as evidence against the pair at trial.

"A lot of times there may not necessarily be a lot of important information, but you have to sit down and watch every single bit of it to make sure you don’t miss any of it," Stanfield said. "That is why it is so time-consuming."

Stanfield said at a previous court appearance that Dee Dee Blanchard had set up some blocks that prevented her daughter from viewing her own medical records. Stanfield said Monday he has still not obtained those records.

"We’re still attempting to obtain all of the medical records," Stanfield said. "The durable powers of attorney that her mother had executed prevented Gypsy from even requesting her own medical records. They prevented her from speaking with the doctors on her own. They required her mother to basically do everything as far as her medical care.

"We’ve figured out a way to get those revoked and hopefully we will have those medical records fairly soon."

Stanfield declined to say how he got around the power of attorney blocks.

Relatives have said Dee Dee Blanchard imprisoned Gypsy Blanchard and forced her to pretend that she was disabled.

Stanfield said the medical records are just one example of the control Dee Dee had over Gypsy Blanchard.

"We’re really trying to get a sense of the overall picture and find out exactly how widespread her mother’s control was over her," Stanfield said. "The durable powers of attorney give us a pretty good glimpse that her mother, as far as her medical care, had total control.

"We would like to see exactly what her mother was doing, the medications her mother was getting for her."

Stanfield said Gypsy's Blanchard health has improved while she has been in jail. Gypsy Blanchard and Godejohn are each being held in the Greene County Jail on $1 million bond.

Stanfield said he intends to file a motion to split the cases.

Gypsy Blanchard's stepmother attended Monday's court appearance but declined an interview request from the News-Leader.

A television crew from HBO was also in attendance Monday. Members of the crew said they are working on a long-term project about the case.

The cases have been set for another court appearance on Jan. 11. At that court appearance, the judge hopes to set a trial date.

In June, friends and neighbors believed Gypsy Blanchard was disabled and feared she was in danger when Dee Dee's body was discovered in the family's home on Volunteer Way, just north of Springfield.

Investigators quickly discovered, however, that Gypsy Blanchard can walk and may have had something to do with Dee Dee's death.

By June 16, Gypsy and Godejohn, had been arrested in Big Bend, Wisconsin and charged with murder.

Court documents say Gypsy handed Godejohn gloves and a knife and told him to kill her mother.

A probable cause statement says the couple then stole several thousand dollars from Dee Dee's safe, mailed the murder weapon to Wisconsin and took a Greyhound bus to Godejohn's residence two states away.

Authorities believe Gypsy took credit for Dee Dee's death with a vulgar Facebook post, and that is what led them to discover the body.

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