SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — 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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