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Gypsy Rose Blanchard is turning her “pain into purpose” after the sudden death of her partner, Kenan “Ken” Urker.
Urker died at his Louisiana home on his birthday Thursday, Oct. 1, Digital confirmed. He was 34.
Blanchard, 35, explained that Urker experienced “an overwhelming amount of online scrutiny” prior to his death, and pleaded with her social media followers to sign an anti-bullying petition in his honor.
GYPSY ROSE BLANCHARD’S PARTNER, KEN URKER, FOUND DEAD INSIDE HIS LOUISIANA HOME: SHERIFF
Gypsy Rose Blanchard broke her silence on the sudden death of her partner, Kenan “Ken” Urcher. (Jesse Grant)
“I only have my daughter and my voice,” Blanchard shared on social media over the weekend. “In honor of Ken, I am asking for your support for Kenan’s Law.”
“Before his passing, Ken experienced an overwhelming amount of online scrutiny and what we believed crossed the line into targeted harassment and cyberbullying.”
Blanchard claimed that “reports were made across multiple platforms,” but noted that “far too often, the response was simply: ‘No violation.'”
“Kenan’s Law is about changing the way social-media platforms handle repeated reports of harassment,” she wrote. “One post viewed alone may not tell the whole story—but hundreds of posts, videos and comments directed at one person can reveal a pattern that deserves meaningful review.”
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“This is not about silencing criticism or taking away anyone’s freedom of speech. Public figures can and should be criticized. But public figures are still human beings, and fame should never erase someone’s humanity.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s boyfriend was found dead Thursday in his Louisiana home. (Gotham/GC Images)
She added, “Ken’s passing has made me determined to turn pain into purpose. I cannot change what happened, but I can advocate for a better system for the next person who feels like no one is listening.”
Blanchard asked followers to “sign and share” the petition, before noting, “Fame does not erase humanity. A pattern cannot always be understood one post at a time.”
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In a statement to PEOPLE, Blanchard said she believes Urker died of a drug overdose.
“I don’t know if it was intentional or not,” Blanchard told the outlet. “He was not in a good state of mind lately.”
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed Urker was found dead inside his Louisiana home Thursday after loved ones requested a welfare check.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016, when she was 24, for her role in plotting to kill her abusive mother, Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, in their Missouri home in 2015 with help from her former boyfriend at the time. (Lifetime/ A&E)
Anita Blanchard told authorities that she and her husband, who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s half-brother, went to the 34-year-old’s home and spotted Urker lying unconscious from an outside window, according to an incident report.
A man accompanying Anita Blanchard and her husband then entered the house through a window and found Urker, who was not breathing and cold to the touch, according to the report.
Investigators recovered syringes and a spoon next to a brown powdery substance in the bathroom, as well as a handgun, two shot glasses, and a syringe on a nightstand next to the bed, the report states.
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Deputies noted Urker “appeared to have been there for an extended period of time.”
Dee Dee Blanchard is believed to have suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, also known as Factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA) which is a form of child abuse. (Lifetime/ A&E)
The sheriff’s office told Digital the case remains under investigation, but there are “no signs of foul play.” Thursday was Urker’s 34th birthday.
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“If that would change at any point, or there would be any major update in this investigation, we would issue a new statement,” the sheriff’s office said.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in prison for second-degree murder in 2016 for her role in the fatal stabbing of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, alongside her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn. The killing inspired the 2019 TV series “The Act” on Hulu.
Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Blanchard was released on parole in December 2023 after serving 85% of her sentence.
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Urker and Gypsy Rose Blanchard got engaged in 2018 while she was incarcerated, but later separated. The couple rekindled after her first marriage and welcomed their daughter, Aurora, on Dec. 28, 2024.
