Chilling Footage Inside Home Where Former Mormon Influencer Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt Carried Out Heinous Abuse Revealed in New Docuseries

Yahoo

6 days ago

The heinous crimes of former Mormon influencer and are set to be laid bare in an upcoming docuseries that will showcase their 'disturbing' relationship as family members reveal how the pair carried out the shocking abuse inside the former family counselor's home.
Investigation Discovery will release 'Ruby and Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence' on Sept. 1. The four-part docuseries will dive into the 'motivations' that sparked therapist Hildebrandt to influence mommy vlogger Franke to physically abuse her children inside Hildebrandt's $5 million Utah dwelling.
The show, which will air on HBO Max, will shine a light on the ConneXions program, the same program Hildebrandt used to assert her power in the Mormon community and influence the members.
It will also offer up shocking police footage of the discovery of Franke's daughter Eve, then 10, who was starved and abused inside a closet.
Police arrived at the horrifying scene after Franke's son Russell, then 12, miraculously fled the dwelling and ran to a neighboring home, where security footage showed him asking the residents to give him food.
During their search of the property, law enforcement officers discovered torture devices, including rope, handcuffs, and cayenne pepper paste.
The series will also present Hildebrandt's niece, Jessi, who will lay bare the lifetime of manipulation she saw her aunt carry out until her arrest.
'Delving into Hildebrandt and Franke's relationship from both women's respective rise to power and extensive influence within the Mormon community to their eventual arrests in 2023, the docuseries charts the magnetic connection between the two and how the melding of Franke's strict family values with Hildebrandt's controversial beliefs created a microcosm of control, manipulation, and brutality that led to the devastating emotional and physical abuse of the Franke children,' a press release shared with Realtor.com® read.
The press release noted that viewers will see extensive 'archival and police footage,' as well as insight from local journalists who covered the case.
'The disturbing alliance between Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt has captivated and horrified the public, and this docuseries peels back the layers of that relationship through exclusive interviews with family members, former clients, and experts to explore the broader implications of family vlogging and the devastating impact of family abuse,' said Jason Sarlanis, president of Investigation Discovery.
'Ruby and Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence' will premiere over two nights on Sept. 1 and 2, from 9 to 11 p.m. ET on ID. It will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
The trailer for the upcoming series begins with footage of the moment Russell begged a neighbor for food after he fled the house.
In the background, the 911 call that the neighbor placed is played.
'He is obviously covered in wounds, Ruby Franke is his mom's name,' the 911 caller said, before the clip cut to a video of the mommy vlogger.
The trailer then cut to a various people branding Hildebrandt 'insidious' and even a 'cult leader.'
'This was a wolf in sheep's clothing,' someone else in the trailer said.
The five-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom home in which the pair carried out the horrifying crimes and were arrested belonged to Hildebrandt and was located in Ivins, UT.
Both Franke, 42, and Hildebrandt, 55, pleaded guilty to the charges against them and, in February 2024, they were each sentenced to four consecutive prison terms, which could see them serving up to 30 years behind bars.
Police video footage revealed officers combing through the dwelling, with one almost breaking down in tears when he discovered a terrified Eve inside the tiny closet.
Both Franke and Hildebrandt were held without bail while they awaited the start of their December 2023 plea hearings—with the latter opting to list her home for sale for $5.3 million just weeks before she was sentenced.
However, the dwelling was swiftly taken off the market after a judge ruled that Hildebrandt had to wait until her sentencing before selling it.
Once listed, the property then sat on the market for quite some time, until it seemed to have finally had a pending sale in March 2025.
However, it was put back on the market in May 2025.
It might well be that the home's links to the horrifying crimes of Franke and Hildebrandt made buyers shy away—despite being described in its listing as having 'stunning features and finishes that will take your breath away.'
According to Franke's former husband, Kevin, and their two older children, Shari and Chad, all of whom had moved out of the family home when the YouTube star was arrested, the mother of six had moved into Hildebrandt's home not long before her arrest, along with her two youngest kids.
Not long after the extent of his wife's crimes was revealed to him, Kevin filed for divorce, which was finalized on March 20.
According to local news outlet KSL, Kevin was awarded full custody of their four children who are under the age of 18, as well as sole ownership of the $1.3 million Springville, UT, home he once shared with Ruby.
Additionally, Kevin was awarded ownership of a 2.8-acre plot of land in Scofield, Carbon County.
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