How this mother of six went from family vlogger to convicted child abuser – 2oceansvibe News

(image source: Instagram)

Mormon mom blogger Ruby Franke launched her now-defunct channel: 8 passengersin 2015, documenting her idyllic family life with her husband and six children.

Then in the summer of 2023, Ruby’s two youngest children were found far from home, injured and malnourished. That December, she pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse.

Before Franke’s dramatic fall from grace, she had amassed millions of followers on social media while showcasing highlights of her family’s life in the lakeside suburb of Springville, Utah, over the years. Ruby, her husband Kevin, and their delightful, if chaotic, family life captivated audiences ranging from new parents to teenage girls, single women, and anyone else intrigued by the intricacies of Mormon culture. Devoted fans flocked to lively online forums, where they dissected the intricacies of the Franke family with passionate enthusiasm. They passionately debated which children should be allowed to date each other and celebrated each birthday with glee, forming a close-knit community around their shared passion.

Then, in 2019, skeptics of Franke and her husband Kevin Franke 8 passengers Page began to worry about the strict household of the Mormon family. These loyal fans were the first to sound the alarm when they heard the tone 8 passengers– the posts changed, becoming colder and harsher. Their concerns increased when Ruby and Kevin suddenly stopped updating on YouTube in 2022.

Image: 8 Passengers/ YouTube

Things took a turn for the worse when Ruby updated her Instagram profile photo with her therapist and new business partner Jodi Hildebrandt. The change prompted viewers to express growing concerns about her children’s safety.

“The children of the 8 passengers need to be investigated,” a viewer wrote on Reddit. “Their mother, Ruby Franke, is not only strict, but also a total control freak.”

Things started to fall apart very quickly when Franke’s emaciated 12-year-old son escaped from the window of Hildebrandt’s house and showed up at the neighbor’s door, begging for food and water. A neighbor called police, who later described the boy as malnourished in a statement. He allegedly had open wounds on his body and taped wounds on his ankles and wrists.

Investigators also discovered Franke’s 10-year-old daughter in Hildebrandt’s home, who suffered from the same malnutrition. According to police, with Franke’s knowledge, both children were under her direct care.

Image: KUTV 2 News Salt Lake City/Youtube

At the time, the children were rushed to the hospital and placed in the custody of the Utah Department of Children and Families along with two younger siblings. In a shocking turn of events, Ruby Franke and Jody Hildebrandt were initially charged with six counts of child abuse.

In a statement following the arrests, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office in Utah charged both women with “causing or permitting serious injury” to children through “a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, starvation or malnutrition that endangers life and causes severe emotional injury.” mischief,” crimes that carry up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for each count.

As noted, viewers 8 passengers accused Franke of child abuse long before she was taken into custody, citing harsh parenting methods such as withholding food as punishment.

News of Franke’s arrest last year was met with relief by her sisters, co-parents Ellie Mecham, Julie Griffiths Deroux and Bonnie Helein, who said in a joint statement on Instagram that the arrests “had to happen”.

Franke’s eldest and former daughter, Shari, shared a similar sentiment on social media. “Finally,” she wrote on Instagram Story after her mom’s arrest, according to an insider. “My family and I are so glad that justice was served.”

Both women were ultimately sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, the maximum consecutive prison terms in Utah.

Franke met her partner in crime, local Mormon therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, when she joined the parenting advice podcast ConneXions. The two women have sparked a ton of backlash on social media by posting videos of their divisive thoughts on parenting, religion, sexuality, race and other social and political issues. When they were arrested, everyone said that it would not be soon.

Hildebrandt’s niece, Jessie Hildebrandt (who uses they/them pronouns) said in a Sept. 11 interview with KUTV that their aunt abused them while they were in her care for about a year when they were teenagers.

“What I experienced living with Jodie — I experienced bonding, I experienced duct tape, I experienced blindfolding, I experienced severe isolation, I experienced severe emotional, spiritual and psychological abuse,” Jessie said. “I was told that I shouldn’t be around other people, that I was dangerous to be around. People were afraid of me to such an extent that I was afraid of myself.”

Jessie recalls that they were “isolated for up to 12 hours a day” and were once “forced to sleep outside in the snow” while under Jodi’s care, and also claims that Jodi “accused me of being a sex addict” and “being I’m addicted to masturbation.” Jessie decided to speak out about her experience after reading a report last week about Franke’s allegations of sexual abuse in her family.

“I’ve never met Ruby… but the things she says and spews are very, very familiar to me,” Jessie said. “The philosophy and therapeutic techniques she uses are Jodi’s and are not new. This is a sample.”

In a statement to Fox 13, Ruby’s lawyers accused Jodi of “taking advantage” of her and influencing her to abuse her two youngest children.

“Initially, Ms. Franke believed that Jodi Hildebrant had the intelligence to offer a path to continuous improvement. Ms. Hildebrant took advantage of this investigation and turned it into something disgusting,” Franke’s lawyers said in a statement to Fox 13.

Shari also recently spoke to the Utah House of Representatives about giving children of influence more protection, according to The Independent, saying, “I come here today not as the daughter of a criminal or the victim of an abnormally abusive mother. I came today as a victim of a family vlog.”

Shari continued: “If I could go back and do it all over again, I’d rather have an empty bank account now than have my childhood smeared all over the internet. No amount of money I received was worth what I experienced.”

“The Cut” details all the shocking truths and distortions that led to Ruby’s transformation from a mother who tried her best to a deluded control freak who spiraled into child abuse.

(sources: people and thecut)