SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A judge has set a December trial date for the man accused of murdering Dee Dee Blanchard, in a case that has drawn national attention.
Nicholas Godejohn is charged with murder and armed criminal action for the June, 2015 stabbing death of Blanchard, at the home she shared with her daughter, Gypsy Blanchard.
Godejohn has waived his right to a jury trial and the evidence will be heard before the judge only, in a bench trial on December 11 at the Greene County Judicial Center. A hearing for Godejohn is also scheduled for Thursday, May 18.
In July, 2016, Gypsy, pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder for her role in her mother’s death. She was sentenced to 10 years, which is the minimum sentence for 2nd degree murder under Missouri law. Gypsy Blanchard will have to serve at least 85% of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.
During the murder investigation, detectives uncovered Dee Dee had been able to convince people for years her daughter suffered from several conditions that made her wheel-chair bound.
These revelations had a significant impact on the plea agreement worked out between the prosecutor and Blanchard’s defense team.
Godejohn met Gypsy over the internet, detectives say, and Godejohn traveled to Missouri to carry out the murder.
Godejohn’s defense team plan to call a psychologist, to tesify about Godejohn’s autism spectrum disorder. The state disputes his mental disease interfered with his ability to deliberate about commiting murder.
Monday night, (May 15) HBO debuted a documentary about the murder, detailing the years of fraud Dee Dee Blanchard perpetrated regarding Gypsy’s medical condition – both in New Orleans and in the Ozarks.