Mommy Dead and Dearest Page #3

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Nobody wants to believe that something

like this can happen.

[Gypsy's lawyer Missouri Public Defender]

I think the initial reaction is--

is that, you know, Gypsy's been lying

to everybody.

But when you look at the backstory,

when you look at how we got here,

this all started long before Gypsy

would've ever had any type

of say in what was happening.

[Gypsy, 3 months old]

Right from birth, three months old.

Dee Dee was telling me

that she had sleep apnea

and she needed a breathing machine

or breathing monitor machine,

which, I mean, I-- to this day,

I don't know if that was real

or not, you know?

It escalated from then.

Problems with her eyes,

her hearing,

her digestive system.

After that, Gypsy couldn't walk anymore.

She had a muscular disorder.

[Gypsy, 10 years old]

And Dee Dee told me

she would need a wheelchair.

You know, I asked her.

I said, "Man, she's got

a lot of issues.

What's going on?"

You know, and, um...

They had done some tests and found out

she had a chromosome disorder

that was causing all of her functions

from developing--

her digestive system

and her muscular system.

Dee Dee told me

she's not going to live

to be, you know, 18 years old.

She may be an old teenager,

that's about it.

You know, I was like, "Really?"

You know, it was shocking,

it was disturbing.

And to see her at 23 years old now,

perfectly healthy--

It pisses me off, you know?

[Gypsy's stepmother]

Kristy:
This picture here...

I don't know if this was the surgery

where she thought her stomach lining

wrapped around her oesophagus.

Rod:
No, she would've had that earlier.

She had that feeding tube

way before then.

You know?

She was 10 here.

Rod:
This was probably close

to the first year or two

when she was in a wheelchair.

Yep.

Breaks my heart...

knowing she got put through all of this

when she didn't need it.

Fourteen years.

To be confined.

The last 14 years in a wheelchair.

I couldn't imagine.

Stanfield:
I've never encountered anything

that is even close to what

Gypsy has gone through.

Her mother appeared to have taken

great steps

to keep Gypsy in a very juvenile role,

making her act several years younger

than her actual age.

It appears that Gypsy was not even aware

of what her actual age was.

Rod:
I called her for her 18th birthday,

and Dee Dee said,

"Don't tell her she's 18, you know?"

I'm like, "What you mean

don't tell her she's 18?

She knows she's 18.

It's her 18th birthday."

"Yeah, but she don't know she's 18.

She's-- you know."

I thought it was weird, you know?

I-- she--

I mean, I always did know that she--

she told me her mental capacity was,

you know, like, five years behind.

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