Gypsy Blanchard's boyfriend picks judge over jury trial

A man accused of killing his girlfriend's mother last year in a high-profile Greene County case opted Tuesday to waive his right to a jury trial.

Nicholas Godejohn, 27, who is accused of killing Claudinne "Dee Dee" Blanchard, 48, last year will now have his case heard by a judge instead of a jury at a trial on Feb. 6.

Judge Calvin Holden will be the one who listens to evidence and decides whether Godejohn is guilty.

Godejohn's attorney, Dewayne Perry, declined to say after the hearing why his client chose to go with a bench trial instead of a jury trial.

Also during Tuesday's hearing, Perry asked the court to admit into evidence a mental evaluation that psychologist Kent Franks performed on Godejohn.

Godejohn is charged with first-degree murder in this case, but Perry said Franks' report would help the judge decide "if this is first-degree murder, second-degree murder or something else."

Perry indicated he might use the evaluation to argue that Godejohn didn't have the "deliberation" necessary for a first-degree murder conviction.

Perry read aloud some of Franks' findings during the court appearance on Tuesday, including that Godejohn was "particularly vulnerable" and "mentally more child than adult."

Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson objected to Franks' report becoming evidence in the case, and Judge Holden will decide whether or not to accept it after a hearing next month.

Because of the uncertainty with the mental evaluation, the trial date was pushed back. Godejohn was originally scheduled to stand trial Nov. 28.

Godejohn's attorney has already announced he will not be pursuing a defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Godejohn's girlfriend and co-defendant in this case, Gypsy Blanchard, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In June 2015, friends and neighbors believed Gypsy Blanchard was disabled and feared she was in danger when Dee Dee Blanchard's body was discovered in the family's home on Volunteer Way, just north of Springfield.

Investigators quickly discovered, however, that Gypsy Blanchard can walk and might have had something to do with her mother's death.

By June 16, Gypsy Blanchard and Godejohn, had been arrested in Big Bend, Wisconsin and charged with murder.

Court documents say Gypsy Blanchard handed Godejohn gloves and a knife and told him to kill her mother.

A probable cause statement says the couple then stole several thousand dollars from Dee Dee Blanchard's safe, mailed the murder weapon to Wisconsin and took a Greyhound bus to Godejohn's residence two states away.

Authorities believe Gypsy Blanchard took credit for her mother's death with a vulgar Facebook post, and that is what led them to discover the body.

Gypsy Blanchard's relatives have said that Dee Dee Blanchard imprisoned her daughter, made her sick and forced her to pretend that she needed a wheelchair.

Patterson, the prosecutor, acknowledged the abusive relationship in explaining why he agreed to a 10-year sentence for Gypsy Blanchard.