Chilling 911 call exposes extent of mummy YouTuber's abuse making grown man cry
A shocking call to cops that led to the arrest of a popular mummy YouTuber who secretly abused her own children has been revealed.
The call from a Good Samaritan neighbour is a shocking piece of the jigsaw of heart-rending brutality the famous YouTuber and Mormon Ruby Franke meted out to her children. In it the neighbour raises the alarm when an "emaciated" boy appears on his doorstep with open wounds and duct tape on his limbs after fleeing Jodi Hildebrandt's nearby home through a window.
The man is heard calmly trying to explain the urgent need for assistance, but becomes overwhelmed by the boy's condition and struggles through tears to tell the police what is happening. The neighbour says, according to a recording of the call obtained by ABC: "I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help. And he's said he had just come from a neighbour's house and we know there's been problems at this neighbour's house. He is emaciated. He's got tape around his legs. He's hungry and he's thirsty.
Ruby Franke pleaded guilty to child abuse charges (AP)"He has duct tape around each ankle. There's sores around them. He has them around his wrists as well. This kid has obviously... he's been detained. He's obviously covered in wounds." The plea for help led to Franke being charged with six counts of felony child abuse.
Ruby and husband Kevin Franke's 10-year-old daughter was later found by cops in a similar condition. Franke pleaded guilty to child abuse charges, admitting to attempting to convince her children they were evil and possessed, and severe physical and emotional abuse, on Monday.
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Franke had devised cruel punishments for her children (8 Passengers/Instagram)
Franke's eldest daughter Shari posted a message to Instagram saying 'Finally' (officialsharifranke/Instagram)Meanwhile, Hildebrandt has been charged with six counts of felony child abuse in Washington County, Utah. Each count carries a sentence of up to 15 years and a £7.8K ($10K) fine. However, according to a cousin of Franke's, the practice of abusing children, being physical, and withholding food is something that has been a "multi-generational" problem in the family.
According to the Daily Mail, the unnamed cousin of Franke said the news of her child abuse case is "disgusting" but the problem is "bigger than people know" and that this is not the first time their family has experienced this behaviour. Other family members have also duct-taped, handcuffed and starved children. They described the unprovoked child abuse and slapping that took place in their house as a child – and said after watching Ruby's YouTube channel 8 Passengers briefly, they said they noticed Ruby had the same mannerisms.
Franke was a successful YouTuber who made content about parenting (No credit)The cousin said: "I'm not shocked. It's not a shock at all. The direction in which it went was not what I thought, but from which it came was to be expected. I wasn't expecting some of the details in that story to line up with details in my own family history. My mother handcuffed my sisters when they were young, and a lack of food wasn't uncommon, but it wasn't out of the lack of money and there was a time when it could have been prevented and it wasn't. All I can say is my mother did duct tape my siblings. I'm not shocked."
Franke previously boasted online about making her kids go hungry, cancelling Christmas and even punishing her children by taking them out of school and forcing them to clean floorboards. She and Hildebrandt also were previously criticised for their teachings on parenting – collaborating on Hildebrandt's life counselling service.
Jodi Hildebrandt has been charged with six felony counts of aggravated child abuse (AP)Franke gained fame online through her YouTube channel and had 2.2 million subscribers before she stopped posting in January 2022. A report of a child needing care was filed to the Santa Clara-Irvins Public Safety Department in Utah. The two women were subsequently arrested.
In a statement the department said: "The condition of the juvenile was so severe that they were seen by Santa Clara-Ivins EMS and transported to a local area hospital. Information was obtained by police that other juveniles in similar condition may be in a nearby home. Officers arrived at the home and searched the residence, locating another juvenile in a similar physical condition of malnourishment. They were also transported by EMS for hospital treatment."
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With the kids (Instagram)Cops said "evidence consistent with the markings found on the juvenile" was located in the home. Four young children were taken into the care of Child and Family Services following the police's investigation. It is unconfirmed if the children were related to either Franke or Hildebrandt.
Neighbours said they had been in contact with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services in the past and feared the kids would leave the home "in body bags". A male neighbour said: "I remember that she took away their Christmas one year and she would say things like 'They're not repenting correctly' – a Mormon term for "they're sinning".
Police ready themselves to storm the house (ABC/Springville Police Dept)Kevin Franke is believed to have been kicked out of the family home last year. He said earlier this week that he is "trying to keep his children together" following the arrests before being seen pacing around outside the Utah family home last weekend after neighbours spoke out about their fears for their children's safety.
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Franke's oldest daughter Shari took to Instagram to share what appeared to be a message regarding the situation. On her Instagram Stories, Shari shared an image of a police officer alongside the word "finally". She followed it up with a message reading: "Hi all. Today has been a big day. 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. Kids are safe, but there's a long road ahead. Please keep them in your prayers and also respect their privacy."
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