Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Ruby Franke kept a journal of the abuses she committed against her own children where she went into detail on how they were suffering and what she was thinking about them.
Franke is a convicted child abuser who ran a YouTube channel which documented the lives of her and her six children, or so it seemed until one of her sons escaped the family home and managed to alert neighbours what was going on.
The 12-year-old had duct tape around his wrists and ankles, lacerations over his body and neighbours said he looked 'emaciated', while the rest of Franke's children were found in a similar state.
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Franke admitted to 'physical torture' of her children and she was sent to prison along with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt.
Part of the evidence gathered in the investigation was a journal which the mum kept where she detailed what she was doing to her children.
The journal entries included such disturbing passages as: "Sleep outside, shaved her head, doused her with water, over his nose and mouth, head in the toilet, needs to be painful. Blood on his face, scream and scream."
Another said: “I told the boy, he emulates a snake. If he wants to emulate the Savior, he needs to be a hundred percent obedient with exactness.
“The body must engage in good work and the good works need to be painful. I have the power of God and he must obey.”
Other entries have her noting that one of her children had just turned 12 and was 'still pooping/peeing' themselves, which Franke blamed on 'satanic choices', then noted that despite it being the child's birthday they didn't 'even know what month it is'.
She wrote of one of her children that they had a 'cold, dead heart' and that one of her sons told her he would 'rather have a glass of water than me as his mother'.
Another entry had Franke complaining that one of her daughters was making up rhymes where she sang 'my mom starves me and calls it fasting' and said she wanted to run away from home.
Elsewhere, Franke writes that she put on boots to kick one of her children.
Each page in the document, at least the ones that aren't redacted, is another detail in a horrific picture of child abuse.
Franke and Hildebrandt were sentenced to prison, and due to a law about consecutive sentences they will each not spend longer than 30 years behind bars.
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: Ruby Franke, YouTube, Crime, True Crime
Joe Harker