From Family Blogger to Felon | Ruby Franke & 8 Passengers

Ruby Franke was one of the original YouTube ‘stars’.  Her channel, 8 Passengers, had millions of subscribers at its peak.  The channel chronicled the life of Ruby, her husband Kevin and their six children in Utah.  

What started as Ruby posting videos of her daily life, soon turned into something more.  Ruby made videos regarding the strict treatment of her children – she would withhold food as punishment and at one point even made the children do chores to be able to use the bathroom.  

Authorities were called and did an investigation into the Franke family.  Ruby seemed to shrug it off and the family went about their daily lives.  

Ruby’s marriage to Kevin had broken down.  Ruby had partnered up with Jodi Hildebrandt, who called herself a counsellor.  The two started new social  media accounts called ‘Moms of Truth’ where they posted their extreme parenting tips and views on topics such as immigration and sexual abuse.  

In August 2023, a child in Utah escaped from a home and ran to a neighboring property.  The child was emaciated and malnourished and had wounds embedded in his skin from being shackled.  The child was Ruby Franke’s son.   
 
Ruby and Jodi were arrested and charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, a felony. Both are being held without bail.  

In this episode, we discuss the fall of Ruby Franke and the heinous crimes she and Jodi Hildebrandt allegedly committed.  

There have been some big updates in the cases of Suzanne Morphew and Crystal Rogers and we discuss those in this episode, as well.

Read our blog for this case here 

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