Warning: descriptions of child abuse
Former YouTuber Ruby Franke was heard attempting to justify the abuse of her children in calls to her estranged husband from jail.
Franke was heard telling her estranged husband, Kevin Franke, that she was the victim of a ‘witch hunt’ after making a series of calls to him prior to her arrest, which were released by The Washington County Attorney's Office on Friday (22 March).
The mum of six was arrested on multiple charges of child abuse on 30 August, 2023, in Utah alongside her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt and was subsequently charged on 20 February, 2024 after one of Franke's children fled to the neighbours for help.
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Franke and Hildebrandt both plead guilty to four felony counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse and was sentenced to serve four terms of 1 to 15 years behind bars for each of the second-degree felony aggravated child abuse charges they'd admitted to.
This means they could serve a maximum sentence of 60 years; however, Franke will not serve more than 30 in the Federal Penitentiary due to a Utah law about consecutive sentences.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will instead decide how long she'll stay behind bars.
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During their phone conversations, Ruby was heard telling Kevin that the Devil made her hurt her young children, ‘R’, 12 and ‘E’, 10 with a ‘concentration-like environment’.
She told her husband in September: “Satan has taken everything away from me that I love.
“And I’m a good woman. I don’t do naughty things. I don’t do naughty things. I’m a really good girl.”
In turn, Kevin Franke responded that he was going to ‘do everything that [he] can to keep truth in our family.’
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“I don’t do naughty things,” Franke said. “I’m a really good girl.”
The County Attorney's Office also released excerpts of Franke's journal, where she described her two children as being 'possessed' by the Devil.
In one excerpt, she referred to one of her children as a 'snake', writing: "He doesn’t even know what month it is…I told [R] he emulates a snake. He slithers and sneaks around when no one is watching then he scurries."
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She also spoke of depriving her children of food and water, as well as making them sleep outside. Franke also accused her daughter of being 'manipulative' and attempting to 'break a two day fast'.
In another call, Franke called the case a 'witch hunt' and claimed in one call that ‘the devil has been after me for years’.
When told her children were going to be in the hospital for 'three days', Ruby commented: “It’s so weird it’s just not necessary. They are trying to exaggerate this.”
She also claimed in the same call that ‘adults have a really hard time understanding that children can be full of evil, and what that takes to fight it.’
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Franke said: "God told me. God told me while I was driving, before I called you. I didn't have any information, I didn’t know anything, and the spirit said, ‘Your children are going to be removed.’ And I just, I cried out loud: ‘No I’m not done, I’m not ready.’ And God told me I’m done.”
Kevin Franke, who has since filed for divorce from Franke, then told her that he was 'preparing to step up' to try and regain custody of their youngest children.
The four children are currently in the Utah foster care system.
The case summary was released by the Attorney’s Office, where prosecutors explained what they believe had motivated Franke and Hildebrandt to carry out ‘horrific abuse’ on the children, saying that it was due to ‘religious extremism’.
They've also previously released footage of the first police interrogation of Franke.
Britt Jones