Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that the case of Ruby Franks has left not just the state of Utah but the entire nation baffled to the core. That’s because, as explored in Lifetime’s ‘Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story,’ this former YouTube vlogger was arrested, charged, and convicted on charges of child abuse against her own children. There had been allegations against her for a few years, but it wasn’t until 2023 that some concrete actions were actually taken, resulting in her being sentenced to 4-60 years in prison in March 2024.
Ruby Franke Inadvertedly Documented A Lot of The Abuse
Having tied the knot in December 2000 to fellow Latter Day Saints church member and Utah native Kevin Franke, Ruby had managed to build a big family with him by the time 2015 rolled around. They actually shared six children in total – Shari Franke, Chad Franke, Abby Franke, Julie Frane, Russell Franke, and Eve Frank, with the last one being born in the early 2010s itself. Then, in 2015, the mother of six launched a YouTube channel named 8Passengers to chronicle their day-to-day lives, unaware she would soon face a lot of backlash over her extremely strict ways.
That’s because, by early 2020, then-16-year-old Chad had come forward to claim that he had been banned from his bedroom and made to sleep on a bean bag for seven months as a form of disciplinary punishment. Then, upon paying closer inspection to her videos, viewers were also able to discern that some of her other forms of punishment included withholding food, threatening to behead beloved stuffed toys, and telling younger kids that Santa Claus would not be bringing them any gifts for Christmas because they were too “numb” to respond to other punishments.
This actually went to such an extent that her audience even launched a petition asking for an inquiry into the family fearing child abuse and neglect, leading to the channel’s decline by 2021. Howeve, at this point, everyone in the family did defend Ruby. Ruby hence shifted gears and became involved with the life coaching brand ConneXions with licensed therapist Jodi Hildebrandt by 2022, unaware everything would turn upside down within the year. She and her husband separated, her eldest two children became estranged from her, and then, ultimately, she was arrested on August 30, 2023.
Ruby Franke’s Arrest Was Triggered By One of Her Kids Escaping
According to reports, from 2022 onwards, child protective services were called to the Franke household several times, with then college student Shari also calling the authorities to check on her siblings after learning they were often left home alone, but it wasn’t until August 2023 that something became of it. According to official documents, 12-year-old Russell had escaped through a window to ask neighbors for food and water, who dialed 911 after noticing “open wounds and duct tape around the extremities.” Then, once officials arrived, they found 10-year-old Eve in the house and realized she was also malnourished, resulting in both kids being rushed to the hospital.
That’s when a deeper search into the house Ruby was sharing with Jodi was conducted, just for officials to find evidence “consistent with the markings” on Russell. So, the Utah Division of Child and Family Services took the boy and girl, along with their two elder siblings, Abby and Julie, into their care, just to learn that most of their wounds were often dressed with cayenne pepper and honey. Therefore, with all this information, Ruby and Jodi were arrested on six counts of child abuse, just for them to plead guilty to four by the time early 2024 rolled around. Her estranged husband was never charged or arrested in connection to this matter as investigators found no evidence against him.
Shari Franke is Now Gradually Evolving Into an Advocate
While Shari was estranged from her mother and had little contact with her at the time of the arrest, she knew to what extremes she could go and how her partnership with Jodi only made things worse. Therefore, today, the Utah resident is calling for laws that protect children from social media and all its negativities and actually plans on publishing her debut book, a memoir titled ‘The House of My Mother,’ on January 7, 2025. As if that’s not enough, she has since also made it clear that Washington DC is one of her favorite places in the entire world owing to what it represents, so her dream is to pursue a doctorate degree in the political field and work there one day. She also remains close to her siblings.
Chase Frank is Now Moving Forward in Life
While Chase has never been as open about his past as his elder sister, he is well aware of the fact that the entire ordeal has made him quite a public figure. However, instead of letting it drag him down, he has decided to make light of it and now often even jokes about the past on his social media platforms, as seen above. As for his current standing, from what we can tell, this Utah resident is a travel enthusiast, a bike lover, and an aspiring real estate agent, so it’s clear he is ready to take control of his own life. We should also mention that he appears to be in a happy, healthy, long-term relationship at the moment, and he’s glad to still have a connection with his siblings.
Ruby Franke’s Youngest Four Children Are in State Custody
Ever since Ruby was arrested in August 2023, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve have been in state custody, with their father now fighting to attain the same and make amends for everything he had missed over the years. We should mention that while Kevin has since stated through his lawyers that his “urgent focus is simply to keep his children together under his fatherly car,” Ruby’s sister has claimed they are doing everything possible to ensure the kids’ safety. The truth is they are still minors at the moment so not much is known about them, yet we do know that they are safe, happy, and together, which is all that matters in the long run.
Read More: Kevin Franke: Where is Ruby Franke’s Husband Now?
