Moment teen daughter realised she had to escape YouTuber mum's abusive clutches
Shari Franke didn't realise anything was wrong in her life until she had almost finished high school. Her friends had started to tell her that each time they saw her, especially after she had just spent time with her family, she was acting differently — she wasn't herself. And they were concerned.
The oldest of six children, Shari endured the abuse her mother, Ruby, subjected them all to for years, eventually getting out as a teenager and seeking refuge with her friends' family. But that wasn't until she was much older. The damage had been done.
In a heartwrenching interview on a podcast posted by the TikTok account Autism in Prison, which covers true crime stories and also raises awareness for those on the spectrum, Shari is heard detailing the moment she knew something was wrong and how she knew she had to get out.
READ MORE: Ruby Franke chilling 911 call reveals extent of YouTuber's abuse making grown man cry
Shari Franke, Ruby's oldest daughter, detailed the heinous abuse she received at the hands of her mother and when she knew she had to leave (8 Passengers/Instagram)"I am the oldest of six kids. When I was in 10th grade — so I was like 15 — my family joined a group, like a mental health kind of self-help group, basically," she begins. The group she had been referring to was ConneXions, a mental health group run by Ruby's business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt.
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Shari Franke, as the oldest in the Franke family, would often help her mother run their social media accounts (sharilfranke/Instagram)
Shari appeared on a podcast that detailed her mother's abuse months before she was even charged (sharilfranke/Instagram)"This group became more extreme, and I disagreed with what was going on," Shari can be heard saying. It began to have an impact on her that her friends began to pick up on. "I'd notice when I would leave my family, I would just feel like, spiritually drained, like I just wouldn't feel great."
"I had friends point out to me, when I'd come home from my family, they'd be like, 'You're different,'" she said, and many commenters on the TikTok were quick to point out that she had said coming home from her family, not to it. "And the reason it took me so long was because I didn't have like, the widest support group."
Despite all appearances to the contrary, the Franke family was anything but happy amid heinous abuse that was going on (Instagram)In more heartwrenching videos posted by Ruby's other children, they detail being kept hidden from the world and not having many friends. One time, Ruby took away a phone from one of her daughters as punishment, but she could be seen saying in a video that it didn't really matter to her, since she had no one to talk to anyway.
Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were both charged with six counts each of aggravated child abuse, and Ruby's daughter Shari opened up about some of that (youtube)Shari went on to detail how she eventually moved in with some friends from high school, and the family took her in as their own daughter. She added that she was able to eventually realise what was going on with her and her siblings because she would hide herself in her room and do covert research on ConneXions and other things her mother was involved with.
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The charges that eventually were pressed against Ruby following her monumental arrest on August 30 detailed the correlation between her and Hildebrandt, who allegedly exploited her constant quest for betterment, as was the focus of her parenting YouTube and Instagram accounts, dubbed "8 Passengers."
In one particularly heinous video, Ruby Franke laughs as she details the abuse she subjected her children to (Youtube)Those accounts have since been deactivated following her and Hildebrandt's arrests. They were both charged with second-degree child abuse. Charges also alleged that Hildebrandt separated Ruby from her family for long periods, including from her husband, Kevin, and that during said times, she seemed to radicalise the mother even more.
The abuse had allegedly been going on for years, even before the family began its partnership with ConneXions (Instagram)Neighbours called 911 on Ruby after her 12-year-old son broke free from his restraints and fled to the neighbour's house. He allegedly had rope marks on his body from being restrained and was emaciated. Duct tape was seen around his ankles and wrists, harrowing reports detail.
Ruby was charged for the heinous crimes and pled guilty to several of the charges, even detailing how she enacted some of the abuse (8 Passengers/Youtube)"I think he's been ... he's been detained," the caller told operators as his voice cracked. "He's obviously covered in wounds." The boy never told him why he had the duct tape on his limbs or how he had come to acquire the wounds he had. But that was all revealed later when Ruby admitted to some of her actions, detailing in court and interviews with members of the St. George Police Department her heinous actions.
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St. George is located near the southern Utah city of Ivins, where the Frankes reportedly lived. Ivins is located approximately 121 miles (195km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. Ruby and Hildebrandt have both remained jailed since they were arrested and charged with six felony counts of aggravated child abuse.
Ruby and Hildebrandt both were arrested on August 30 after one of Ruby's sons escaped and fled to a neighbour's home (AP)A statement the mother of six's lawyers released after spending time in prison reads: "She has actively engaged in an introspection that has allowed her to reset her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions. Ms. Franke is committed to taking responsibility for the part she played in the events leading up to her incarceration."
But the damage she inflicted on her children, including Shari, is the type that isn't easily healed. When her mother was arrested, Shari shared a clip on Instagram of the moment, with the caption simply reading: "Finally."
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