Malevolent Mormon Mommys | The Case Against Ruby Franke & Jodi Hildebrandt

Ruby Franke was arrested in August 2023. Sentenced to four to thirty years in February 2024. The performance that defined her children's lives was over. Part 5 of "The Good Mother" examines where the Franke children are now — and the psychology of recovery after narcissistic family abuse. Shari Franke, 22, published "The House of My Mother" in January 2025. She testified before the Utah Senate on...

CPS visited the Franke home in 2020 after viewers reported concerns about 8 Passengers. They investigated. They closed the case. Three years later, Russell and Eve Franke were found bound and starving in Jodi Hildebrandt's house. Part 4 of "The Good Mother" examines why child protective services failed to intervene despite years of visible warning signs. The abuse wasn't hidden. Ruby posted five v...

8 Passengers had a billion views. The Franke children were filmed from birth. Five videos a week for eight years. Milestones, punishments, humiliations — all content. Part 3 of "The Good Mother" examines the family vlogging industry through the Franke case: what happens when childhood becomes content, when children become products, when the algorithm rewards access to their worst moments. Shari, C...

Jodi Hildebrandt's own niece reported abuse in 2009. Tied up. Duct taped. Forced to sleep outside in snow. Nothing happened. Fourteen years later, Russell and Eve Franke were found bound and starving in Jodi's Ivins, Utah home. Ruby was inside the house. Part 2 of "The Good Mother" examines how Jodi Hildebrandt gained total control over Ruby Franke's family — and what the case reveals about coerci...

Ruby Franke had 2.5 million subscribers watching her raise six children on "8 Passengers." She filmed five days a week for eight years. Brand deals. Sponsorships. A parenting empire built on the image of a devoted mother. Her children knew a different person. Part 1 of "The Good Mother" series examines what the Franke case reveals about narcissistic parenting psychology — the mother whose public w...

You know Ruby Franke's case. The 8 Passengers mom who tortured her children while her husband Kevin lived separately and "trusted" her completely. He hadn't seen his kids in over a year when his son escaped through a window. Now there's another case. Elleshia Seymour—also LDS, also Utah—allegedly took her four children to Croatia based on TikTok prophecies about Salt Lake being destroyed. Her ex-h...

Was Kevin Franke a victim of psychological manipulation — or a bystander who found it easier not to look too closely? In this gripping Hidden Killers deep dive, Tony Brueski and psychotherapist Shavaun Scott analyze one of the most troubling dynamics explored in Hulu’s Devil in the Family : a father who insists he never recognized the abuse happening under his own roof. The episode begins with the...

Netflix's new documentary "Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story" drops December 30th, and it finally shifts the focus to where it belongs — not on Ruby Franke, but on the woman Ruby herself blamed for leading her into what she called "a dark delusion." Jodi Hildebrandt wasn't just Ruby's business partner. She was a licensed mental health counselor with a documented history of ethical violat...

Netflix's new documentary "Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story" drops December 30th, and it finally shifts the focus to where it belongs — not on Ruby Franke, but on the woman Ruby herself blamed for leading her into what she called "a dark delusion." Jodi Hildebrandt wasn't just Ruby's business partner. She was a licensed mental health counselor with a documented history of ethical violat...

What happens when faith turns into fanaticism — and motherhood turns into control?  In this searing Hidden Killers commentary, Tony Brueski unpacks the disturbing psychology behind Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt , the duo whose “spiritual discipline” of children became a criminal horror show. Ruby’s journey from YouTube mom to convicted abuser isn’t just about narcissism — it’s about moral addic...

Kevin Franke says redemption is real. He just announced he’s engaged to a new partner, just six months after finalizing his divorce from Ruby Franke — the former “8 Passengers” mommy blogger now serving a possible 30-year sentence for aggravated child abuse. In this episode of Hidden Killers , we’re digging into what this “fresh start” really means — not just for Kevin, but for the children who li...

From YouTube Mom to Felon-What Led to Ruby and Kevin Franke’s Divorce Ruby Franke, once known as the strict but smiling matriarch of the 8 Passengers YouTube channel, is now serving a prison sentence for aggravated child abuse. In this gripping episode, we dive deep into the court documents, police bodycam footage, and the real-life consequences of a parenting philosophy that spiraled into crimina...

8 Passengers Fallout: Divorce Finalized as Ruby Franke Serves Prison Time The story of Ruby Franke officially closed a major chapter this week as a Utah judge signed off on her divorce from Kevin Franke—marking the legal end to a marriage that once played out in front of millions on YouTube, before unraveling in one of the most disturbing child abuse cases the state has seen in years. It’s now on...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.       This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, th...

Kevin Franke A Victim or an Enabler? FBI Expert Breaks It Down Was Kevin Franke just another victim in Ruby Franke’s twisted world, or was he an enabler quietly standing by as the unthinkable happened? Hulu’s Devil in the Family has reignited the debate, shifting the spotlight onto Kevin—her husband, the father of their children, and the man who claims he was left in the dark. But how does his bod...

Was Kevin Franke a clueless victim of psychological manipulation, or was he just too comfortable letting someone else call the shots—even when it meant his own kids were suffering? The Hulu documentary Devil in the Family peels back the layers of one of the most twisted true crime cases in recent years, exposing how extreme parenting, blind faith, and YouTube fame created the perfect storm for abu...

The Hidden Psychology Behind Kevin Franke’s Inaction – FBI Expert Weighs In How do you go from being a father of six to turning a blind eye when your children are suffering? That’s the question swirling around Kevin Franke, who spent a year estranged from his wife, Ruby, and their kids—only to seemingly jump right back into the chaos when given the chance. Even as disturbing truths about alleged c...

FBI Behavioral Analyst on Why Kevin Franke Didn’t Act Sooner How do you go from parenting to full-blown exorcisms? That’s the twisted reality of the alleged abuse unfolding in the Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt saga. What started as a strict religious upbringing spiraled into something far more sinister—kids being duct-taped, starved, and subjected to cruel punishments, all under the guise of “p...

FBI Profiler Analyzes Kevin Franke’s Behavior In Ruby Franke Devil In The Family Doc Was Kevin Frankie just an oblivious husband caught in the crossfire of a manipulative cult-like influence, or was he a willing enabler turning a blind eye to the horrors unfolding in his own home? Hulu's Devil in the Family has reignited the public debate, shifting the spotlight onto Kevin and his role—or lack the...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.       This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, th...

Does Kevin Franke Really 'Get It', If He Still Loves Ruby Franke? Was Kevin Franke a victim of coercion, or did he just turn a blind eye? The case of Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt has been dissected from every angle, but Kevin—the husband who stayed, the father who didn’t intervene—is a puzzle in himself. Psychotherapist and author Shavaun Scott joins Tony Brueski to unravel the layers of manip...

Is Kevin Franke a Victim or an Accomplice Of Ruby Franke, FBI Behavioral Expert Speaks Could Kevin Franke have stopped the nightmare unfolding under his own roof, or was he just another victim caught in Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt’s web of control? That’s the big question as we dig into the twisted dynamics of this case. Sure, he wasn’t the one tying up his children or starving them, but he a...

Kevin Franke Finally Speaks Out The Truth About Ruby Franke’s Abuse Was Kevin Franke a victim of manipulation, or did he knowingly turn a blind eye while his children suffered? The Ruby Franke case has left many stunned, but the focus now shifts to her husband, Kevin—a man who still claims to love the woman who tortured their children. While he insists he was a victim of religious coercion and ext...

Was Kevin Franke a victim of manipulation, or did he knowingly turn a blind eye while his children suffered? The Ruby Franke case has left many stunned, but the focus now shifts to her husband, Kevin—a man who still claims to love the woman who tortured their children. While he insists he was a victim of religious coercion and extreme psychological control, many argue he was complicit, neglectful,...

Before Ruby Franke, the infamous YouTube mom behind the "8Passengers" channel, pleaded guilty to child abuse charges, authorities uncovered something chilling—a handwritten journal detailing the suffering she inflicted on her own children. In it, she described acts of cruelty with a detachment that made even seasoned investigators pause. As revealed in Hulu’s new docuseries Devil in the Family: Th...