Sometimes, the strangest connections to high-profile cases aren’t direct. Instead, they might be small, subtle overlaps. In 2018, TikToker @5pennynickle visited her mother, Diana, in prison at Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri, which was the same facility where Gypsy Rose Blanchard was incarcerated.
Her mother is a licensed cosmetologist, so she wonders if her mom ever did Gypsy Rose’s hair in prison. Her mother’s legal name is Diana, but she goes by the name Dee Dee; the same name as Gypsy’s mom, whose case became one of the most widely discussed true crime stories in recent years.
Unfortunately, @5pennynickle can’t ask her mother because they are no-contact, leaving that potential connection as just another unanswered “what if.”
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s case is both tragic and deeply complex. According to HuffPost, she went to prison for convincing her boyfriend to kill her abusive mother in 2015. She was released from prison in 2023.
Her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, made her a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. It is a form of child abuse in which a child’s caretaker makes up fake symptoms or deliberately causes real symptoms to make it look like the child is sick.
She forced Gypsy to use a wheelchair, shaved her head to mimic the symptoms of chemotherapy treatments, and gave her unnecessary medicine that led to severe tooth decay.
In 2015, Dee Dee was found stabbed to death in her house in Springfield, Missouri. Gypsy admitted to conspiring with her ex-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to commit the murder.
Ultimately, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was also given another 25 years for armed criminal action. Gypsy agreed to a 10-year sentence as part of a plea deal.
Now, Gypsy is 34 years old and navigating life as a new mother since early 2025. She is learning from her past mistakes and hopes to be a positive role model to her daughter.
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Even people who weren’t directly involved with Gypsy can often find some sort of connection to them, whether it’s through shared spaces or simple coincidence. It just goes to show how far-reaching cases like this can be.
In the comments section, others shared similar proximity to notorious cases, from family members working in prisons to loved ones incarcerated alongside high-profile offenders.
“My uncle is a guard at the prison and gets so mad about Gypsy and will not talk about her to anyone,” commented one user.
“My husband is currently in prison with Grace Milanes’ killer, but he can’t talk to him, as he’s in a protected unit. Laws in my country are bad. Murder only gets you 17 years, at most 20. That’s it,” shared another.
“My father’s wife worked there at that time. I can ask for you. She hated Gypsy, though, so I’m not sure she will know 100% if she did,” wrote a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
