Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
The horrific abuse that Ruby Franke's children suffered has been laid bare in a chilling new documentary.
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story landed on Netflix last month, promising to dig into the 'twisted tale of manipulation' that stunned the world when it came to light in 2023.
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Former family vlogger Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested in August 2023 after Franke's 'emaciated' young son fled the latter's home in Utah and alerted neighbours.
The then-12-year-old bundled himself out of a window while sporting duct tape around his wrists and ankles, as well as lacerations across his body, before police found his five siblings in similar states.
It's been dubbed 'disturbing, infuriating, and heartbreaking' by viewers who have tuned into the hard-hitting doc, which includes harrowing footage of the moment Franke's son escaped.
Discussing the young lad's escape from Hildebrandt's home, the director behind the Netflix doc, Skye Borgman, told Tudum: "If that young boy hadn’t escaped that day...I think those kids probably wouldn’t be with us today.
"Just the simple fact that this little boy escapes from Jodi Hildebrandt’s house, where the abuse is happening - not from his mom’s house. That, to me, was the simplest and the most diabolical part of the story."
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Explaining her motivations for taking on the project, Borgman said: "All of these things were happening in full view and broadcast to the world.
"This kind of manipulative behaviour and coercive control can happen right in front of your eyes. It’s essential to understand that if we want to prevent this from happening again."
Franke and Hildebrandt are both behind bars at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City after pleading guilty to numerous counts of child abuse.
The pair were each sentenced to four consecutive terms of one to 15 years in February last year, and both have first parole hearings scheduled for December 2026.
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In a statement filed in court as part of her guilty plea, Franke revealed what horrors she had put her children through behind closed doors. She admitted that she had held her son's head underwater, kicked him while wearing boots, and covered his mouth and nose with her hands.
As well as this, the document stated the disgraced mother used ropes to tie together handcuffs that were positioned around his hands and feet while he lay on his stomach, to lift his arms and legs off the ground, leaving the young boy injured.
Franke - who had more than two million subscribers at her peak on YouTube - admitted that her 'actions involved the physical torture' of her son, despite her previously describing the abuse of 'acts of love', The Independent reported.
She believed that her children were 'evil and possessed' and that the cruel punishments she inflicted upon them were a form of repentance.
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Franke's son, who escaped, was also forced to endure hours of physical labour in the scorching summer heat without sunscreen and with little food and water, which resulted in severe sunburn and dehydration.
She also did not provide him with sufficient food on a regular basis, and when he was given something to eat, it was extremely plain, while other family members enjoyed flavourful meals.
He was also forbidden from using electronics, books, or notebooks, and was kept isolated from others, while Franke's daughter also suffered similar abuse.
The little girl, who was nine at the time, was forced to work outside and to go without food or water.
In her plea agreement, Hildebrandt said she was either complicit in the abuse subjected to the children or was aware of it taking place. She also admitted to forcing Franke's youngest daughter to 'jump into a cactus multiple times' as well as walking barefoot 'for extended periods of time' on dirt roads until her feet blistered.
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Borgman believes she now has a greater understanding of Hildebrandt's role in the abuse after making Evil Influencer, explaining: "It’s like the 101 of how to get somebody to fall in line.
"She uses threats and all these cult-y techniques, and she isolates them. It really is just the methodology that she incorporates that really works to separate these people from anything that is positive in their lives."
The documentary focuses largely on how the jailed founder of the life-coaching company ConneXions became obsessed with the idea of 'fixing' Franke's family.
The children did not appear in the production, but the director said they each appear to be 'moving on and trying to find some form of normal'.
"When Ruby’s released from prison, it’ll be really interesting what kind of relationship - if any relationship - happens," she added.
Full timeline of the Ruby Franke case
Starting a YouTube channel and initial suspicions
Franke started her parenting YouTube channel '8 Passengers' with now ex-husband Kevin, amassing over 2.5 million subscribers before it was deleted in 2023 following the arrest.
Several subscribers became suspicious of child abuse, with a petition being signed for the police to investigate the family, citing the numerous questionable videos uploaded.
Franke joins ConneXions with Jodi Hildebrandt
The mum told critics in a 2021 interview for The Wrap that she was showing everyone 'what a responsible mother looks like'.
She stopped uploading videos to the channel in 2022 and joined Mormon therapist Hildebrandt's ConneXions podcast.
Their divisive opinions on subjects such as eating disorders, blaming rape victims and criticising immigrants drew the wrong kind of attention.
The arrest
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested on child abuse charges in August 2023.
The Santa Clara Public Safety Department were called to the Ivins neighbourhood in Utah after a neighbour was alerted by Franke's 'emaciated' 12-year-old son, who escaped to knock on their door to ask for help.
He had visible marks and wounds from duct tape put around his ankles, and asked for some food and water.
Police found his 10-year-old sister in a 'similar physical condition of malnourishment' in Hildebrandt's house.
Family members speak out.
Franke's oldest daughter, Shari, wrote on Instagram on the day of the arrests: “Today has been a big day."
She continued: "Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up."
In November, Kevin also officially filed for divorce from Franke, and called her actions to their children 'horrific and inhumane'.
Franke and Hildebrandt are charged with six counts of child abuse
Just one week after their arrests, the pair were charged with six counts of felony child abuse.
YouTube banned Franke, deleting both the 8 Passengers and ConneXions channels and blocking her from the social media platform.
Franke blames the abuse on Hildebrandt
Her attorneys released a statement that said: “Initially, Ms. Franke believed that Jodi Hildebrandt had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement. Ms. Hildebrandt took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous," according to Fox13.
It blamed Hildebrandt solely for isolating Franke from her family completely, distorting her morality.
Franke pleads guilty
Just three days after the statement was released, Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. A court had heard how she had tried to convince her youngest children they were 'evil and possessed'.
Franke and Hildebrandt are sentenced to prison for child abuse
On 20 February 2024, Franke and Hildebrandt were convicted and given four separate prison sentences for one to 15 years, with the length of each sentence decided by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
During sentencing, Franke apologised to her children and said she would 'never stop crying for hurting their tender souls'.
She said: "My willingness to sacrifice all for you was masterfully manipulated into something very ugly.
"I took from you all that was soft and safe and good."
The two women will not serve more than 30 years in a Federal Penitentiary because of a Utah law about consecutive sentences.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Topics: Crime, Parenting, YouTube, Documentaries, Netflix, US News, Ruby Franke
Olivia Burke