Nicholas Godejohn's Family Is Reportedly Working On A Show About His & Gypsy's Story

The Act has spent a few episodes setting up the fraught relationship between Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. But now, Nicholas Godejohn has entered the story. He's included in the April 3 episode — which, for those familiar with the true story the show dramatizes, signals the beginning stages of he and Gypsy's plot to murder Dee Dee. (The real-life Gypsy and Godejohn both admitted to their roles in the crime, and are now serving out their respective prison sentences).

Gypsy was sentenced to 10 years in prison — the minimum for a second-degree murder charge — back in 2016, per the Springfield News-Leader. However, Godejohn's sentencing occurred more recently. In February, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a charge of first-degree murder, according to another News-Leader report. The article further states that the case never hinged upon whether or not Godejohn killed Dee Dee, as he admitted to it, but rather his motive. His defense team argued that he was in love with Gypsy, that he wanted to "save her" from her mother, and that he was mentally incapable of deliberation due to his autism diagnosis. The prosecution countered that Godejohn had a sound mind and that his motivation was driven by sex and a desire to be with Gypsy. The jury sided with the prosecution, finding Godejohn guilty in November 2018, as reported by Missouri news station KY3.

According to BuzzFeed, Dee Dee was suspected to have had Munchausen by proxy — a syndrome that causes a parent or caretaker to make up or cause an illness or injury in a person under his or her care. Gypsy has said she was raised to believe she was disabled and chronically ill, and that she came up with the murder scheme because she wanted to escape her mother. As she told ABC News in 2018, the older she got, the more independence and freedom she wanted from her mother. Ultimately, that desire led her to start an online relationship with Godejohn.

Per ABC, their relationship persisted for more than two years before meeting in person in March 2015. Gypsy had hoped that Dee Dee would approve of Godejohn, but told ABC that wasn't the case. "She got jealous, because I was spending a little too much attention on him, and she had ordered me to stay away from him," Gypsy said. "And needless to say, that was a very long argument that lasted a couple weeks."

ABC reports that the night of the murder, Godejohn and Gypsy waited until Dee Dee fell asleep, then Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee while Gypsy hid in the next room. Godejohn told the outlet that he did it because he wanted to protect Gypsy and rescue her from her mother. "I felt horrible about it. When me and her were in the hotel room ... she kept on telling me, 'Stop crying, stop crying. There's no reason to cry. It was my idea, it wasn't yours,'" Godejohn told 20/20 in an interview from prison, per the same ABC piece. "[Gypsy] comforted me about it. I prayed once I got here. I tried to get her mother's soul to forgive me."

According to Missouri prison records, Godejohn is currently assigned to the Fulton Reception & Diagnostic Center in Fulton, Missouri. It's unlikely that he has seen any of The Act from prison, but his family is reportedly working on a separate show. "At this point, I have the legal life rights to [Gypsy and Dee Dee's] story, and I'm the only person who has the official story from all sides, and I'm even working with the Godejohns at this point," screenwriter Franchesca Macelli, who's working on a series called By Proxy, told the Springfield News-Leader. However, neither Godejohn or his family have confirmed any involvement in By Proxy.

If and when Godejohn decides to share his side of the story, he will have to do so from prison.