SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the trial of a Wisconsin man charged with killing the abusive mother of his Missouri girlfriend (all times local):
1:25 p.m.
A Missouri woman whose mother forced her to use a wheelchair and pretend to be ill testified that she asked her ex-boyfriend to kill her mother.
Gypsy Blanchard testified Thursday in the trial of Nicholas Godejohn. The Big Bend, Wisconsin, man is charged with fatally stabbing 48-year-old Clauuddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard at their home near Springfield on June 10, 2015.
Blanchard said her mother physically abused her and controlled her life. She said she thought killing her mom was the only way out. She said she talked Godejohn into coming to Missouri to kill her mother.
The two met on a Christian dating site and carried on a mostly online relationship.
Under questioning from the prosecutor, Blanchard Gypsy acknowledged that Godejohn dominated their relationship, with him being the "master" and her the "slave."
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9:45 a.m.
Prosecutors say a Wisconsin man plotted for more than a year to kill a Missouri mother who forced her daughter to pretend she was disabled.
Nicholas Godejohn is on trial for the 2015 death of 48-year-old Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. His attorneys don't dispute he fatally stabbed the woman, but they argue the 29-year-old has autism and was manipulated by Blanchard's daughter, whom he met on a Christian dating website.
The Springfield News-Leader reports jurors are being asked to decide whether Godejohn committed first-degree murder or a lesser crime. The trial began Tuesday.
The daughter, 27-tear-old Gypsy Blanchard, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for second-degree murder in the case. Relatives say she was forced by her mother to use a wheelchair and undergo unnecessary medical procedures.
The case has spawned numerous TV specials, including an HBO documentary.
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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com
