Who Is Ruby Franke? The rise and fall of the family vlogger convicted of child abuse
On Tuesday, Netflix released a new documentary examining the rise of Jodi Hildebrandt, the Utah-based therapist who was jailed in 2023 alongside disgraced parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke after pleading guilty to multiple child abuse charges.
Franke first made headlines back in 2015 for the controversial parenting advice she shared on her YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, featuring her now-ex-husband, Kevin Franke, and their six children: Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve. The now-deleted channel was once popular, having accumulated more than two million subscribers before speculation and concern began to mount in 2020 about the family’s activities.
In 2022, their YouTube channel was suspended, and the Utah-based mother announced that she was joining a new channel called ConneXions — which has since been deleted — alongside Hildebrandt. The pair sparked controversy with their videos, including one in which they suggested traditional notions of unconditional love might be counterproductive.
In August 2023, both Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested after Franke’s then-12-year-old son Russell escaped from Hildebrandt’s house and ran to a neighbour who called 911. Russell was malnourished and had visible injuries with duct tape on his limbs.
The boy would later tell investigators that Hildebrandt put cayenne pepper and honey on wounds that were caused by being tied with the rope.
In a press release, the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department explained that officers proceeded to a nearby residence where they discovered another juvenile in a comparable condition.
Following her arrest, Franke’s family, including her daughter, made several statements about the situation, including that they are “so glad justice is being served.”
Here’s everything we know about Franke’s rise to fame on YouTube, her arrest, and her sentencing.
Who is Ruby Franke?
Franke first launched the 8 Passengers YouTube channel in 2015, documenting her family’s life in Springville, Utah. One year after launching the channel, she told local news station KSL that her page was a way for her to “let [her] heart rate come down and to just enjoy being with the kids as they are right now.”
Franke went on to spark criticism after revealing in a video that one of her sons, Chad, had been sleeping on a beanbag for seven months after playing a prank on his sibling. In June 2020, concerned viewers contacted local child protective services, with a Change.org petition created to encourage a CPS Investigation.
Amid the backlash, Franke told Insider at the time the sleeping arrangement was Chad’s “choice” after he stopped sharing a room with his younger brother. A letter from DCFS, seen by Insider, said the claims were unsupported and that the case, which alleged that Franke was the perpetrator, was closed.
In August 2022, she faced further scrutiny for refusing to bring lunch to her then-six-year-old daughter at school, who forgot her food at home. Franke said she did not want anyone to give her daughter lunch, explaining that she wanted the child to experience how “painful” it is to be hungry all day so she would “make sure to always pack a lunch.”
After making headlines for her controversial parenting choices, which racked up millions of views online, she began working as a mental health coach at ConneXions, a company run by Hildebrandt.
Franke and Hildebrandt’s joint channel has also sparked outrage. In December 2022, they shared a now-deleted video about “the concept of love.”
The Utah mother claimed that if her child doesn’t “love” or “trust” her, after offering them “the gift of truth,” then they are “refusing to love unconditionally.” She said: “If my child will only love me if I give them what they want, then that’s not really love, is it?”
What did her family say about her arrest?
Following her mother’s arrest, Shari Franke, 22, took to Instagram to make several statements about the situation. She started by posting a photo of a police car and an officer, writing: “Finally.”
Shari also created a document asking followers to share “questionable” or “concerning” information about ConneXions or 8 Passengers.
Franke’s sisters — Ellie Mecham, Julie Deru, and Bonnie Hoellein — released a statement saying they had remained “quiet” about their sister for the past three years, “for the sake of her children.” They added that they had done everything they could to ensure the children were safe.
Disturbing details revealed
Franke admitted to a number of horrific acts in a statement filed in court to support her guilty pleas, which said she abused two of her children from May 2023 until her arrest.
She said that she tried to convince her children that they were evil and possessed and that the “punishments” were a form of repentance. She described the abuse as “acts of love.”
The mother admitted in her statement that her “actions involved the physical torture” of her son. Horrific details revealed that she forced the boy into long physical tasks outside in summer without shoes or adequate water, leaving him with “repeated and serious sunburns.”
Franke admitted to kicking her son while wearing boots, holding his head underwater, and using ropes to tie together handcuffs that were around his hands and feet while he lay on his stomach to lift his arms and legs off the ground, resulting in injuries, the statement said.
Her son was kept isolated from others and denied entertainment like books and electronics.
Franke’s then-nine-year-old daughter was also a victim of these punishments. She admitted in the statement that the girl was forced to work outside, run on dirt roads barefoot “for extended periods of time,” and go without food and water.
Franke learns her fate
In February 2024, Franke was handed four one-to-15-year sentences in prison, one for each of the four counts of child abuse to which she pleaded guilty back in December. Hildebrandt received the same sentence.
The women will only serve up to 30 years due to a Utah state law that caps the sentence duration for consecutive penalties. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will consider their behavior while incarcerated and determine how much of that time each will spend behind bars.
Before the judge handed down the sentence, Franke shared a statement to the court in which she gave a tearful apology to her children for physically and emotionally abusing them.
“I’ll never stop crying for hurting your tender souls,” Franke said to her children, who were not at the hearing. “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 currently have parole hearings reportedly scheduled for December 2026.
Ruby’s daughter releases memoir
In January, Franke’s oldest child, Shari, revealed what it was like growing up in her household in a memoir titled The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom.
The book described the more extreme aspects of her mother’s behaviour. Shari wrote that her mother physically abused her after she played a wrong note on the piano. At other times, the mistreatment was psychological, including threats to pull her out of school if she did not quit her high school track team.
Shari also detailed her mother’s relationship with Hildebrandt, writing that her bedroom was at one point given to Hildebrandt, forcing her to sleep on the living room couch. She said the pair were the only people allowed upstairs or in her former bedroom, cutting off even her father, Kevin.
When Hildebrandt began experiencing “demonic night terrors,” Shari wrote that Franke chose to sleep in the room with her business partner, explaining that Shari’s former bedroom was their “sanctuary.”
Franke’s husband files for divorce and remarries
According to KSL-TV Utah, Kevin originally filed for divorce three months after Ruby’s arrest in August 2023. However, Utah District Judge Roger Griffin did not sign the divorce decree until March 2025.
Shari recently shared that she and Chad attended their father’s wedding to Becca Bevan in November 2025.
In August, Kevin filed a lawsuit against Hildebrandt, alleging that she used her status as a mental health professional to manipulate and isolate him from his family.
Hildebradt has not responded to the lawsuit as of December 2025.
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is available to watch on Netflix.
