A former therapist turned child abuser named Jodi Hildebrandt’s $5 million Utah home has become the most viewed listing on Realtor.com. Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke, who ran a joint parenting and lifestyle YouTube channel called ConneXions Classrooms, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to abusing two of Franke’s six children. The abuse took place in Hildebrandt’s multimillion-dollar desert home in Ivins, located on the border of Snow Canyon State Park. The home, located on W. Tawgoo Ct., was listed for $5.3 million in January but has since been reduced in price by over $300,000. Washington County, Utah property records list the 2023 market value for Hildebrandt’s home as $2.55 million.
Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt became close around 2019 due to their similar lifestyle and parenting views and decided to start a blog together around 2022. Franke made multiple trips to Hildebrandt’s desert home from her own residence in Springville, often accompanied by her husband, Kevin Franke. Kevin Franke described strange occurrences inside Hildebrandt’s home, including crashes in the basement while they were upstairs and plates flying off the walls by themselves. He expressed disbelief at the opulence of Hildebrandt’s home, given her background as a therapist. The bizarre happenings added an eerie element to the already disturbing situation involving child abuse.
At the time of Franke’s and Hildebrandt’s arrests in August 2023, two of Franke’s children were staying in Hildebrandt’s home. One child managed to escape through a window and seek help from a neighbor who then called 911. The malnourished boy had duct tape on his wrists and ankles, leading to the discovery of the abuse. Franke and Hildebrandt had subjected the children to physical labor, food restriction, binding of hands and feet, and emotional harm. They told the children that they were evil and needed to be punished. The severity and extent of the abuse were revealed through police investigations, ultimately leading to the arrest of both parenting bloggers.
The abuse case involving Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt shocked the public due to Franke’s popularity as a mommy blogger and influencer. The joint parenting and lifestyle YouTube channel they ran together garnered a significant following prior to the revelations of their criminal activities. The disturbing nature of the abuse, combined with the luxurious backdrop of Hildebrandt’s desert home, added a layer of intrigue to the case. The reduced listing price of the home after the scandal furthered public interest in the story. Franke’s husband Kevin’s account of the strange occurrences in Hildebrandt’s home provided additional insight into the environment where the abuse took place.
The case of Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt serves as a cautionary tale about the dark side of social media influencers and the potential for abuse behind closed doors. The partnership between Franke, a popular mommy blogger, and Hildebrandt, a former therapist turned abuser, highlighted the complexities of personas presented online versus the reality of their actions. The abuse inflicted on Franke’s children, including physical, emotional, and restrictive measures, shed light on the dangers of unchecked power and influence. The panic room discovered in Hildebrandt’s home added to the chilling details of the abuse case, leading to public outrage and condemnation of the perpetrators. The legal consequences faced by Franke and Hildebrandt underscore the serious repercussions of child abuse and exploitation.
