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Ken Urker, the longtime partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and father of their daughter, Aurora, has died at 34.
Urker was found unresponsive inside a home in Raceland, Louisiana, on Thursday, Oct. 1, which was also his birthday. A family member discovered him, while the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office said officers were called to the residence at approximately 6:15 p.m. and found Urker "dead upon arrival."
Captain Brennan Matherne of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Department said, "We responded to a residence at 107 Double H Drive, Lot 4, in Raceland today after receiving a call at 6:15 p.m. Kenan Urker, 34, was found dead upon arrival. At this time, we are continuing the death investigation."
Blanchard later told PEOPLE that Urker died following an overdose. She said she did not know whether it was intentional, adding, "He was not in a good state of mind lately."
"I'm in disbelief. I can't think," Blanchard said. "I've screamed until my throat burns."
She also spoke about the public scrutiny Urker faced, saying he had "endured an unimaginable level of public scrutiny and relentless cyberbullying across social media platforms."
"The cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure," she said. "I believe the tremendous weight of that scrutiny and harassment had a profound impact on him."
Blanchard said she wants their 21-month-old daughter, Aurora, to remember her father for who he was to her family.
"He will forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase," she said. "Above all, Ken loved our daughter, Aurora."
Urker and Blanchard first connected in 2017 while she was serving a prison sentence for her involvement in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Their relationship developed through correspondence, and they eventually became engaged.
After separating and Blanchard later marrying and divorcing Ryan Anderson, the pair reunited in 2024. They welcomed Aurora in December of that year.
Blanchard has asked for privacy for their daughter and both families as they mourn his death. "There are no words that can express the depth of this loss," she said. "He will be deeply missed, forever loved, and never forgotten."
