Ken Urker, the fiance of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, has been found dead at a home in Raceland, Louisiana, on his 34th birthday.
Deputies responded to a call at the residence at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 1. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed the death to CNN on Friday, October 2, and stated that an investigation into the circumstances is underway.
Blanchard spoke about the tragedy to People magazine following Urker's death, stating that she was in disbelief and could not think clearly. She said she had screamed until her throat burned.
She added that no words could express the depth of the loss. Blanchard asked for privacy and compassion for the couple's young daughter, their families and everyone mourning Urker during an extraordinarily painful time.
Emergency response in Lafourche Parish
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office received the emergency call on Thursday evening before officers were dispatched to the residence in Raceland. Raceland is an unincorporated community situated in Lafourche Parish in southeastern Louisiana, located southwest of the city of New Orleans.
Urker was discovered deceased on the day of his 34th birthday. The local sheriff's office confirmed that detectives have launched an inquiry into his death, with the investigation currently active and underway.
Urker had shared a high-profile relationship with Blanchard, who gained international attention over her role in the 2015 killing of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, following years of severe parental abuse.
Prison correspondence and engagement
Blanchard first connected with Urker while serving an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence for her part in her mother's death. Urker reached out to her after watching Mommy Dead and Dearest, a documentary released in 2017 about the case.
He sent Blanchard a letter of support without any romantic connotation, providing his telephone number so she could contact him. Blanchard said she called Urker and that within five minutes of conversation on the telephone, she felt as though they had known each other their entire lives.
After two years of dating, the couple became engaged while Blanchard was still serving her sentence in prison. The engagement ended several months later when Urker broke off the relationship, according to Blanchard.
Marriage, reconciliation and family
Blanchard went on to marry Ryan Anderson, a teacher from Louisiana, during a ceremony held inside the prison facility in July 2022. The marriage lasted until 2023, when the pair separated, prompting Blanchard to rekindle her romantic relationship with Urker.
The couple welcomed a baby daughter, named Aurora, in late 2024. Days after the birth, Urker posted about the arrival on Instagram, describing their newborn daughter as the greatest gift of all.
The birth of Aurora came exactly one year after Blanchard was released from prison. Her release followed the completion of eight and a half years behind bars for her role in the plan that resulted in her mother's death.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy abuse
Blanchard became widely known to the public after the 2015 murder of Dee Dee Blanchard, whose full name was Clauddine Blanchard. For years, her mother had deceived medical professionals, relatives and neighbours by claiming her daughter suffered from an array of chronic and debilitating conditions.
Dee Dee falsely claimed that Blanchard had leukaemia, muscular dystrophy and asthma, forcing her daughter to use a wheelchair and undergo unnecessary medical procedures and medications.
The case highlighted Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a form of abuse in which a caregiver fakes, exaggerates or actively induces illnesses in a child or dependent person to draw attention and sympathy to themselves.
The dramatic story became the subject of widespread cultural fascination and several major screen adaptations. These included the true-crime documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, the television drama series The Act and the thriller film Run.
Sheriff's office investigation
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed to CNN that an active investigation into the death remains underway. Authorities have not announced further details regarding what occurred inside the residence.
