Crime · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Ken Urker Found Dead in Raceland, Louisiana After Welfare Check
Ken Urker found unresponsive in his Raceland, Louisiana home on his 34th birthday, Oct. 1. Death investigation ongoing with conflicting details on cause; some reports say no foul play.
Whether death was definitively an overdose.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: the NYT says toxicology results were pending.
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Fox News leans on Blanchard’s overdose belief, while The New York Times stresses that no definitive cause is yet established.
Death Investigation in Raceland
Ken Urker, 34, was found unresponsive in his Raceland, La., home on Oct. 1, his birthday, after loved ones requested a welfare check.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Department told CBC News it is still investigating his death and, at this point, has found no evidence of foul play.
Capt. Brennan Matherne of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office told CBS News there are no signs of foul play, and officers were dispatched around 6:15 p.m. on Thursday.
Investigators said deputies were called because Urker didn't show up for work shortly after threatening to kill himself, and deputies found drug paraphernalia including a brown powdery substance and a holstered handgun in the home.
The Lafourche Parish coroner, Kayla Breaux, said an autopsy had been conducted on Friday and toxicology test results were pending, while “At this time, there is no definitive cause of death,” she said.
Paraphernalia, Access, and Timeline
An incident report described Dylan Blanchard and his wife, Anita Blanchard, going to Urker's home and attempting to gain access before Anita called the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office for a wellness check.
CBS News reported officers were dispatched around 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, and Dylan and another person, Justin Daigle, entered through an unlocked bedroom window after knocking for about an hour with no response.
NBC News said deputies found paraphernalia including syringes and a spoon in a bathroom next to a “brown powdery substance,” and it said a syringe, a holstered handgun and two shot glasses were on the nightstand next to the bed.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office said it found no evidence of foul play, while NBC News quoted the sheriff's office saying, “At this time, we are continuing the death investigation.”
People reported that Urker was found “dead upon arrival,” and it said his sister Autumn went live on TikTok on the evening of Oct. 1, revealing that his last words to her were “I love you.”
Blanchard Reacts, Drug-Related
Gypsy Rose Blanchard told People that Urker died in his bed at his home in Louisiana from an overdose, and she said, “I don't know if it was intentional or not.” USA Today reported Blanchard said Urker was not in a good state of mind lately and described the “cruelty directed toward him” as something “no human being should have to endure.” KPLC 7 News said investigators in Lafourche Parish were investigating the death as drug-related after deputies found suspected narcotics and drug paraphernalia, including syringes, a spoon, and a powdery substance.
KPLC 7 News also said detectives with the sheriff’s office Criminal Investigations Division and specialized narcotics response units have taken over the case, while an official cause of death has not yet been released. CBC News reported that Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Department deputies found no evidence of foul play at this point, and it said a cause of death has not been determined.