The case of Ruby Franke, which has been a sensation in Utah for months, will play out before a national audience on Friday night.
Franke takes center stage on ABC when “20/20″ devotes two hours to a report on the crimes of the Utah parenting influencer and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt.
The ABC News program (8-10 p.m., Channel 4) “unravels the unimaginable abuse” Franke’s children suffered “at the hands of Ruby and Jodi, told through never-before-seen body camera video, recorded calls, and Ruby’s own journal detailing the horrific abuse,” according to the network.
On Friday, Washington County prosecutors released a slew of records about the case, including the journal entries, police reports, witness statements and body camera and surveillance videos.
[Read more: Ruby Franke videos: What police saw after her son escaped Jodi Hildebrandt’s home and officers went in]
@sltrib Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt will each spend at least four years in prison on aggravated child abuse charges, a judge has ruled. #rubyfranke #rubyfrankearrested #sltrib #utah #rubyfrankeupdate #utahfyp #utahnews ♬ original sound - The Salt Lake Tribune
The “20/20″ installment, with reporting from “Nightline” co-anchor Juju Chang, recounts Franke’s rise to online fame with her YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” on which she promoted her tough-love parenting style. It was “a portrait of social media success,” with almost 2.5 million followers.
That public persona crumbled last August, when one of Franke’s children — malnourished and with duct tape wounds on his wrists and ankles — escaped from Hildebrandt’s home and went to a neighbor for help. (Here’s The Tribune’s timeline of events in the case.)
That led to the arrests of the two women, who faced multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. Franke and Hildebrandt eventually pleaded guilty, and in February they were each sentenced to at least four years in prison on aggravated child abuse charges.
(Screenshot via Utah State Courts) Utah parenting influencer Ruby Franke plead guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse at the St. George courthouse on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.
The women’s religion is part of the narrative — a news release announcing the report mentions that Franke and her children were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And the church provided “20/20″ with a statement about its past association with Hildebrandt, to whom it had referred some of its members for therapy. (The church maintains that association ended in 2012.)
According to ABC, the “20/20″ report will feature an “exclusive” interview with Jodi Hildebrandt’s niece, Jessi Hildebrandt — who has done multiple interviews with multiple media outlets. Among others interviewed for the program are the attorney for Franke’s estranged husband and three of Jodi Hildebrandt’s former therapy patients, along with “newly unveiled police interviews recounting the events of the day authorities arrested Ruby and Jodi and the frantic search for the Franke children in four different cities.”
The installment of “20/20″ will begin streaming Saturday on Hulu.
(Screenshot via Pool) Jodi Hildebrandt makes a courtroom appearance in St. George, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023.
