Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of child abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Ruby Franke, a former YouTuber from Utah and convicted child abuser, detailed the torture of her children in journal entries. According to NBC News, prosecutors released handwritten journal entries the mother-of-six made about the abuse she perpetrated on her kids.
BBC and The New York Times reported that authorities arrested Ruby Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, on August 30, 2023. The arrests came after Franke’s malnourished and “emaciated” son climbed out of a window at Hildebrandt’s house in Ivins, Utah. After escaping, the 12-year-old boy, who was “covered in wounds,” went to a neighbor’s house. The neighbor then called 911. Police also found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter in a similar condition.
Sources state that Franke and Hildebrandt were facing six counts of aggravated child abuse each. But, in December 2023, both women pleaded guilty to four out of the six counts, per People Magazine. Then, Franke received four separate prison sentences for 1 to 15 years, which will run consecutively, as reported by TODAY, KSL 5, and KUTV. Hildebrandt received similar prison terms.
ABC 20/20 recently revisited the case in an episode titled “Ruby Franke: From Momfluencer to Felon.” The latest episode is now available to stream on Hulu.
What did Ruby Franke’s journal entries reveal?
NBC News and People Magazine stated that Ruby Franke’s journal entries revealed details about her abuse toward her children. The Washington County Attorney’s Office recently shared redacted entries from Franke’s journal, which primarily focused on two of the six children. Her son and daughter have been referred to by their initials, “R” and “E.”
In one entry from July 11, 2023, Franke wrote that it was a “big day for evil,” claiming a demon had possessed her son. She mentioned making him “stand in the sun with his sun hat.” However, she claimed he was “defiant” and refused to do so because “demon stays in the shade.”
Ruby Franke’s journal entries say that she pushed him into the sun and hurt him with a cactus. “I come back with a cactus poker. When I poke his back to get in the sun, [R] doesn’t even flinch. I poke him on the neck. He is in a trance & doesn’t appear to feel anything. Jodi [Hildebrandt] taps him on the cheeks to wake him up,” the entry said.
The mother-of-six then poured mop water on “R” for staying in the shade. She wrote, “I take my mop water and go to [R]. I show [R] the water. Then I pour the water on [R]. It’s hot outside. ‘It feels good, doesn’t it?’ Yes.”
Franke wrote that on the same day, she pushed her son into the pool and put “my hands in his face.” The entry said, “I know [R] is in there somewhere. I know deep down under all this anger you can hear me. It may sound like I’m underwater with you but hear me, ‘I love you.'”
In another entry, Ruby Franke wrote about her daughter being “manipulative.” The entry detailed her daughter E’s attempt to break a “two-day fast.” Franke wrote that her daughter “flips out and begins ranting” after she insisted that E should not eat for an additional day. “All day, [E] makes rhymes about ‘My mom starves me and calls it fasting.’ ‘My mom won’t lift two fingers & bring me food because all she does is lie on the bed & eat brownies.'”
After that, Franke wrote that she cut E’s hair off and “doused” her in “dog wash” water. She wrote, “I cut more off [E’s] head. We doused her w/ water in the dog wash. [E] said she wanted to run away. Jodi told [E] she has no idea what is waiting for her.”
The remainder of Franke’s journal entries included other details and horrifying instances. She accused her children of “stealing water” and threatened to “buzz” her daughter’s hair, among other things.
Prosecutors also released police body cam footage and other evidence, reported People Magazine. A home security footage from August 30, 2023, had captured Ruby Franke’s son asking a neighbor to take him to the police station. The neighbor then called the police.
The bodycam footage for that same day revealed that Franke’s daughter was “petrified.” A clip showed officers checking different rooms in Jodi Hildebrandt’s house when they found E in a closet. The girl was wearing oversized clothing and looked thin. She did not respond to the officers when they asked her if she was alright. Moreover, she sat in the closet for nearly four hours as the officers tried to ask her questions.
Reportedly, prosecutors alleged that Ruby Franke kept her youngest children “E” and “R” in a “work-camp like setting.” She often denied them food, water, beds, and almost all forms of entertainment as punishment. In a statement, they said, “[Franke’s children] were forced to do physical tasks like carrying loaded boxes up and down stairs and ‘sitting’ against a wall without a chair or stool for hours at a time.”
The statement further reads, “The children were also forced to do manual labor outdoors in the extreme summer heat without shoes or socks. They were similarly forced to stand outside, on a cement patio, in the summer heat for hours and even days.”
Prosecutors believed Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt acted out of “religious extremism,” reported NBC News. The Washington County Attorney’s Office said, “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.”
Ruby Franke, who once operated the now-defunct 8 Passengers YouTube channel, became famous for documenting her family’s life alongside her now-estranged husband, Kevin Franke, and their six children. She and her husband often faced backlash for their strict parenting strategies and controversial content.
The couple would refuse food to their children as punishment. People eventually began accusing the couple of being abusive. The channel had over 2 million subscribers before being closed. Kevin filed for divorce shortly after Franke’s arrest.
ABC 20/20 recently revisited the case in an episode titled “Ruby Franke: From Momfluencer to Felon.” The latest episode is now available to stream on Hulu.
