Ken Urker's sister has claimed that he and Gypsy Rose Blanchard had split months before he was found dead, aged 34. Urker, who shares a one-year-old daughter, Aurora Raina Urker, with Blanchard, 35, was found dead in his Louisiana home on Thursday, October 1, after it was reported Blanchard had become worried that he did not respond to a birthday text.
Family dispute over events
An official cause of death has not been announced as an investigation begins, though Blanchard has claimed Urker died of a drug overdose. His sister, Autumn Urker, has since alleged that it was not Blanchard who raised the alarm that led to Urker's body being found, and that the couple had split months prior.
The 31-year-old told The Sun US: 'Gypsy had no right to lie and say that it was because of some text that she sent to him.' The publication stated that a police report shows family members of Urker contacted authorities.
Sister's account of the split
Autumn went on to claim that Blanchard had been saying she and Urker were 'engaged and planning baby number two' but that 'none of that was true' and 'they were not together.' She claimed that Urker ended his relationship with Blanchard 'over a month ago.'
'When he was like, “I'm done,” she'd do a thing, and so it was a fight whenever they split,' Autumn continued. 'It's a slap in the face. You don't have to lie and make it seem like something.'
Final conversation and tribute
Autumn said she had spoken to her brother just hours before his death, telling each other they loved each other before hanging up. 'He said he just had to work, he was going home, he was tired, so he was going to go to sleep, and then he had work in the morning,' she said.
Like Blanchard, Autumn had said Urker had been subjected to cyberbullying online following a resurfaced prison phone call between him and Blanchard. 'He asked me what I thought about the phone call that everybody's been playing this past week, calling him the most sick things, and I told him he wasn't that guy,' Autumn said.
Paying tribute to her brother, she continued, 'My brother was a great man. He was the kind of man that tried to love the broken. He was the kind of man that believed without demanding proof.'
Background and investigation
The pair met as pen pals when Blanchard was serving a prison sentence for the murder of her mum Clauddine 'Dee Dee' Blanchard. Blanchard is said to have suffered years of medical abuse and fake diagnoses while growing up. They were then the subject of the documentary Life After Lock-Up, which followed Blanchard after being released from prison.
Ahead of his death, Blanchard claimed Urker was subjected to 'relentless' cyberbullying. She told TMZ he experienced 'cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure,' and that it had a 'profound impact' on him.
'Ken was an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved,' she said in a statement, adding that she will make sure 'she grows up knowing how deeply her father loved her and who he was beyond what strangers on the internet chose to say about him.'
Speaking to People, Blanchard later said she doesn't know whether the alleged overdose was intentional or not. She said: 'I believe the tremendous 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.'
The Lafourche Sheriff's Office said in a statement to E! News: 'We were notified about this at 6.15 p.m. CDT and responded. He was found dead upon arrival. At this time, we are continuing the death investigation.' Metro UK has contacted representatives for Gypsy Rose Blanchard for comment.
