Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Ruby Franke Sobs In Court, Verdict In

Episode Date: March 2, 2024

YouTube influencer Ruby Franke learns her fate. 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; X: @psychologydrcom/TikTok: @psychologydr Jason Jensen – Private Investigator (Jensen Private Investigations), Cold Case Expert (Salt Lake City, UT), and Co-founder: “Cold Case Coalition;” Investigations; X: @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; X: @emilyjaneen3  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Disgraced YouTube star, mommy blogger, Ruby Frankie, cries in court when she is told she will serve up to 30 years in prison for the brutal abuse of her own children in a, quote, concentration camp like setting. Let that sink in. A concentration camp-like setting. You know, I was thinking about that. I was thinking about, I asked the twins yesterday, do you want me to make mozzarella chicken

or do you want me to make Irish shepherd pie for supper tonight? Which one would you like the most? Just thinking of any little thing I can do to make them happy. You know, they're 16 now. They don't really need me anymore. But anything I can do to try to make them happy makes me happy. This woman starved her children. She duct taped them.

She abused, berated, and humiliated her children. I know I can use a lot of parenting advice and tips, but I am telling you, this woman needs to rot behind bars. Oh, and get a load of this. This woman needs to rot behind bars. Oh, and get a load of this. She stands up in court and elocutes. In other words, blabs on and on about her distorted vision of reality that led her to abuse her children. Woman, do you think you're any better than the other child abusers out there? Because you're not.

I don't care how attractive you think you are, how educated you are, that you had millions of followers on your YouTube show. I don't care. You're going to jail. You're getting three hots and a cot at best. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thanks for being with us here at Crime Stories and on SiriusXM 111.

You've got to hear this. You've got to hear Ruby Frankie, who once had nearly 3 million followers to her mommy advice show on YouTube. I mean, listen to Ms. Thing in court. For the past four years, I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me to a dark delusion. My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me. I was led to believe that this world was an evil place filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, Husbands who refuse to protect and children who need abused. My choice to believe and behave this paranoia culminated into criminal activity for which I stand before you today ready to take accountability. Jody Hill DeBlant was never my business partner, nor was I ever employed by her. I have never received wages

from her or connections. Jody was employed as my son's counselor in 2019, and in 2020, I paid her to be my mentor. It is important to me to demonstrate my remorse and regret without blame. I take full accountability for my choices, and it is my preference that I serve a prison sentence. How much time Ruby Frankie will spend behind bars will be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Paroles. And state law means she can only serve a maximum of 30 years. What does that mean to me? She's going to get out early. She'll probably do another YouTube show then. I wonder if she's going to try to broadcast from behind bars. This woman will find a way. Ruby Frankie, six children in all, breaks down in court apologizing to her, quote, little chicks.

Hello, would those be the ones that you bound with duct tape, beat, humiliated, and starved? Are those the, quote, little chicks? Oh, okay. Take a listen to this woman in court. What a nerve. I was the mama duck who was consistently leading you to safety. A nerve. I was so disoriented that I believed dark was light and light was wrong. I would do anything in this world for you. My willingness to sacrifice all for you was massively manipulated into something very ugly.

I took from you all that was soft and safe and good. I took from you all that was soft and safe and good. I took from you my mother. And I don't know if all this must have been for you. And I will still cry for her and her daughter's souls. You are so precious to me. I'm sorry. Everybody just remember, reality check, as you're listening to her sobbing and carrying on in court, she tortured her children by holding their heads underwater, keeping them handcuffed and shackled and starving them and telling them they were, quote, possessed. How did the whole thing unfold?

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 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 think about this 12-year-old little boy to the point where he crawls out the window and goes to a neighbor asking for food. And the neighbor sees lacerations, lacerations 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 that there's sores around his wrists 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, an 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 and we're hearing a lot about the mom but as far as i'm concerned the father can go straight to hell too but first tell me 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 YouTube channel as a counselor instead of a mom. What is Eight Passengers? So that's the family's YouTube channel. And she said in an article KSL wrote years ago 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. How many followers did she have? Ruby Frankie, YouTuber, mom of six, 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? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace this woman got a sweetheart deal she took a plea deal that shaped 30 years off the maximum sentence and spared her from going to trial she climbed she was manipulated by her business partner jodyody Hildebrandt. Well, she's the devil's handmaiden as well. Sickening new details of the torture YouTuber Ruby Frankie subjected her children to are now public after she pleads guilty to felony child abuse. In newly released court documents, we see the true Ruby Frank, a sadistic mother, violent and cruel, hell-bent on hurting her own children that she claimed were possessed and evil. The children, as young as nine, were forced to live outside, work barefoot in the brutal Utah summer heat, often shackled and handcuffed. They were denied food and physically punished if they were

even caught trying to sneak sips of water. During this, Frankie would kick them while wearing heavy boots, hold their heads underwater, and even sometimes suffocate them to a neighbor's home begging for food and water. One child, a nine-year-old little girl, I found this in the court documents, the child only described as EF, was forced to run barefoot down dirt roads. Her 11-year-old little son, known as RF in the documents, was forced to stand in the brow-beating sunlight for days at a time. We're learning this from the court documents. When their handcuffs cut through their skin, Frankie and her so-called business partner, Jody Hildebrandt, would cover the gashes with duct tape

and place handcuffs over the tape. Her claims that Jody Hildebrandt manipulated her to torture her own children, that's BS. Frankie often talked about prioritizing, quote, principles of truth, end quote, over your own children. Well, you're going to learn a whole new truth behind bars, woman. What more do we know? Donna Kelly, former Utah senior deputy district attorney and lawyer for Crime Victims Legal Clinic. Donna, thank you for being with us. 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 and put on his sunglasses and was ready to go. It was a joke. They didn't go to Disneyland. 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 that 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 she had 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 he 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 that 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, begging for food and water. And this woman, and don't think I'm letting the husband off. Oh no, I'm getting to him. 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. In the last days, we also learned that high-profile YouTuber Ruby Frankie's husband, who left her, calls for the judge to, quote, jail his horrific and inhumane life.

Really? Well, yeah, she should go to jail. But where the hey were you? Where the hell were you, Kevin Frankie, when your children were being abused? Huh? Can you answer that? That's right. Ruby Frankie's estranged husband publicly demands the max for Ruby Frankie. Yes, she deserves it. I'm just curious where he was this whole time while his children were being waterboarded and abused and tortured. That said, he's not on trial right now. Ruby Frankie is the one that pled guilty. What more do we know?

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.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 above 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 were 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. 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 him 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 describe her, 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 it 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 so that two younger kids the subjects 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, 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 red flag I watched it she brags about withholding food from her children how is that okay take a listen our cut 22 this is Ruby Frankie in eight passengers also got the big bedroom and check out the smaller

bedroom and Russell's bigger 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. And my kids are literally starving. I hesitate to say this because it's going to sound like November and you may, 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. Freehiss, pediatrician? Yes, absolutely. You don't get to be feeded 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 first grader. Just first year she's bringing food to school probably. And later the mom said, you know, justifying it 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 she said it was because the child didn't the six-year-old girl did not pack her own lunch changed 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 now that's all. Take a listen to our cuts 27, 28, more of Ruby Franke.

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 have 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. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Ruby Frankie, guilty, and the horrible mistreatment of her children. Awful. And then the hypocrisy of having a YouTube program devoted to child care. I mean, you know, they always say the devil can be charming. Ain't that the truth? 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. And it's just absolutely heartbreaking. I can see why 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 and 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.

Where is the dad in all this? What is he doing? Standing by twiddling his thumbs? So at this point, Ruby Frankie and her children were down in Ivins, which is probably about three, between three and four hours from Springville. We know that Ruby Frankie was there because she shows up in a video and that's why she was charged. She was in a video that was posted shortly before. We don't know if the dad was down there in Ivins up in Springville, how long he hadn't been there, or maybe he wasn't Ivins, but he has the children right now. I don't know that he should have the children.

Did he not notice two of his children, at least two of them, were being slowly starved and tortured near death? I mean, when neighbors notice the child is starved and covered in duct tape on their extremities, where was the dad during all this? He didn't know what's going on. And apparently this has been going on for some time. At least it's a little girl was six guys. Take a listen to our cut 30.

Portraying him. Stop it. I know you're not, but it looks like you are. 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 in duct tape like abductees, and they're not even allowed to venture forth from the house.

And 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 or the police. Because they've issued a statement and I'm quoting them. We, quote, kept quiet on the subject. Now, the daughter, Sherry, has something to say. Take a listen to our Cut 20, Fox 13. Frank's oldest daughter, Sherry Frank, who is 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. 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 and 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 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? Their number one priority? You say you've remained silent for three years? Why? Did you stand by and let this happen to these children? As we close, our prayers, our sincere and genuine prayers for the children of Ruby Frankie, that they can heal and go on to live happy lives. Goodbye, friend.

This is an iHeart Podcast.