Ruby Franke prosecutor says investigators questioned influencer mom's relationship with Jodi Hildebrandt as husband tells cops the pair were sleeping in the same bed

The prosecutor on the case of now-jailed YouTube mommy blogger Ruby Franke says he had questions about her relationship with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt.

It comes as Franke's husband, Kevin, reveals that the pair was at times sleeping in the same bed. 

Franke, 42, was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison in February for brutally abusing her 12-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter in a 'concentration camp-like setting'. Hildebrandt, 54, was also sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars.

Even after the trial - which ended with a plea deal from both - the public still has questions about what motivated Franke especially and her relationship with Hildebrandt. 

Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke spoke at length to Law & Crime about the case, which his team in many ways still appear bewildered by. 

The prosecutor who tried the case of now-jailed YouTube mommy blogger Ruby Franke says he had questions about her relationship with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt

Franke (pictured left), 42, was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison in February for brutally abusing her 12-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter in a 'concentration camp-like setting'. Hildebrandt (pictured right), 54, was also sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars

'I hadn't heard of her and nobody who has worked on this case from the law enforcement side,' Clarke said. 'We were all oblivious to the media storm.'

Clarke said it took his team about two months before the prosecutors office could understand Ruby and Jodi's relationship similar to a one-person religion. 

'I see Ruby as a religious acolyte, a blind follower of Jodi,' he said. 'Initially we were like, what is this relationship? Is there more there than a business or friendship? I don't think there was.

'I think this is two people where Jodi is saying, "hey I had a dream last night from God and this is what we need to do" and Ruby was to a point in her life that she had separated herself from her husband, her extended family, her adult children... she was completely isolated,' Clarke continued.

'Ruby was just waiting for Jodi to tell her what Jodi was thinking or building on any given day and then wiling to go forward on that,' he added.

In an interview with the Washington County Attorney's Office, Kevin Franke, Ruby's husband, also referred to what happened to his wife as a 'religious cult' and said the situation between the pair became so strange that they began to share a bed. 

'They started sleeping in the same bed,' Kevin shared, 'then [Ruby] started having, like, trances and stuff,' he said. 

Jodi began living with the couple after Kevin and Ruby had tried to help her fight 'evil spirits' and 'cast the demons out.'

In an interview with the Washington County Attorney's Office, Kevin Franke, Ruby's husband, also referred to what happened to his wife as a 'religious cult' and said the situation between the pair became so strange that they began to share a bed

'I see Ruby (pictured) as a religious acolyte, a blind follower of Jodi,' Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said. 'Initially we were like, what is this relationship? Is there more there than a business or friendship? I don't think there was.'

Jodi began living with the couple after Kevin and Ruby had tried to help her fight 'evil spirits' and 'cast the demons out'

'I would say it was probably around September where she believed that she was going to heaven and seeing God and Jesus and talking with them.' 

Kevin added that the pair would 'lock themselves in a room for four or five hours before coming out, with Ruby saying she 'had this amazing vision and "I wrote and recorded it all down". And, "we have a work to do from God."' 

Clarke said that Jodi's current belief is that 'God is sending her to be a preacher in prison'. 

The criminal 'Momfluencer' became an internet sensation thanks to her YouTube channel 8 Passengers where millions of viewers watched how she and then husband, Kevin Franke, raised, and disciplined, their six children. 

Franke was already a divisive figure in the parent vlogging world. The Franke parents had been criticized online for banning their oldest son from his bedroom for seven months for pranking his brother. 

In other videos, Ruby Franke talked about refusing to take lunch to a kindergartener who forgot it at home.

The '8 Passengers' YouTube channel has since ended, and Kevin Franke filed for divorce shortly after his wife's arrest.

But late last year, shocking claims emerged that Franke, a Mormon, had spent years abusing her children. 

The criminal 'Momfluencer' became an internet sensation thanks to her YouTube channel 8 Passengers where millions of viewers watched how she and then husband, Kevin Franke, raised, and disciplined, their six children

Bodycam footage shows Ruby Franke being arrested on August 30, 2023. Several of the prison phone calls were made in the days following her arrest

Body came footage sees Franke being arrested at her Utah home in August 2023

Franke was arrested alongside her business partner Hildebrandt and the pair pleaded guilty in late December.

Ruby's horrifying diary entries were released by the Washington County Attorney along with sickening images of the injuries she inflicted on her kids.

The photos show the two emaciated victims with infected cuts on their legs, duct tape around their arms and feet and scratches and bruises on their bodies. 

Franke detailed months of daily abuse that included starving her son and daughter, forcing them to work for hours in the summer heat and isolating them from the outside world.

She often made the kids sleep on hard floors and sometimes locked them in a concrete bunker in the basement.

Franke insists repeatedly in her journal that her son is possessed by the devil. In a July 2023 entry titled 'Big day for evil,' she describes holding the boy's head under water and closing off his mouth and nose with her hands. 

Franke tells him the devil will lie and say she is hurting him but that she is actually trying to save him.

She later justifies withholding food and water from her son, writing, 'I will not feed a demon.'

YouTube 'mommy blogger' Ruby Franke wrote 'I will not feed a demon' in sadistic diaries she kept as she starved and tortured her children 

On July 10, 2023, she wrote that it was her son's birthday, but 'he doesn't even know what month it is.' Her diaries were filled with religious fanaticism and beliefs that her children were 'possessed' by the devil 

The disgraced YouTuber also wrote how her son 'refuses to do wall sits - he says he is done', the day before saying he 'is to stay outside. Sleep outside.'

Often including writings of the Devil or 'possession,' she added that another child, noted as 'E' in the heavily redacted document, 'refuses to work. Screams. Has hair shaved off.' 

Franke's business partner Jodi Hildebrandt was also sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars as she was arrested alongside Franke, and the diary's references to the kids not being 'possessed' around her come despite Hildebrandt also taking part in the sadistic abuse.

When investigators found Franke's house of horrors, one of her children told them that Hildebrandt had tied him up and used home remedies to treat the wounds he suffered.

In the images released in the tranche of evidence, photographs showed the children had painful infections.

It highlighted the extent of the abuse by Franke and show the two emaciated victims with infected cuts on their legs, duct tape around their arms and feet and scratches and bruises on their bodies.

Photos taken at the scene show the fragile bodies of the emaciated children who are covered with cuts, bruises and scars.

Images show the hands and feet of the young boy wrapped in duct tape as well as infected sores on his feet that are filled with blood and pus as a result of the restraints.

Disturbing photos and videos have been released which depict the horrendous injuries of Ruby Franke's abused children including the moment officers found the kids in a closet at her Utah home

Photos highlight the extent of the abuse by Franke including duct tape wrapped around the arms and legs of the young boy 

The two victims had scratches, cuts and and bruises all over their bodies

A video taken from inside the ambulance shows the 12-year-old boy eating from a bag of nuts while being treated and a cop asks him who tied him up with rope

Footage shows the moment the 12-year-old boy manages to escape Franke's house and goes to his neighbors house for help

In another clip, an EMT is seen attempting to engage with the victim, but she tells her she is 'just nervous'

Police also discovered a cramped safe room in the basement of the property which was locked from the outside

The children were subject to torture including being tied up with rope, forced to wear adult diapers and locked inside a tiny safe room.

The nine-year-old girl was seen with scratches all over her arms and bruise marks on her ankle.

The children were subject to torture including being tied up with rope, forced to wear adult diapers and locked inside a tiny safe room.

They were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in and virtually all forms of entertainment.

Meanwhile, pictures show the kitchen and pantry was filled with food and Franke's large office dedicated to making YouTube videos.

Police also discovered a cramped safe room in the basement of the property that was locked from the outside, rope that would be used to tie up the children and adult diapers.

Footage shows the moment the 12-year-old boy manages to escape Franke's house and goes to his neighbors house for help.

He is seen ringing the door and walking away as he thinks no one is home but he is called back by the neighbor.

'I was wondering if you could do me two favors,' he says. 'Well, what are they?' the neighbor responds.

Meanwhile pictures show the kitchen and pantry was filled with food 

Franke was arrested along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt in August and charged with six counts of felony child abuse after one of her sons was discovered with open wounds and duct tape on their limbs 

'Taking me to the nearest police station,' the young boy replies before he is asked to take a seat and explain what's happened.

He is then handed some water and a banana by the neighbors as they call the police and tell them he has duct tape around his feet and has sores all over his body.

'Oh, you are such a good kid,' the woman is heard telling him.

Bodycam footage shows the moments police discovered the young girl crouched down in a basement on her own inside Franke's home.

'Hi, I'm a police officer,' one calmly says before the other asks if she is OK. The young girl is scared and reluctant to speak but the officer reassures her that everything will be okay.

In another clip, an EMT is seen attempting to engage with the victim but she tells her she is 'just nervous.'

A video taken from inside the ambulance shows the 12-year-old boy eating from a bag of nuts while being treated and a cop asks him who tied him up with rope.

'You're not in trouble with me. We're just trying to work out what's going on,' the officer said. 'Our main focus right now is you.'

EMT staff are also seen cleaning the young boy's cuts that are severely infected.

Franke accepted a plea deal in mid-December, with the pair being sentenced last month.