Law&Crime Sidebar - The Rise and Fall of YouTube Mom Ruby Franke

Episode Date: December 23, 2023

From popular YouTube vlogger to convicted child abuser, the saga of Ruby Franke has captivated the nation. The Law&Crime Network’s Jesse Weber traces her path from internet stardom to the shocking allegations that took her down.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: www.forthepeople.com/LCSidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. views shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. It hurts me just as much as it hurts my kids. A mom of six, famous for her online parenting advice, has a sudden and swift fall from grace. hate me who would like to cancel me who would like to see me either burn in hell as I have told or disappear off the face of the earth and I'm not going anywhere the nation was captivated by the alarming allegations against Ruby Frankie and her business partner as both women sat behind bars anytime you go into battle you need

to know the enemy but this battle ended with a guilty plea and and admission to heinous crimes against her own children. With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty. We're taking a deep dive into the rise and fall of Ruby Frankie, from internet sensation to convicted child abuser. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. It has been a world win case.

If you didn't know the name Ruby Frankie before August 2023, you certainly do now. She was thrust into the spotlight in a big way and for all the wrong reasons. Because in August of 2023, that is when she and her business partner, Jody Hildebrand, were both arrested out in Utah on charges of aggravated child abuse of Ruby's own children.

But her story starts long before then, so let's do a deep dive into everything we know. Ruby met Kevin Frankie and the two got married and had their first child in 2003. Kevin had worked as a symbol, engineering professor at Brigham Young University before reportedly leaving to start his own company. Kevin had graduated from Utah State University for undergrad, then University of Washington for his graduate degree, and then eventually a doctorate from Brigham Young University in civil

engineering. We now know from court documents that Ruby finished high school but didn't attend college. Kevin and Ruby were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They lived in Utah. They had six children together, Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and E. But now in 2015, Ruby and Kevin started the popular eight passengers channel on YouTube. And when I say popular, this thing was a hit. It had over 2 million subscribers, a channel that documented the lives of the Frankie family. I've never, never once forgotten to vlog. Like, it's like forgetting to eat or forgetting to breathe.

For me, like picking up the camera and blogging, it's like, I would never forget to do that. Well, Kevin sometimes participated in the videos, Ruby was really the star of it, giving out advice on things like child care, parenting, family dynamics, and religion. I just felt this spirit tell me everything's going to work out okay. And then I had the thought, you need to share this too on your video. you need to let your viewers know that everything's going to be okay for them too. The videos tended to be positive and upbeat with the occasional references to the drama and conflict that all families tend to go through.

There is no such thing as a family, a home. That is free of dysfunction. Every family has some level, somewhere dysfunction. Doesn't mean you have to accept it and don't accept it. if it's abusive. You know what? If it's surface level, I try to overlook it. However, in the last several years, fellow YouTubers and viewers have called out Ruby Frankie

for very concerning things they noticed in her videos. For example, Ruby posted about her youngest daughter, Eve, who was six, at the time of this video, apparently forgetting to pack her lunch for school, but Ruby didn't seem too concerned about it. 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 a 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. Now Ruby knew that some of her videos were starting to get blowback so she responded. Online who hate me, who would like to cancel me, who would like to see me either burn in hell, as I have told, or disappear off the face of the earth.

And I'm not going anywhere. One of the early signs of trouble that even prompted a report to child protective services came after a video that Ruby posted and it was centered on her eldest son, Chad. Now, to give you a little bit of background here, then 15-year-old Chad was sent to. from Utah to a camp in Arizona called Anasazi. It's a weeks-long wilderness camp for troubled teens. But when he got back, he apparently played some pranks on his younger brother Russell, who he shared a bedroom with. Take a listen to what Chad and Mom Ruby had to say in a video

that she posted and eventually took down. In our house, when we take something away, it's because they have shown that they are not responsible enough to manage it. And so we don't just turn around and give it back as soon as they start acting good. It has to be consistent. It has to be consistent over a minimum, minimum of six months. My bedroom was taken away for seven months and then you give it back like a couple weeks ago. I don't think our viewers know that.

I was sleeping on a bean bag. I was sleeping on a bean bag since October. And they gave my room back like two weeks ago. Oh, I'll give you the reason why I lost my bedroom. I think so. I think this is the reason. At least this is the reason that's been in my head. It's pretty funny, but now I look back, I mean, it's pretty depressing.

No, we never told our viewers. That I woke rustle up at 2 in the morning and told him that we're going to Disneyland and he has to pack. And you got up and made his bed all neatly and then packed all his clothes in a suitcase. And then he walked out the door and I'm like, Russell. He's like, what? And he's all happy. I had the sunglasses on. And I was like, we're not going to Dibuant.

He started crying and hitting you. And then he went back to bed and tears. bed and tears and then... So that was not the reason you lost your room, but that wasn't like... Well, the other reason is because I pointed a BB gun at his face. Pointed to BB gun at his face and hung him on the basketball. Not funny. Basically,

Chad... Oh, like the day I got home too. Chad came home from Anastasi and... Russell was like, I want to try junking the back. I want to try junking the basketball. And he was, and left him there. And he was just hanging on there. Do you think it's funny because...

And then I walked out. If you think it's funny, then you, that was seven months ago. Maybe you need longer without a bedroom. It was not fun. Chad showed that he was not able to manage himself sharing a bedroom with Russell. So when we moved, um, the bigger room. the bigger room in the basement was automatically his and i didn't have a room but what you guys didn't know was chad didn't get any room he didn't he didn't get anything he was sleeping on the floor

in the family room it hurts me just as much as it hurts my kids so with all this going on almost 20 000 people signed a change dot org petition urging an investigation into the frankies child protective services was called it was reported that the division of child and Family Services in Utah, visited the home, took a look around, spoke with all the children, but the case was closed because apparently there was not enough evidence to show abuse. Ruby responded to that backlash as well. However, listening to all of your comments and your feedback, I think I understand where some people are coming from, they're like, oh, the parents don't give their kids beds.

And I totally agree with that. I know there are lots of children out there whose parents are neglectful. We got accused of child when we sent Chad to Anasazi. Guess what? The first thing that they did was take a bed away. They don't have beds. So Chad slept on the hard ground for months, and it's run by psychologists and therapists.

And if not having a bed was psychologically damaging, then they wouldn't have suggested that. By the way, Ruby actually claimed in an interview with the rap that when these child protective services workers showed up to her home, They asked her for parenting advice before leaving. Ruby also said in an interview with Quick Media in 2022, quote, I was slapped upside the face with shock that people didn't like responsibility. I went overnight nearly from being misloved YouTube mom to being called a neglectful abusive mom.

I was shocked. Eventually, Ruby starts posting less and less content to the eight passengers' page. It's eventually shut down and removed from YouTube, although an exact reason wasn't really given. But around that same time, Ruby began working alongside a Utah mental health counselor, therapists, and fellow Mormon Jody Hildebrand. Jody was part of a life coaching and self-improvement business called Connections Classroom. Welcome to Connections. I'm Jody Hildebrand. So glad you're with us. So Jody was a licensed mental health counselor, and at the time of this recording, Ruby is still listed on the Connections website as a, quote, certified,

mental fitness trainer, although it seems that Jody has been scrubbed from the site. In 2012, though, the Department of Commerce's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing put Hildebrand's license on probation for 18 months for, quote, unprofessional conduct. What was the unprofessional conduct? Well, she was accused of discussing the private, sensitive information of a patient with Mormon church leaders and Brigham Young University without the patient's permission. But after that probationary period, her license was apparently reinstated. And I've shared with Ruby numerous times that anger is actually one of my most favorite

emotion. When I first started getting to know you, she's like, anger is my favorite emotion. I'm like, I don't know what I'm dealing with here. Ruby and Jody uploaded dozens and dozens of videos to social media under both the connections name and moms of truth. Anytime you think I want, fill in the blank, I don't care what I don't care what it is, that is not love. Love is a gift that you offer because you have generated it inside yourself and how do you generate love? Well, the only way to generate love is you use your agency to choose principles of truth.

And at one point, Ruby let viewers know why she wasn't posting family videos anymore. I have been full time. You wonder where I've been on my vlogs? You wonder why I left YouTube? is to save my kids. No amount of money. And I'm telling you, I was making millions. And I left it because my kids were being hurt.

With entitlement, they were being hurt. With people's advice, and they didn't have a mother up the front saying, I don't care what the world's opinion is. This is the truth and this is where I stand. Kevin Frankie also played a role, too. He participated in these virtual group therapy sessions with Ruby, focusing on topics like children, religion, sex, marriage. If you're married, you have a commitment between the two of you.

You have made promises to each other, and you have made promises to God. Now, let's just take a second here. We're going to get back into this, but you know how much cases like this one emphasize how scary the world can be, how unsafe it can be. That's why I want to talk to you about our sponsor. of this video. Morgan and Morgan. They have been an incredible partner of ours. And the reason I want to talk about them now is because one of the scariest things in life can be if you get hurt and you don't know what to do. Morgan and Morgan is actually the largest injury law firm

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back into the Ruby Frankie saga. Okay, so now you have the backstory, you have all the players. Let's go to August 2023 when everything changes. August 28th, the Connections Facebook page shared its last post. And just days later, two of the company's most prominent leaders would be behind bars and charged with child abuse. On August 30th, 20203, a neighbor of Jody Hildebrandt in Ivan's, Utah, called police. I'm on the address of your emergency.

Tell me exactly what's happened. I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help. This kid has obviously been... I think he's been detained. He's obviously covered in wounds. It is such a difficult call. You can really hear just how painful it is for this caller to see what he's seeing. Ruby's youngest son, 12-year-old Russell, had apparently escaped from Jody's home and

took off looking for someone to help him. We know there's been problems at this neighbor's house. He's emaciated, he's got tape around his legs, he's hungry and he's thirsty. And first responders rushed to the house. Email does have duct tape around each ankle. He's not telling the RP white and so that there's soars around his wrist and ankles he's becoming, or crashing the RP's becoming emotional regarding the child's health. According to police records, Russell appeared to be emaciated, abnormally thin, weak.

Officers then find Russell's sister originally reported as 10-year-old Eve in a very similar malnourished condition. The brother and sister were taken to a hospital, and Jody and Ruby were arrested. Now, while the kids were found at Jody's home in Ivans, the Frankie family home was actually in Springville, Utah, around 250 miles away. After the kids are found in Ivan's, Springville police then barge into the Frankie house. Police Department! So Springville police, they went to the home to make sure that none of the Frankie children were there. According to them, the home was empty.

But authorities did end up tracking down Ruby's two middle daughters at the home of another connections employee, this time in American Fork, Utah. And body cam footage shows law enforcement questioning that woman. Is Ruby Frankie's daughter? What for you? Dad? She's a friend of ours. She comes over and helps me. every once in a while to be cleaning and stuff.

Pam knows her because she knows her mom. She's a very good friend with her, has known her for a long long time. How did you start to know the family? How she was mean? The Frankie family? Yeah. Through a program called Connections.

Oh, thank you. It's a kind of life skills type of thing. These middle children were also taken into state custody and handed over to the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. By the way, the eldest children children, if you're wondering about them, Shari and Chad, they're both 18 now. By the way, speaking of Shari, when Ruby and Jody were both arrested when it was publicly announced,

Shari posted a photo of the police on her Instagram story with the caption, finally. She then posted another message on Instagram writing, quote, 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. On September 1st, the Washington County Attorney's Office charged each woman with six counts of aggravated child abuse. Now, keep this in mind, each charge is a second-degree felony under Utah law and carries a one to 15-year prison term. And the charges range from physical injuries constituting torture, starvation, to conduct that results in severe emotional harm.

We are going to get into all of that in a bit. But both Frankie and Hildebrandt, they were ordered to be held without bail. So to recap, Ruby and Jody, they're both in jail. the minor-age children are in state custody, but you might be saying, well, wait a second, what about Kevin Frankie, right? The father and husband. Where's he been this whole time? Well, Kevin very much loved his children and loved his wife and had a strong bond and exceptionally strong bond with all of his kids. You've seen pictures of their family together. He was involved in all sorts of activities. He was a great dad.

We've spoken with Kevin's attorney Randy Kester several times here on Sidebar. He says that Kevin actually hadn't seen his entire family for more than a year and had no idea that any of this was going on. According to Kester, Kevin had been living separately from Ruby, and based on my conversation with him, he seemed to allude to the fact that the parenting of the children had something to do with the rift in their marriage, among other things. But here's the kicker. Kester told us that right before Ruby was arrested, she called Kevin. She had heard what was going on and knew they were coming for her and called him and said, this is an emergency, even though she hadn't reached out to him for months and months and months before that, she reached out to him when it was an emergency, knowing she could rely

on him to help his kids. All he knows is he got a text from her. said, emergency, I need to speak with you. He was at work and text back and said, I'm at work. What's up? And she said, I need to speak to you immediately. You know, what was really interesting is that Kester said that Jody Hildebrand was the catalyst for this.

According to Kester, Kevin agreed to have Jody counsel the couple, but she portrayed him as greedy and self-absorbed and that he needed to move out. Kevin apparently did all this to get his family back. Kester says Kevin wanted to stay with the family, but he and Ruby separated on the advice of Jody. But Ruby felt like there were differences in their marriage. And at one point in conjunction with Jody Hildebrand, it was sort of like we have to separate to save our marriage. You know, we'll keep working on our marriage, but for now, you know, if we're going to repair our marriage and be back together as a family, you have to be away. and you have to work on yourself and don't have contact with the kids.

Don't have contact with me unless I initiate it. And Kester also revealed what his clients said would happen during Jody Hildebrand's group therapy sessions. During the separation, Kevin was attending men's groups that were facilitated by Jody. And during those groups, he was being downgraded and diminished and told how bad he was. he needed to repent and the best way to repent was to not infect his family with his with his problems and you know so that's why you need to stay away he wasn't the only one in those men's groups that was undergoing exactly what he was undergoing at her suggestion and recommendation to be clear by the way Kevin has not been criminally charged in this case he hasn't been

accused of any wrongdoing and Kester says that Kevin is actively working to get back custody of his children. But what you just heard from Kevin's attorney is eerily similar to what others have said about Jody Hildebrand. You see, other people who were counseled by Hildebrand have come forward with stories of manipulation, coercion, and even torture. Which brings us to Hildebrand's niece, Jesse Hildebrand. Now, to let you know, Jesse uses the pronouns they and them. Well, after Jody's arrest, Jesse shared their story with us on Sidebar about living with their aunt for a period of time as a teenager. Jody is, in my experience, one of the most intelligent human beings I've ever come in contact

with. She knows exactly what she's doing. Yeah, apparently, Jesse had been living with their parents in California, but says during a family visit in Utah, they just left them there. Yeah, and they ended up living with Jody. Jody is very smart in how she approaches her therapeutic modalities. Because they are so extreme, if she were just to start out with those things, everyone would recognize it and they would be shocked and be like, absolutely not. But she's very subtle. She's very subtle and she's very calculated.

And it's like a frog being boiled in water. You know, you start off with the cold water and slowly. turn up the temperature how it was so it started off with me at my grandparents and at jody's on the weekend and then it quite quickly became me living with her full time and um and then i was i was pulled out of school so i wasn't allowed to go to school um so i would just be with her at her office she would put me into this little side room where i would just wait there and while she like up to 12 hours a day Jesse told us about some of the extreme punishments that they claim Jody Hildebrand viewed as therapeutic. So she strips you of identity, she strips you of credibility, and she isolates.

And so she's saying everything that you say is a lie. Everything that you say is manipulation. You're manipulating everyone around you. You're lying and destroying everyone's life. So for the sake of everyone else's safety, we're duct-taping you. So I was sleeping outside in the snow. That was another thing. I wasn't allowed to have a bed.

I was sleeping in a what she told everyone that it was like a mummy bag you know sub zero type of sleeping bag no it was absolutely not this was a like $20 Walmart store brand you use that sleepovers kind of sleeping bag outside in the snow in the middle of winter in Utah and her justification when because I ended up going to the police her justification to the police was that she was preparing me for outdoor wilderness therapy and this was like a kindness to me to give me one more opportunity to confess to sin jesse says that after all this they were eventually able to escape from jodi hildebrand the door happened to not be locked and there was this moment this like very

electrifying epiphany of a moment where i was like if i don't leave now i'm never getting out Like, I have to save myself. Now, I need you to keep in mind what you just heard when I explained to you in a minute what we found out about what happened to Eve and Russell Frankie. By the way, while behind bars, it's our understanding. Jody has agreed that her license be limited, meaning she won't practice as a clinical mental health counselor until her legal case gets resolved.

Now you fast forward to November 29th, and we learned that Kevin Frankie officially filed for divorce from Ruby. The divorce petition is a private document, but a public injunction was also filed, laying out all these rules to prevent things like harassment between Ruby and Kevin. Randy Kester, again, Kevin's attorney, alluded to us that irreconcilable differences was the grounds for the divorce, and that once Kevin learned what had happened to his children, he decided to officially end the marriage. Now, between September and December, other than the divorce filing and learning that a speeding citation that Frankie had had been dropped, there was very little action in the case. Very little happened. But behind the scenes, and what we

didn't know, was that Ruby's legal team and prosecutors were working out a plea deal. And then we find out that there were separate waiver hearings scheduled for both Ruby and Jody. That's when a criminal defendant in Utah can waive a preliminary hearing in the case. Preliminary hearing is where the prosecutors present evidence to a judge to determine if there's sufficient probable cause to move forward in the case. Why would a defendant waive a preliminary hearing? If they decide to plead guilty. And that is what happened. On Monday, December 18th, Ruby Frankie appeared in the courtroom in a jail jumpsuit and she told the judge she was agreeing to plead guilty to four of the six child abuse counts. Ms. Frankie, how do you plead to count one aggravated

child abuse, a second degree felony? Guilty. To count three aggravated child abuse, a second degree felony. Guilty. To count five aggravated child abuse. a second-degree felony. Guilty. And to count six, aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony. With my deepest regret

and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty. As if the plea itself wasn't stunning enough, the plea agreement documents filed with the court were shocking.

And that is because they laid out just what happened to Ruby's youngest children in the Ivan's home. And I will tell you, it was absolutely sickening. I'm going to go through these admissions, and I want to read all of it to you

because that's how bad it is. It is important that you understand what happened. Now, I should note that this abuse occurred over a three-month period, over the summer from May to August. Think about the heat of those months. You'll see why. And by the way, another important note,

it says that Ruby inflicted the injury or allowed another to inflict the injury, meaning Jody Hildebrand. So first, Ruby pled guilty to count one aggravated child abuse of R.F., Russell, her 11 to 12-year-old son. The reason I say that is because it sounds like this abuse happened before and through his birth, that we haven't gotten confirmation about that, but it does say 11 to 12. Now, count one is about physical injury that includes physical torture. And it reads, quote, the defendant's actions involved the physical torture of RF.

Initially, RF was forced to do physical tasks for hours and days at a time. These included wall sits, carrying boxes full of books, up and down stairs, and working outside. Eventually, R.F. was forced to do outside labor without shoes and in the summer heat. He was forced to stand in the direct sunlight for several days. He was forced to remain outside at all hours of the day and night by extended periods of time. These actions resulted in repeated and serious sunburns with blistered and sloughing skin. RF was denied adequate water for several of the days he was required to remain in the summer heat, and he was punished when he secretly consumed water.

He was denied sufficient food, and when given food, he was given very plain meals, example, rice and chicken, while others in the house ate regular and more flavorful meals. He was isolated from other people and denied all forms of entertainment, including books, notebooks, and electronics. In addition, after RF attempted to run away in July,

his hands and feet were regularly bound. Binding included being tied to the defendant and to weights. Many times, the binding included using two sets of handcuffs, one on RF's wrists and one on his ankles. At times, with RF lying on his stomach, ropes were used to tie the two sets of handcuffs together so that his arms and lower legs were lifted off the ground. The bindings resulted in injuries to RF's wrists and ankles

where the handcuffs cut through the skin and damaged the muscle tissue. These injuries were treated with homeopathic remedies and covered with duct tape. Then the bindings were placed on top of the duct tape. Specific instances of abuse committed by the defendant include one. kicking R.F. while wearing boots. Two, holding his head under water. And three, cutting off oxygen by placing her hands over his mouth and nose. We never knew these details before. And for me, this was worse than anything I could have thought. Then she pled guilty to count three in the original charging document. Count three is about aggravated child abuse,

again, on Russell, but it is about physical injury causing emotional harm. The actions described above caused severe emotional harm to RF due to the fact that they began in May and escalated throughout the summer months. Additionally, the defendant and another adult regularly sought to indoctrinate RF and convince him that he was evil and possessed and that he needed to willingly be obedient to avoid punishments and that the punishments were necessary to repent. He was also told that everything that was being done to him were acts of love. That manipulation, does that sound familiar from what we heard from just Hildebrandt and from Kevin's attorney. Moving on, Ruby pled guilty to count five in the original

charging document. This is about the abuse of EF, Eve, Ruby's then nine-year-old daughter, and this is about injury resulting in emotional harm. The defendant's actions also cause severe emotional harm to EF. Other than binding and the specific instances of abuse RF was subjected to, EF was subjected to the same treatment as her brother. She was isolated and forced to do the physical tasks remain outside and denied food and water. She was also repeatedly told she was evil and possessed. The punishments were necessary for her to be obedient and to repent, and these things were being done to her in order to help her.

EF was convinced that she was evil and needed to go through these things in order to repent. Nine years old, unbelievable. And we see this so many times in these kinds of cases where the victims are led to believe that it is their fault and that this is done to help them. Now, the last count that Ruby Frankie pled guilty to was number six in the original information. This was abuse that constituted physical injury that includes multiple injuries, a charge specific to Eve.

The defendant's actions caused two or more physical injuries to EF. She was forced to work outside in the heat barefoot. She was also forced to run barefoot on dirt roads for an extended period of time. EF's feet were repeatedly injured by and she was repeatedly sunburned. When examined on August 30th, these wounds were apparent by scabs, blisters, and sloughing skin. So that is what Ruby Frankie pled guilty to and admitted. In a press conference right after the hearing, prosecutor Eric Clark talked about what's next for Ruby Frankie. She will remain incarcerated awaiting sentencing, which will occur, and the date was February 20th, I believe.

We are pleased that Mrs. Frankie has accepted responsibility for criminal actions and that just justice is being served to the extent possible in this type of a situation. We're grateful for the law enforcement officers, caseworkers, children's justice center staff, and others that have been instrumental in the fair and speedy resolution of this case. Because the alleged facts of the ongoing case involving Jody Hildebrand are intertwined with this case, our office will not be making additional statements to the media at this time. Now something to add here before this hearing happened, Ruby's law firm released a statement announcing that she was going to plead guilty.

this statement, listen to who Ruby throws under the bus. It states, quote, Ruby Frankie is a devoted mother and is also a woman committed to constant improvement. Initially, Ms. Frankie believed that Jody Hildebrand had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement. Ms. Hildebrandt took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous. Over an extended period, Ms. Hildebrandt systematically isolated Ruby Frankie from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Frankie. This prolonged. to isolation resulted in Ms. Frankie being subjected to a distorted sense of morality shaped by Ms. Hildebrand's influence.

Now, I have to believe that one of the reasons prosecutors allowed this plea deal to happen and why Ruby even agreed to it, and I should tell you, two charges were dropped. Yeah, there were two charges that were dropped for this deal. These were about injuries resulting in starvation or malnutrition. Could have been because they were duplicative of the other charges, or it was some benefit that Ruby got to agreeing to the deal. But either way, I believe one of the reasons we saw this happening was not to only save the time and expense and heartache of a trial, and maybe Ruby will get some sort of leniency by pleading guilty,

but also to spare her two young children from having to testify against their mom. And if you believe that Frankie realizes the error of her ways, that maybe that makes sense. And I should tell you, this doesn't mean that Ruby is not going to get prison time or even minimal prison time. You see, she is scheduled to be sentenced in February. Each of these child abuse counts carries a prison term of one to 15 years, and the agreement states the sentences will run consecutively, meaning one after the other. Plus, in Utah, it's our understanding that they use an indeterminate sentencing scheme,

which means that a judge doesn't determine how long she goes away for, but rather the Board of Pardons and Parole will ultimately determine when she can be released. In other words, Ruby could be going away for a very, very long time and it is not surprising based on what we just heard that she did it's also not surprising that in the divorce documents with kevin it seems at least to me she's not really fighting him on custody and is supporting his efforts to get the kids make sense if she's going to be behind bars now where does that leave jody hildebrand in all this she's got a hearing scheduled on december 27th two days after christmas so far there's been no word about whether she'll take a plea

and her defenses at this point are really not great. But what do we know? As part of Ruby Frankie's plea deal, she agrees to testify against Jody Hilda Brand. We are going to bring you all of the new developments as they happen in this case. But in the meantime, thanks for watching us here on Sidebar. I'm Jesse Weber.

I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.