Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Ruby Franke Husband's Stunning Admission

Episode Date: March 16, 2025

Kevin Franke and his two oldest children have opened up for the first time together to tell their story of living with infamous vlogger Ruby Franke. Hulu's docuseries Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke reveal the disturbing details of the abuse endured by the Franke children and how husband Kevin was isolated from his children during his year-long separation from their mother.  We learned of the horrendous abused when Franke's 12-year-old son climbs out of a window in a home, belonging to Franke's business partner Jodi Hildebrandt. The boy  running to neighbors begging for food and water.  Neighbors called police. Officers said the boy looked emaciated and malnourished.  Cops also noted that the boy had “deep lacerations from being tied up with rope” and duct tape around his wrists and ankles.. After searching Hildebrandt’s home, police found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter in a similar condition.  Both children were taken to a hospital.    Franke's parenting channel "8 Passengers," which at one time boasted over 2 million followers,  doled out parenting advice,  and in her video, she admits to withholding food as a form of punishment.   Both women  charged and convicted with aggravated child abuse. Kevin Frank admits he is still in love with his soon-to-be ex-wife.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Donna Kelly – Former Utah Senior Deputy District Attorney and Attorney for Crime Victims Legal Clinic; Helped form the Utah County Sex Crimes Task Force Dr. Dana Anderson – Forensic Psychologist and consultant, court appointed expert witness, Twitter: @psychologydrcom, TikTok: @psychologydr Jason Jensen – Private Investigator (Jensen Private Investigations), Cold Case Expert (Salt Lake City, UT), and Co-founder: “Cold Case Coalition;” Investigations; Twitter: @JasonJPI, Facebook/Instagram: “Jensen Investigations”  Dr. Free N. Hess – Pediatrician/Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Child Safety Expert & Consultant, Founder of www.PediMom.com Emily Ashcraft- Reporter for KSL.com in Utah; Twitter: @emilyjaneen3  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The highly popular mommy vlogger with millions of followers as she doled out parenting advice, only to be charged with felonies and sentenced after her children found beaten and starved, traumatized. In the last days, the husband of the evil mommy vlogger, Ruby Frankie, leaves viewers outraged by what he says on air. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. The husband of the YouTube mommy vlogger, Ruby Frankie, leaves viewers stunned and sickened. He says he still loves his wife despite her devilish abuse of their children. Kevin, Frankie, and son Chad sat down on GMA for the first time

ahead of their Hulu documentary, Devil and the Family, The Fall of Ruby Frankie. Despite Ruby Frankie convicted of stunning, horrific child abuse on their two young children, he says he still loves her. Quote, I don't think I'll ever stop loving her. I'm, quote, not ashamed to say after being married over 20 years to that woman, I truly did and still do love her. He also told that to people. Since Frankie has been sent to jail on a 30-year sentence, the husband and children have, quote, reconnected, and their home is now full of, quote, laughter. I've always wondered where he was during all the child abuse. What exactly happened?

What does it mean when you're an influencer with literally millions of so-called followers, when your child sneaks out of a window, completely emaciated, starved with signs on their bodies that they have been bound, tied up, likely with at least duct tape. What kind of an influencer is that? Well, according to me, that's the kind of influencer that would best spend their time behind bars. Let's see who they can influence in the CI, Correctional Institute. That's where I'm coming from. But I let you judge for yourself. Let's kick it off with our friends at ABC. Arrest documents saying the child escaped to a neighbor's home. The 12-year-old child described

by that neighbor in a phone call to police as emaciated and malnourished with open wounds. Court documents also describing deep lacerations from being tied up with a rope. He's also saying that there's two of his sisters are back at the home as well. Police say they also found Frankie's 10-year-old daughter malnourished. Frankie is known for her strict parenting advice to millions of TikTok and YouTube followers.

Police say a clearly malnourished 12-year-old child crawled out of the window of Hildebrand's Ivins area home. A neighbor called 911 when he showed up at their house asking for food and water. Officers say his wrists were duct taped. He had wounds from being tied up across his body. Investigators say they found a 10-year-old girl inside the same house who was also malnourished. You're also hearing our friends at KSL. So we have at least one child who had apparently just turned 12 crawling out the window

of the family home, starved. And believe you me, if you haven't ever seen it, I hope you never do. I pray to God you never do. Because when you see a child that has been starved, as I have, it's something you never forget. I remember when I was going to cover the Alex Murdoch double murder trial. I passed a yard and there was a dog tied up in the front yard to a stake and i could see the dog's ribs and it reminds me when i went to aruba with natalie holloway's mother just recently to try to turn up new evidence for at the end of the island where the lighthouse is there was a pack of dogs maybe four or five of them that kept coming up to us chasing after us and they looked like

skeletons that their ribs were poking out and it just i've thought about them over and over and over. And when you see a child with their ribs poking out, clearly emaciated, I can't even get the dogs out of my mind, much less the children that I saw that way as a prosecutor. And not just once, over and over and over, food deprivation, starving your child. I think about this 12-year-old little boy to the point where he crawls out theacerations where the child has been tied up. And then we learn that there's another child in the home, a 10-year-old little girl with the same lacerations, malnutrition, malnourished living in that home. Who in the hell is the mommy? Who in the hell is the dad that would do this to their children? Well, I hope you're sitting down. Take a listen to our friends at GMA. A Utah mom influencer arrested, facing six felony counts of aggravated child abuse. For the first time, we're hearing emergency responders

as they see one of Ruby Frankie's children after he allegedly escaped through a window. The male does have duct tape around each ankle. He's not telling the RP why. And so there's sores around his wrist and ankles. He's becoming, or correction, the RP is becoming emotional regarding the child's health. I'm going to go ahead and have medical data on this one. With me in all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now.

But first, I want to go to investigative reporter with KSL.com out of Utah. Emily Ashcraft is with us. Emily, thank you for being with us. Who is this woman? Who is she? She is a family YouTuber, vlogger. And the family actually, its YouTube channel faded out or stopped recently. And she started up another channel or as a counselor instead

of a mom what is eight passengers so that's the family's youtube channel and you know she said in in a article ksl wrote oh years ago um that she started the channel because she wanted other moms who were kind of starting out with infants to see what it's like to have kids that are getting older kind of the rewards of motherhood is what she wanted to show off in her in the eight passengers youtube channel ruby frankie f-r-a-n-k-e how many followers i understand over 2.2 million subscribers to eight passengers channel that's the numbers that i've seen as well okay who in the hay is drinking the kool-aid that's what i want to know and i want to to go now to Donna Kelly, former Utah Senior Deputy District Attorney and lawyer for Crime Victims Legal Clinic. Donna, thank you for being with us.

And I've seen this over and over and over. It's not just a story. It's not something we're reporting on. It's not some fiction or TV, made-for-TV movie. Not only do you have the parents abusing the child horribly, but people around them, they know what's happening and they do nothing. What is wrong with these people? I mean, it's not as if this just happened and they suddenly say, oh, the child has bruises all over their arms. That's suspicious. They're starved. They're starved. That takes a long period of time, Donna Kelly, and nobody noticed. Yes, it does. And

unfortunately, many abusers have the mindset that they work hard at portraying themselves as you know the good parent the parent you go to when you need advice that type of thing is not uncommon and so that appears to be what's going on here is that this particular set of parents decided that they were going to portray themselves as the ideal parent and put that out there to the world. And apparently a lot, at least 2.2 million people were fooled. Guys, I just want you to hear something. Take a listen to our friends at Fox 13.

Independent journalist and YouTuber Katie Paulson tracks child abuse cases. She says Frankie's YouTube channel, Eight Passengers, caught her attention. And she was saying how she would send her daughter to school with no food. And it was almost like she was bragging about it. She recalls another time when Frankie's son openly talked about his punishment on the channel. He was talking about how he had been sleeping on the floor on a beanbag chair and how his mom had taken away his bed and has taken away his door. That child had to sleep on a beanbag chair for seven plus months for pulling a prank on his brother. A prank, I might add, that didn't even cause any physical harm. What he did was he told the brother they were going to Disneyland the next morning and the brother got

up and packed, put on his sunglasses and was ready to go. It was a joke. They didn't go to Disneyland. That was the prank. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. And another bombshell regarding Ruby Frankie in the past days. We learn her daughter states, I helped clean blood off the wall. Oh, gosh. Daughter of Ruby Frankie, Sherry Frankie, says of brother Chad in this upcoming Hulu docuseries, Devil in the Family, The Fall of Ruby Frankie, quote, I did always feel bad when he got in trouble, I guess referring to Brother Chad. Sherry Frankie, the eldest daughter of family vlogger, child abuser Ruby Frankie, opens up.

She reveals she had to, quote, clean blood off the walls after her younger brother, Chad, was, quote, beat really bad. Quote, he got a bloody nose. I'd bring him toilet paper and didn't really know what to do. Oh, my stars, what these children endured. In the series, son Chad claims the abuse was hidden from viewers, recalling, quote, times she blew up off camera. She would spank, whip, take the belt out, pull down my pants, whip me. We've learned a lot more from the criminal case. At the get-go, Ruby and Kevin Franke brushed off their critics, insisting their very disturbing videos, which showed them taking away necessities as punishment.

They claimed those criticisms were taken out of context and their children were fine. They were anything but fine. This mom brags about withholding food and bragging about it online. What I also don't understand, to Dr. Dana Anderson, forensic psychologist and consultant, you can find her at psychologydoctor.com. She's bad enough. But who are the 2.2 million people that tune in to watch her gibberish? Well, I can tell you, I certainly wasn't tuning in and I'd never even heard of Ruby Frank until this came up. But what's more deplorable is her sidekick, Jodi Hildebrandt, who's a licensed professional who's observing this the whole time.

2.2 million people are following this witch straight from hell. I want you to hear more of what we have learned. Take a listen to our friends at Fox 13. Diane Nevins remembers being horrified at what she was watching on YouTube. It was kind of like every video there was something to be shocked about. Her son couldn't walk until he was like two and a half years old, and she never got him any help. And she admitted that at one point he had fallen off the couch or she dropped him. He had gotten no physical therapy, anything. Nevins says when she commented her concerns, she was blocked by Frankie.

What exactly, to Emily Ashcroft joining us, investigative reporter for KSL.com, what was found in the home after the neighbor has to call 911 when she gets a 12-year-old little boy who says his 10-year-old sister's inside with the same injuries, starved, starved, and covered in lacerations, showing the child had been tied up. What did cops find when they go inside? They found a second child. The two youngest children in the family were both so starved. The one that didn't crawl out and initially refused medical care, but they, after interacting with her for a while, they kind of said, let's go to the hospital as well. And both of the women were charged with six counts, three for each child of aggravated child

abuse. Authorities say that both children were described as, quote, their words, not mine, emaciated and malnourished with open wounds and duct tapes around the extremities begging for food and water. Begging for food and water. This woman actually has a YouTube channel where she dispenses advice. I'm just imagining the inside of that home and how the children were bound with duct tape and apparently their skin was burned with ropes, having tied them up. What kind of mothering and fathering is that? And it brings to mind the so-called house of horrors.

Yes, the evil Turpin parents. Their daughter crawled out of the house, out of a window and ran to call 911 to save her brothers and sisters. They were found in the same exact condition. Take a listen to our cut, 35 Hour Friends at ACGTN. Officials say when they entered the Turpin home, they found a modern-day horror. Foul smell, extremely dirty conditions, and they say it was immediately clear that the siblings were malnourished. Authorities say they found three

of the children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks, kept in dark and unclean conditions inside this Riverside County, California home. Deputies located 12 children inside the house as young as two years old. And upon further investigation, when authorities went to their last home where the Turpins lived, they found claw marks on the inside of closet doors where children had tried to claw their way out. And listen to this 911 call on our cut 36. This is a Turpin child that crawled out the window, much like this influencer's child did. Okay, I live in a family of 15 people,

and my parents are abusing, they abuse us. And my two little sisters right now are chained up. And how many of your siblings are tied up? Two of my sisters, one of my brothers. How are they tied up? With rope or with what? With chains. They're chained up to their beds. Guys, also, I can't forget the case of Jennifer Wolfthal. Take a listen to our cut 34.

Our friend Stephen Helling over at People.com. According to an arrest report obtained by WFTV, Wulffal was arrested that time after her husband arrived at the hospital with their eight-year-old daughter who suffered from conditions including pneumonia, a staph infection, and liver failure. Authorities say the girl was also malnourished and had multiple bruises, a skin infection, and several open wounds. Wulffal is the author of the children's book, A Real Friend. It has been removed from sale by its publisher. See the connection I'm making right there? You've got this woman who is an influencer who has a YouTube channel about parenting.

She has mistreated and abused her children. They're starving. They're tied up with duct tape. When cops get there, they still have duct tape on their extremities. It looks like they have rope burns and they're begging for food and water, having to climb out the window to get to a phone to call 911, begging neighbors to give them something to eat. And here is this book author who has her child covered in bruises with skin infections, open wounds. You know what makes

Ruby Frankie different from the turpin mom? Ruby Frankie is glamorous. Yeah. She has this YouTube channel and boy, is she making the most of it. Guys, I want you to take a listen to Dr. Free Hess joining us. Pediatrician, pediatric emergency medicine expert, child safety expert. And you can find Dr. Free Hess at pdmom.com. Let me spell that. It doesn't look like it sounds. It's like pediatrician. P as in Peter, E, D as in daffodil i p e d i mom dot com dr free has thank you for

being with us what this woman has is hair and makeup that's what makes her different from the turpin family or the other mom they're all bills Beelzebub straight from hell. They're the devil's minions. Yeah. And that's actually a very big misconception that a lot of people have about abusers, child abusers specifically. I think a lot of people have in their mind that it's only a certain type of person that can do these types of evil things to children. And it's not, it can literally be anybody. Yeah. You know, you think, you know, your neighbor, you think, you know, all about what's going on in your neighborhood. These children are being starved in their own home, assaulted, tied up with ropes and with

duct tape that we know of based on the evidence we're hearing so far. And nobody did a thing. And people kept watching this woman online crime stories with nancy grace jason jensen joining me salt lake city utah private investigator owner of jensen private investigations co-founder of the Cold Case Coalition. And you can find them at JensenPrivateInvestigations.com. This is in your neck of the woods. What do you have to say?

Well, Nancy, there's a lot that can be said here. It's interesting that, you know, the outer image that was being portrayed is, you know, like you described her, a glamorous mom raising six kids, wants to show off to the world how to do it right. Well, you know, that seems to really have like a Mormon household style image. Oftentimes in the church here in our community, they try to portray to the world a model style of raising a family. And unfortunately, this lady took matters way to the extreme. We're not just showing like discipline online, but goes to the extreme of child abuse. Jason Jensen, isn't it true that your children have actually watched this woman's YouTube channel? What did they think?

Yes, Nancy, actually my two kids were the ones that brought Ruby Frankie to my attention because years ago when they were younger, they watched and enjoyed the channel and sometimes they got a kick out of it because she was such a gruff parent. She was always harsh on them. And it kind of gave them the impression that she was a disciplinary.

And what both of my kids said is pertaining to the two younger kids, the victims of this recent arrest, is they said they could tell mom did not like these two kids very well. Guys, when someone did try to speak out against Ruby, Frankie, take a listen to what happened in our cut 17, Fox 13. Paulson also saying when she did a report on what Frankie and her kids were saying in the videos, she was threatened to be sued. She forwarded me an email from Frankie's lawyer sent in 2020 that says, in part, we represent the family vlog channel eight passengers who continue to be harmed by defamatory videos uploaded to YouTube by your client and saying it resulted in a baseless visit by Child Protective Services. They always say, if you see something, say something. And in this case, when people said something, they were threatened. Let me understand something, Emily Ashcroft, joining us from KSL. Child Protective Services went to the home,

even though now Frankie is claiming that was baseless. And what, they found nothing? They couldn't tell anything was going on? Yeah, they went to the home to talk about those claims that you brought up in videos. It was clear that she sent a child to school without lunch and had a child sleeping on a beanbag. And so they went to investigate those, and that didn't lead to any charges at that point. You know, it's red flags, but I guess not from an activity. Red flags? I watched it. She brags about withholding food from her children.

How? Is that okay? Take a listen to our cut 22. This is Ruby Frankie in Eight Passengers. Russell got the big bedroom and Chad got the smaller bedroom. And Russell's bigger bedroom also had a bathroom. But what you guys didn't know was Chad didn't get any room. He didn't get anything. He was sleeping on the floor in the family room. Abby, we took the phone

away from Abby in November. And you may never get the phone back. Probably not. And my kids are literally starving. I hesitate to say this because it's going to sound like I'm like a mean barbarian. But I told the kids, I said, I'm not even going to let you eat breakfast until you get your chores done. It's not just that she's withholding food. And it's not just because they didn't do chores one morning before school. It's all the time. You don't get to a point of starvation when you occasionally skip breakfast isn't that true Dr. Freehess pediatrician yes absolutely you don't get emaciated by missing a meal or two here or there and you don't appear to be that to outside people unless you're missing a substantial

amount of meals and nutrition which can then lead to a whole host of other things that unfortunately these kids may have to deal with. So in One Fill Swoop, we hear about withholding food until chores are done in the morning, not giving one child a place to sleep, but there's a certain amount of bragging, of bravado, of joviality, of cheer in the way she describes how she's treating her children and what everybody just stands by and licks it up like they're a pig at the trough. Take a listen to our cut 24 more of Ruby Frankie. I just got a text message from Eve's teacher, and she said that Eve did not pack a lunch today, and can I bring a lunch over to the school? This happens quite often when you're having, raising children,

because I know that her teacher is uncomfortable with her being hungry and not having a lunch, and it would ease her discomfort if I came to the school with lunch. But I responded and just said, Eve is responsible for making her lunches in the morning. And she actually told me she did pack a lunch. So the natural outcome is she's just going to need to be hungry. And hopefully nobody gives her food and nobody steps in and gives her a lunch. And isn't it true that at that time, Emily Ashcroft, KSL, this little girl was only six years old? That's what I saw.

This is a, you know, first grader. Just, you know, first year she's bringing food to school probably. And later the mom said, you know, justifying it after after child protective services were called she said you know it was i didn't learn until two hours before the end of school and it was a 45 minute drive so getting it to her really because that's not what she said in her blog her attitude she said it was because the child didn't, the six-year-old girl did not pack her own lunch. She said that she knew it would ease the teacher's discomfort if her child had food. What about the child? What about the child's discomfort?

That's not all. Take a listen to our cuts 27, 28. More of Ruby Frankie. Kevin and I, we have six children. The two youngest are showing long patterns of selfishness. They have been showing through their choices, their unwillingness to repent, their unwillingness to feel sorrow over some pretty egregious choices that they've made. So Kevin and I have decided that we are going to give the gift of truth to them this year for Christmas. We are going to give them the gift of boundaries and we're going to give them the gift of repentance.

So we sat down with them and we let them know how deeply sorrowful we've been because of the choices that they've been making and how it's affected their teachers at school. It's affected their peers. It's affected our home, the siblings. And we just laid it out very clear. And we told them that this year they are not going to be visited by Santa. We let them know that Christmas morning, their four older siblings will be getting Christmas presents to open and that they will have the gift of love from their dad and I. OK, let's just examine what we just heard. Donna Kelly joining me, former Utah senior deputy district attorney. Donna, she says the youngest two, which I believe to be around the ages of six and seven, unwilling to quote repent so therefore while all the other children were visited by santa the two little ones were not because they would not quote repent i didn't make that up she said that uh and you speak, I'm going to need to shrink on this.

Go ahead, Donna Kelly. And Donna, I know you've seen this, as have I, where one or more children are picked out as the targets. Although I think all of these children have been abused and mistreated. Seemingly, one usually is picked out as the most despised and hated and they're tortured more than anyone else these two children as they watch their sisters and brothers get christmas morning surprises they get nothing and then there are two children that are bound with duct tape and ropes and starved i i just want to get my hands around this woman's neck. Then, not only does she do this to her children behind closed doors,

she brags about it on a YouTube channel that has 2.2 million followers. It's just absolutely heartbreaking to listen to her portray herself as the victim. You know, we told these two children that their dad and I were very sorrowful. And so she's portraying herself as the victim, which is a very common abuser tactic, you know, gaslighting the victim. And these are children. They need to learn by trial and error as they go along. And the parents need to be responding to them in that way, in a kind and loving way. They were charged with severe emotional harm of these two children in the charging document. They're charged with not only torture, maltrition, but also severe emotional harm, which it absolutely is. To Dr. Dana Anderson, forensic psychologist and consultant, what do you make of the other children, four of them, getting all their Christmas gifts from Santa and these two being left out on Christmas morning? One of the biggest days, one of the two biggest days in the Christian year, that being Christmas and Easter.

And they're left out because they wouldn't, quote, repent. Yeah, she wants to make an example out of them punish them humiliate them you know it's all this sort of brainwashing gaslighting on a six year old gaslighting manipulating abusing a six year old child and her brother. So let me understand something, Emily Ashcroft. The six-year-old child that had food withheld, would that be the now 10-year-old child left behind in the home, starving and tied up when the 12-year-old brother escapes through the window? That would be that same child.

So this has been going on since the little girl was six and the little boy was eight. One of the things that Ruby Frankie said after her arrest was that those children weren't fit to be around other children. And I'm not sure what she means by that, but it seems like it was specific to those two. Guys, take a listen to our cut 30. Torturing him. Stop it. I know you're not, but it looks like you are. Take Russell. I'm only going to say it one more time, and then you're going to lose the privilege to eat dinner. Okay.

I hear the laughter. I don't know what's going on. But I also hear you're going to lose the privilege of eating dinner. I hear Ruby Frankie saying that. What makes her any different from all the other abusive parents? Hair and makeup, two hours of hair and makeup before she gets in front of the camera. To Jason Jensen joining us, high profile private investigator out of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. Jason Jensen, how are we going to go about proving this case?

Well, I think you hit most of it on the head. Basically, we have to show that there's a pattern, a history between the actor, the abuser, and her victim children. And we have that pretty well established from some of the outtakes of the YouTube channel, things that have been brought up by fellow viewers and that we've discussed here during the program. There's a history of this type of neglect and abuse against these two particular children that have been slowly brewing over time where it was perhaps determined to be minor not enough to remove the children from the home before but now we're so severe that they're being bound and duct-taped like you know abductees and they're not even allowed to venture forth from the house.

Every time that they get in trouble, food is taken away as a punishment. Well, also, we're learning that one of Ruby Frankie's other daughters says her mother was reported to police years before for abuse. Yes. And nothing was done. And sisters of Frankie, three sisters, have also released statements admitting that they, quote, kept quiet on the subject. What in the hay is that, Dr. Dana Anderson, that the family knows, but they choose to remain quiet and let the children continue to starve and be tied up and bound? Yeah, I can't say the extent of what the family knew, but they certainly had some information. and I think it's interesting that they've quickly made statements

to the public stating what side they're on and I wonder if what the phone log would show of them attempting to reach out or call CPS on the subject. Now the daughter Sherry has something to say. Take a listen to our cut 20, box 13. Frank's oldest daughter, Sherry Frank, who was 20 years old, posted to her public Instagram today, a photo of police with the caption, finally. She added another story saying, 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. As of now,

four children have been taken into custody of Child and Family Services. The sisters, who are also YouTubers, state, this is their quote, For the last three years, we have kept quiet on the subject of our sister Ruby Frankie for the sake of her children. Behind the public scene, we've done everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe. Really? Because they weren't the three sisters. They were starving. They were being bound by ropes and duct tape. And what, if anything, did you do about it? Sounds like nothing, because I have a very strong suspicion that if they had called DFACS, Department of Family Children's Services, CPS, Child Protective Services in some jurisdictions, that there would have been a response. Would you agree, Donna Kelly? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. In this case,

I am very encouraged by a couple of things. And those are that a lot of the evidence is going to be admissible without the children even having to testify about some of these things because when this little boy ran to the neighbor for help you know they have observations and also anything that he told them will be admissible anything that he told and the little girl told to the medical personnel will be admissible at trial. So at the very least, this case has very strong corroboration going forward, and I'm very encouraged by that. Guys, there's another person arrested. Take a listen to our Cut 18, Fox 13.

Eight passengers was taken down earlier this year, and that's when Frankie partnered with Jody Hildebrandt, a licensed therapist in a channel called Connections, where they gave parenting and life advice. Here they are pictured in Hildebrandt's home, the same place Frankie's son escaped from and where her daughter was found being held captive in the basement. It's heartbreaking. And I think it's heartbreaking for the community that watched this family, knew that something was wrong. So people watched the family and knew something was wrong and did nothing. Now, I want you to hear more of what the sisters said. We wouldn't feel right about moving forward with regular content without addressing the most recent events.

Their sister getting arrested and her friend, Jody Hildebrandt. But they say, once we do, we will not be commenting on it further. Ruby was arrested, which needed to happen. Jody was arrested, which needed to happen. The kids are now safe, which is number one priority. Really? The number one priority? You say you've remained silent for three years? Why? Did you stand by and let this happen to these children? To have a daughter reveal she had to clean blood off the wall after the children were abused? That daughter likely abused herself. And now the father stating on air he still loves Ruby Frankie. What mixed message does that send the children? Ruby Frankie, rot in hell, woman. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart podcast.