Matt Greene This story is INSANE. Hard to believe something this complex, fascinating and disturbing could occur in real life. Is Gypsy purely a victim? A pathological liar? An abuse survivor? A mentally confused and stunted young girl? A willing participant? A product of over medication and abuse? Probably a mixture of all of this and more, each taking its turn at the forefront of her personality. A sad, enrapturing and pulpy crime doc.

wildcatfalling I feel so bad for Gypsy! I do not understand how she slipped through so many cracks! How could these idiot doctors do these treatments and surgeries on this child without seeing the medical evidence; making them necessary! I just don't get it! I am more angry at the doctor that said she was a victim of Munchausen by proxy but did not do his duty, as far as, getting her away from her mother immediately!She suffered 20 years of abuse and imprisonment! I totally agree with her grandmother! She paid in advance for this crime and should be set free. I believe that if this was taken to trial, she would be free. I wish her nothing but the best for the rest of her life. Maybe by some miracle, Dr. Phil can help her start living sooner than later. The lawyers, the prosecutors, and the judge are complete morons in this case! Hasn't she suffered enough!?Yes, she did take part in murdering her mother! But a better turn of events would have been the doctor protecting her while her mother rotted in prison! Because EVERYONE failed this child, she really had no other way out! God bless you Gypsy!

McMurphy Much closer to something you'd see on a late-night "investigation" type show, and only worth HALF the time spent on this very weak documentary. Because there isn't a lot to work with, you hear most of the story in the beginning, and the rest is just explaining only mildly interesting details. After a while, it became frustrating, waiting for it to take a new twist or turn, but it never did. There was some shoddy, low- integrity, journalism too. The Buzzfeed reporter, who, for some reason is given a lot of time to tell us her opinions, over and over, makes a point about how the girl was ambivalent, as if that should hold ANY weight as far as the law is concerned (being general to keep from spoiling anything, but there's not much to spoil). Not worth the time. Much better stuff out there.

JustCuriosity Mommy Dead and Dearest was extremely well-received in its world premiere today at SXSW Film Festival. This film morphs from apparent case of matricide into one of the journey of Gypsy, a severely abused child. Her journey as recounted in recovered VHS tapes and interviews will shock you even if you think you can no longer be shocked by what human beings are capable of. It is best not to give away too many of the details of Gypsy's story. The filmmakers have taken care to present the story with both sympathy and nuance as we learn the disturbing details behind Gypsy's story and most disturbingly how every institution that was supposed to help her – medical, educational, social workers, the criminal justice system – failed to attenuate the abuse and allowed the conditions that produced this bizarre and disturbing situation to continue. The film is scheduled for HBO and this story deserves to be more widely seen and understood. Unfortunately, in so many ways, the criminal escaped punishment and the victim has been imprisoned by what has happened. The filmmakers have done an excellent job of bringing this troubling story to life for the public.