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Ken Urker, the partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, was found dead in his Louisiana home Thursday evening, authorities said.
Deputies responded to a home in Raceland around 6:15 p.m. and found Urker dead, the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
“At this time, we are continuing to investigate the death,” the office said.
The cause of death has not been announced. But Blanchard, who welcomed a daughter with Urker in 2024, told People magazine that he overdosed. The magazine reported that he died on his 34th birthday.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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 her role in the 2015 murder of her mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, Variety reported. The couple split briefly and then reconciled in 2024.
Blanchard, said her mother abused her for years and forced her to fake serious illnesses. 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 shooting Dee Dee Blanchard.
The murder sparked a media frenzy and inspired HBO’s 2017 documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest” and the 2019 Hulu series “The Act.” Blanchard was released early in 2023 after receiving parole.
She told People that Urker was heavily scrutinized during their relationship.
“Ken has endured an unimaginable level of public scrutiny and relentless cyberbullying across social media platforms, including TikTok and Reddit. The cruelty directed at him was something no human being should have to endure,” she said in her statement. “I believe the enormous weight of that scrutiny and harassment had a profound impact on him, and I hope his passing serves as a reminder that there is a real person behind every screen, every headline and every comment.”
She said she wants her 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 individuals with substance abuse issues and their family members. The hotline, which offers help in English and Spanish, can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). To find behavioral health treatment services, visit SAMHSA website.
