Inside the Shocking Fall of Ruby Franke: Family Breaks Silence in New Hulu Docuseries
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3 • 791 Ratings
🗓️ 14 February 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A newly released trailer offers a glimpse into the series, showing Kevin Franke grappling with his role in what happened. He opens up about life inside their Utah home and the impact of allowing therapist Jodi Hildebrandt to move in—a decision that ultimately led to the severe mistreatment of his children.
“It eats me alive,” Kevin says in the trailer, reflecting on his failure to intervene as the abuse escalated. The emotional confession highlights the deep regret and pain he now carries.
Ruby Franke, known for her now-infamous 8 Passengers YouTube channel, was arrested in August 2023 alongside Hildebrandt after one of her malnourished children escaped and begged a neighbor for help. Authorities discovered shocking conditions, leading to charges of aggravated child abuse. Both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to significant prison time.
Throughout Devil in the Family, Kevin Franke details how Hildebrandt’s influence over Ruby played a pivotal role in the family’s downfall. Hildebrandt, who ran a controversial counseling organization called ConneXions, allegedly convinced Ruby to take extreme disciplinary measures, isolating the children and subjecting them to inhumane punishments.
“I should have seen it. I should have stopped it,” Kevin admits in the series. His statements mark the first time he has spoken publicly about the case since his wife’s conviction.
The Franke children, who have largely stayed out of the public eye since their mother’s arrest, also share their painful experiences in the documentary. Their testimonies reveal the emotional and physical toll of their mother’s strict parenting and the manipulative tactics used by Hildebrandt.
The docuseries aims to unpack how a once-celebrated family vlogger, who built a massive following by promoting strict parenting, became a convicted abuser. It also sheds light on the dangers of cult-like ideologies and the devastating impact they can have on families.
Produced by ABC News Studios, Devil in the Family joins a growing list of true-crime documentaries exploring the dark side of family influencers. The series promises to be an eye-opening account of control, manipulation, and the long road to healing for those affected.
Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke streams exclusively on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ beginning February 27.
#RubyFranke #TrueCrime #DevilInTheFamily #HuluDocumentary #FamilyDrama #ChildAbuseAwareness #8Passengers
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Murder in the Morning with Tony Bruske and Stacey Cole. |
| 0:05.7 | The Ruby Frankie saga. |
| 0:08.8 | If you didn't get enough of it on the curious case of Jody Hildebrand, which, you know, that's the business partner. |
| 0:17.2 | And you may have more than business going on there formally with Ruby Frankie, with connections. |
| 0:21.9 | That's out right now on Max and Investigation Discovery. |
| 0:25.3 | But there is another one coming out. |
| 0:27.2 | And I'm looking forward to this one because it's going to be getting into the nitty-gritty, |
| 0:33.4 | I think, with some of the family members of Ruby Frankie, including her husband Kevin, who you |
| 0:40.0 | know what? After watching the doc on investigation discovery, I have a lot more empathy for him |
| 0:48.9 | and understanding of how I think he was basically brainwashed to a certain extent as well with |
| 0:57.8 | Ruby and also seeing some of the other men who were part of the LDS Church that went to |
| 1:03.7 | Jody Hildebrand for counseling because the church recommended it. And they all, I think a lot of |
| 1:09.2 | them fell into the same place where, oh, this must be, you know, |
| 1:11.7 | the church says this is right. She's, you know, big teacher of this. And yeah, I mean, |
| 1:17.2 | otherwise healthy, somewhat healthy people, they can fall into this. And so I'm curious to see |
| 1:24.7 | where that all falls. But the new one that's coming out about Ruby Frankie, it's the great, the disgraced YouTube mom. |
| 1:33.9 | She's now serving time for child abuse and breaking their silence, some of the family and the husband. |
| 1:40.2 | In The Devil in the Family, it's a new three-part Hulu documentary, the series premiering February 27th. |
| 1:46.9 | Gives a raw and emotional look at the unraveling of the Frankie family as Kevin Frankie and their children share their side of the story. |
| 1:54.3 | Newly released trailer offers a glimpse into the series showing Kevin Frankie grappling with his role in what happened. |
| 2:01.9 | He opens up about life inside their Utah home and the impact, allowing therapist Jody Hildebrandt to move in, |
| 2:08.4 | a decision that ultimately led to the severe mistreatment of the children. |
... |
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