Crime Gypsy Rose Blanchard Seen for 1st Time Since Early Prison Release Gypsy Rose Blanchard was granted parole in September after serving eight years for her role in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard By Christine Pelisek Christine Pelisek Christine Pelisek is a senior crime writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2014. People Editorial Guidelines and Janine Rubenstein Janine Rubenstein Janine Rubenstein is Editor-at-Large at PEOPLE and host of PEOPLE Every Day podcast, a daily dose of breaking news, pop culture and heartwarming human interest stories. Formerly Senior Editor of music content, she's also covered crime, human interest and television news throughout her many years with the brand. Prior to PEOPLE she's written for Essence, The Cape Times newspaper and Los Angeles Magazine among others. On-screen Rubenstein can be found featured on shows like Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight and she routinely hosts PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly's star-studded Red Carpet Live specials. Follow the San Francisco native, Black Barbie collector and proud mom of two on Instagram and Twitter @janinerube People Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 28, 2023 04:15PM EST Gypsy Rose Blanchard seen for the first time since prison release. Photo: SplashNews Gypsy Rose Blanchard has been seen for the first time since leaving prison in Missouri early Thursday morning. Gypsy, who served eight years in prison for killing her mother Dee Dee Blanchard, was photographed walking out of a building carrying two plastic bags with a pillow tucked under her arm and wheeling a suitcase. Her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, was nearby, wheeling a large suitcase towards his car. Earlier this year, Gypsy was granted parole. She was released from Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri around 3:30 a.m. local time, the Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed to PEOPLE. "I'm ready for freedom," she told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview shortly before her release. "I'm ready to expand and I think that goes for every facet of my life." Following the stabbing death of Dee Dee, Gypsy and her then-boyfriend Nick Godejohn were charged with murder. Gypsy pleaded guilty in 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She married Anderson, a Louisiana special education teacher, behind bars last year. Godejohn, 32, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2019 following his trial conviction for first-degree murder, the Springfield News-Leader, KY3 and KOAM reported at the time. Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard. Courtesy Blanchard Family Gypsy Rose Blanchard Picked Up After Prison Release by New Husband, a Wrestling Fan with 'Hitman' Hart License Plate Up until her arrest, Gypsy was long thought to be suffering from numerous serious health ailments. It is now widely believed that she was the victim of Munchausen by proxy, a form of child abuse that involves a guardian exaggerating or inducing illness to gain sympathy. Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Courtesy ABC News Gypsy Rose Blanchard Picked Up After Prison Release by New Husband, a Wrestling Fan with 'Hitman' Hart License Plate Gypsy now says her mother didn’t “deserve” her fate. "She was a sick woman, and unfortunately I wasn't educated enough to see that,” Gypsy told PEOPLE. “She deserved to be where I am, sitting in prison doing time for criminal behavior.” Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Gypsy is now set to tell her own story on the new Lifetime docuseries The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which premieres Jan. 5 on Lifetime at 8 p.m. ET/PT. If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.