Louisiana Family At Center Of Bizarre Missouri Murder Involving Fake Illness & Katrina Story

A Missouri woman and her boyfriend are accused of killing her mother, and she may have faked the need for a wheelchair and pretended to be a Hurricane Katrina victim to collect donations.

A search was called for Gypsy Blancharde in the Missouri Ozarks after her mother, Clauddinnea "Dee Dee" Blancharde, was found murdered in their home on Sunday. Neighbors told reporters that Gypsy used a wheelchair, and had leukemia and muscular dystrophy.

It's been uncovered by a Missouri news station that the family may have concocted the illness while living in Chackbay, La.

Bobby Pitre, Blancharde's cousin, spoke to reporters saying the family tried to stop the charade when Dee Dee first started claiming her daughter was wheelchair-bound. He said Gypsy was perfectly healthy and could walk just fine.

The family didn't know their whereabouts until Tuesday.

Gypsy and her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, were arrested Tuesday (6/16) and charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott urged people not to donate to the family anymore, and that Gypsy “can walk without assistance or a wheelchair, and she can do that very well,”

Investigators were looking into a fraud scheme by the Blanchardes. This includes claims that they were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Habitat for Humanity even provided them with a home, complete with a wheelchair ramp, in 2007.

Gypsy's true age is still up in the air. Three different birth dates are given for her in a probable cause statement, ranging from 19 to 23.

Godejohn admitted that he stabbed Dee Dee to death at the request of Gypsy. Gypsy confessed that she was in the house when her mother was murdered, and could hear her screaming.

The couple raided Dee Dee's safe, and stole thousands of dollars.

After the killing, they stayed in town for a day or two where they were spotted on businesses surveillance. Gypsy was seen walking on her own, sometimes even carrying her own luggage, and wearing disguises.

They then took a bus to Wisconsin, where they were later arrested at Godejohn's home.

[Source]