Ken Urker, the partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, was found dead Thursday evening at his home in Louisiana, authorities said.
Officers went to a home in Raceland around 6:15 p.m. and found Urker dead, the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
“At this time, we are continuing to investigate the death,” the office said.
The cause of death has not been revealed. But Blanchard, who welcomed a daughter with Urker in 2024, told People magazine he overdosed. The magazine reported that he died on his 34th birthday.
The sheriff’s office said in an emailed statement that it found no evidence of foul play.
Blanchard said she was “in disbelief.”
“I can’t think,” she said. “I screamed until my throat burned.”
The couple met through a pen pal program while Blanchard was in prison for his role in the murder of his mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard in 2015, Variety reported. The couple briefly separated and then reconciled in 2024.
Blanchard, said her mother abused her for years and forced her to fake a serious illness. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, was sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing Dee Dee Blanchard.
The killing sparked a media frenzy and inspired the 2017 HBO documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest” and the 2019 Hulu series “The Act.” Blanchard was released in early 2023 after being granted parole.
She told People that Urker was closely monitored during their relationship.
“Ken endured an unimaginable level of public surveillance and relentless cyberbullying on social media platforms, including TikTok and Reddit. The cruelty directed against him was something no human being should have to endure,” she said in her statement. “I believe the enormous weight of this surveillance and harassment had a profound impact on him, and I hope his passing reminds us that there is a real person behind every screen, every headline and every comment.”
She said she wanted their daughter to grow up “knowing how deeply her father loved her and who he was beyond what strangers on the internet chose to say about him.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a 24/7 national helpline for people with substance abuse problems and their family members. The hotline, which offers assistance in English and Spanish, can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). To find behavioral health treatment services, visit SAMHSA website.
Gn entert
