Kenan ‘Ken’ Urker died Thursday at his Louisiana home. Blanchard said she suspects an overdose and launched an anti-bullying campaign.
Kenan ‘Ken’ Urker, the partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, was found dead Thursday at his home in Raceland, Louisiana, on his 34th birthday.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Department responded to the residence at 107 Double H Drive, Lot 4, at 6:15 p.m. after loved ones asked for a welfare check, Captain Brennan Matherne told Variety. According to an incident report, Anita Blanchard and her husband, who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s half-brother, went to the house and saw Urker lying unconscious through a window. A man accompanying them climbed through a window and found Urker not breathing and cold to the touch. Deputies noted Urker appeared to have been there for an extended period.
Investigation and suspected cause of death
The sheriff’s office said the case remains under investigation and that there are no signs of foul play. In the bathroom, investigators found syringes and a spoon next to a brown powdery substance. They also recovered a handgun, two shot glasses and a syringe from a nightstand next to the bed.
Authorities haven’t released an official cause of death. However, Blanchard told People and wrote in a public petition that she believes Urker died from a drug overdose. “I don’t know if it was intentional or not,” Blanchard told People. “He was not in a good state of mind lately.”
Campaign for Kenan’s Law
Following Urker’s death, Blanchard asked followers to back an anti-bullying petition for “Kenan’s Law.” She wrote that Urker experienced severe online harassment across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit prior to his death. Blanchard said both of them submitted multiple reports to social media companies, but platforms routinely responded with “No violation.”
Urker and Blanchard originally got engaged in 2018 while she was incarcerated for second-degree murder in the 2015 killing of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard. They separated and later rekindled their relationship after her first marriage. The couple had a daughter, Aurora, on Dec. 28, 2024, and Urker appeared on the Lifetime reality series “Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup.”
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said it will issue an updated statement if any major development occurs in the investigation.
