On June 15, 2015, Dee Dee Blanchard was found murdered in her Springfield, Mo. home, and her wheelchair-bound daughter, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, was reported missing. But after Gypsy was tracked to Wisconsin and implicated in the murder, what started out as a grisly tale of matricide morphed into a bizarre story of deception and abuse.
Erin Lee Carr (“Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop”) returns to HBO to explore another true-crime story in the age of social media in Mommy Dead and Dearest, a shocking look at one of psychology’s most controversial conditions: Munchausen by proxy syndrome. The documentary will featuring exclusive interviews with Gypsy Rose Blanchard from prison and will debut MONDAY, MAY 15 (10:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT).The film will also be available on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and affiliate portals.
A Facebook post stating, “That Bitch is Dead,” led investigators to Wisconsin following the murder of Dee Blanchard and the disappearance of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Gypsy was implicated in her mother’s murder and it was discovered she had been the victim of her mother’s abuse via Munchausen by proxy syndrome since early childhood. Mommy Dead and Dearest unravels the complicated tale of a mother whose deception caused her daughter decades of unnecessary medical treatment – until she reached her her breaking point.
MOMMY DEAD AND DEAREST includes interrogation room footage of Gypsy, her boyfriend, Nick Godejohn, and various family members, as well as intimate home videos and family photos, medical records, text messages and courtroom video. The film features interviews with her father and stepmother, Rod, and Kristy; Dee Dee’s father and stepmother, Claude and Laura; Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, a pediatric neurologist who was one of the few to raise concerns about Dee Dee’s claims; Gypsy’s lawyer, Mike Stanfield; Greene County prosecutor Dan Patterson; Dr. Marc Feldman, an expert on Munchausen by proxy syndrome; and journalist Michelle Dean, who covered the story for BuzzFeed, as well as others.
The film had its world premiere in March at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. Mommy Dead and Dearest was directed and produced by Erin Lee Carr; produced by Andrew Rossi; co-producers, Alison Byrne and Andrew Coffman; editor, Andrew Coffman; director of photography, Bryan Sarkinen; music, Ian Hultquist. For HBO: senior producer, Sara Bernstein; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.
Watch the trailer and let us know what you think!
