Ruby Franke, former family vlogger, and Jodi Hildebrant, Franke’s business partner, have both plead guilty and accepted the plea deal during court in Washington County, Utah on December 18th, 2023. A little background about the two, Franke and Hildebrandt were the founders of an “online self-improvement program” called Connxtions. Franke was also the face behind the YouTube family vlog channel, 8 Passengers, where she showcased the life of her 6 kids. Franke and Hildebrant ironically offered parenting advice even though they were later charged with 6 counts of child abuse.
The youngest Franke son (12) is the hero in this story as he was the one to escape out of a window and ask a neighbor for food and water on August 30th, 2023. Law enforcement then found the youngest Franke child (10) in Hildebrandt’s Utah home. Both children were bound together with duct tape and appeared severely malnourished. Franke and Hildebrandt were both arrested later that day. The court date was then set for October 5th, but the trial was held over two months later.
New information about Franke’s controversial parenting reveals that Franke’s son was forced to do physically demanding tasks like holding books over his head while running up & down stairs and doing excessive physical labor outside in the Utah heat. Franke testified against business partner Hildebrant as a part of the plea agreement and disclosed explicit details about the wicked abuse that took place upon the children. She confessed how the two youngest children were told that they were “evil and possessed” and they must be punished in order to repent. The children were also found with numerous wounds covering their bodies.
Franke is infamously known for her harsh parenting techniques that seemed to rub viewers the wrong way. However, her former fans didn’t know the level of abuse that took place behind the scenes. As a result of her two youngest children working outside intensely, the two children had “repeated and serious sunburns” that lead to blistering. Ruby Franke admits to suffocating her son with her hand, kicking him with boots, and holding his head under water. Her son dismissed this heartbreaking abuse because Franke and Hildebrant convinced him that “everything that was being done to him were acts of love.”
On December 18th, 2023, Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrant appeared in court and plead guilty. They were initially charged with six counts of felony child abuse, but the plea deal lowered to four counts. Winward Law is representing Ruby Franke and has released a statement. The statement reveals “It is our firm belief that Ms. Franke is a devoted mother who, unfortunately, was led astray.” It also states that, “Initially, Ms. Franke believed that Jodi Hildebrant had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement. Ms. Hildebrant took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous.” Kevin Franke, soon to be former husband of Ruby Franke, has decided to file for divorce and is seeking custody of the children.
Some believe that the level of negative attention that Ruby Franke has gotten would have made it ambitious to plead not guilty. Addy Weaver (9) concludes, “With the amount of traction that the case has gotten from social media, I would be surprised if her lawyers tried to claim not guilty.” Judge John Walton has set their sentencing date for February 20th, 2024, where the fate of Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrant will be determined. Rachel Bobo (9) says, “I’m glad that justice has been served and I truly hope she will learn her lesson.”
