The harrowing tale of a malnourished and badly bruised son of a parenting advice YouTuber unfolds in a newly released video where he politely asks a neighbor to take him to the nearest police station on the day his mother and her business partner were arrested on child abuse charges in southern Utah.
Reports reveal that the 12-year-old son of Ruby Franke, a mother of six known for her popular YouTube channel, managed to escape through a window and seek help from nearby homes until someone finally answered the door. Documents released by the Washington County Attorney's office detail the distressing events. Additionally, journals written by Franke were made public, exposing the extent of abuse and starvation she inflicted on her children.
Following the arrest, crime scene photos, body camera footage, and interrogation tapes were disclosed, shedding light on the case. Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, a mental health counselor, were sentenced to up to 30 years in prison. According to Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke, a police investigation revealed that religious extremism was the driving force behind the women's heinous acts of abuse towards Franke's children.
"The women appeared to fully believe that the abuse they inflicted was necessary to teach the children how to properly repent for imagined 'sins' and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies," Clarke stated.
Parents Plead Guilty to Aggravated Child Abuse
Two parents, Franke aged 42, and Hildebrandt aged 54, have pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. The charges include convincing Franke's two youngest children that they were evil and subjecting them to manual labor, dayslong fasting, and conditions described as "concentration camp-like."
Both women, who claim affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were apprehended last August at Hildebrandt's residence in Ivins, a charming suburb of St. George. The arrest occurred after a neighbor, Danny Clarkson, discovered an emaciated boy at Hildebrandt's house. The distressing actions of the parents have been criticized by other Mormon parenting bloggers for misrepresenting the community and the religion.
The boy, captured on video, was observed walking away barefoot. He had torn socks, with his ankles wrapped in bloody duct tape and plastic wrap. However, he turned back when Clarkson answered the door. Clarkson and his wife, Debi, were recorded on their Ring camera providing aid to the child, contacting 911, and inquiring about the lacerations on his ankles and wrists. The boy claimed responsibility for the injuries, stating, "I got these wounds because of me." Concerned, the couple looked at each other. The boy informed the first responders that his younger sister was still in Hildebrandt's house, prompting the police to swiftly respond to the situation.
"I will not feed a demon"
In a series of handwritten journal entries that were made public on Friday, Franke documents months of relentless mistreatment towards her son and 9-year-old daughter. The abuse included starving the children, making them toil for hours under the scorching summer sun, and keeping them isolated from the outside world. The children were often forced to sleep on unforgiving floors and at times confined to a concrete bunker in Hildebrandt's basement.
Throughout her journal entries, Franke repeatedly claims that her son is possessed by a demonic entity. In a chilling entry from July 2023 titled "Big day for evil," she recounts submerging the boy's head underwater and obstructing his airways with her hands. Franke tells her son that the devil will deceive him into thinking she is causing harm, but in reality, she believes she is attempting to rescue him.
She goes on to rationalize her decision to deprive her son of food and water by writing, "I will not feed a demon."
Both Franke's lawyer, LaMar Winward, and Hildebrandt's lawyer, Douglas Terry, have not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the newly revealed evidence.
Officers are seen entering Hildebrandt's residence, detaining her on the couch, while others search the winding hallways for the young girl. Eventually, they find her sitting cross-legged in a dark closet. After spending hours with the girl, feeding her pizza, the police are able to coax her out.
Franke admitted to shaving the girl's head multiple times as a punishment for whining. In her journal, she wrote, "If she is going to act sick, she can look sick."
During Franke's initial police interview, she remained unresponsive when questioned about her residence location. When asked if she wanted to speak with only one investigator, she requested a lawyer.
"I'm a little nervous," Hildebrandt expressed. "I've watched too many detective movies."
"8 Passengers" and "Moms of Truth"
In 2015, Franke and her husband, Kevin, started "8 Passengers" on YouTube, gaining a large following by sharing their experiences raising six children in a Mormon community in Springville. The couple also has a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, along with two adult children.
Later on, Franke collaborated with Hildebrandt's counseling company, ConneXions Classroom, to provide parenting seminars. They also launched another YouTube channel and shared content on their joint Instagram account, "Moms of Truth."
Ruby Franke was already a divisive figure in the parent vlogging world. The Franke parents had been criticized online for banning their oldest son from his bedroom for seven months for pranking his brother. In other videos, Ruby Franke talked about refusing to take lunch to a kindergartener who forgot it at home.
The "8 Passengers" YouTube channel has since ended, and Kevin Franke filed for divorce shortly after his wife's arrest. He appears stunned in interrogation footage when officers inform him of his son's condition. He had not seen his wife or children since Franke asked him to move out in July 2022, investigators said.
Kevin Franke has filed several petitions in the months since his wife's arrest in hopes of regaining custody of his four minor children, who were taken into state custody.
Franke's sisters, Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellein, YouTubers themselves, shared videos detailing Franke's separation from the family and stating that they were not aware of her actions.
Franke's parents, Chad and Jennifer Griffiths, said in their statement to the court that for three years they only had "brief communications" with their daughter, where she "accused us of either things that never happen or she grossly exaggerated the events that did."
"She was delusional," they said, according to KUTV. "She was so deeply brainwashed we could not recognize her.
