Gypsy-Rose Blanchard has said her ex-fiancé Ken Urker was subjected to relentless cyber-bullying and suffered a level of cruelty that "no human should have to endure" before he was found dead at his Louisiana home on his 34th birthday.
State troopers have launched an investigation into Urker's sudden death after his body was discovered at the property in rural Raceland by Blanchard's younger brother Dylan. Blanchard raised the alarm after Urker, the father of her infant daughter Aurora, failed to answer a happy birthday text on October 1.
Blanchard's tribute to Urker
"Ken was an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved," Blanchard, 35, told People. She added that Urker "will forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase." The phrase red string refers to an East Asian legend in which an invisible red thread links people who are destined to be together.
Blanchard claimed her former partner had endured an "unimaginable level of public scrutiny" and "relentless cyberbullying" on social media, notably TikTok and Reddit. She said the "cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure" and had a "profound impact" on his mental health.
Investigation underway
Lafourche County Sheriff's Office confirmed the death is still under investigation after being called to Urker's home on Wednesday evening. "We responded to a residence 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," a spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.
Blanchard and Urker first connected through a prison pen pal program while she was incarcerated for her role in the 2015 killing of her mother, Clauddinea "Dee Dee" Blanchard, in Springfield, Missouri. Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Her case drew national attention after it emerged that her mother had for years falsely portrayed her as severely ill, subjecting her to unnecessary medical treatments.
Urker proposed to Blanchard during a prison visit in October 2018, but the engagement ended a short time later. Blanchard went on to marry Ryan Anderson while she was still behind bars. After she was released on parole in December 2023, Blanchard separated from Anderson and rekindled her relationship with Urker. Their romance played out in part on social media and reality television, drawing intense attention from fans and critics alike.
Addressing his death on Wednesday, she promised to ensure their daughter "grow up knowing how deeply her father loved her and who he was beyond what strangers on the internet chose to say about him."
