New Netflix True Crime Documentary Reveals Shocking Details of Infamous Child Abuse Case

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The new Netflix documentary, Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, reveals the disturbing case of abuse involving social media personality Ruby Franke. The film begins with unsettling security camera footage showing a severely malnourished 12-year-old boy, visibly injured, seeking assistance from a neighbor.

Investigators quickly learned that he and his nine-year-old sister were victims of abuse by Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, a life coach and prominent member of Utah’s Mormon community, as reported by Netflix’s Tudum.

The children were subjected to cruel and strict treatment while living with Hildebrandt and Franke. They were made to do exhausting physical labor, deprived of necessities like food and proper bedding, and isolated from anyone outside the home. Hildebrandt and Franke claimed this abuse was necessary to exorcise supposed evil spirits and punish the children for perceived wrongdoing.

Director Skye Borgman told Tudum that she believes the children featured in the documentary would likely not be alive today if a young boy hadn’t managed to escape on that particular day.

The film examines how Hildebrandt’s position of power in her church, combined with her close relationship with Franke, played a role in the abuse that occurred.

The story also follows Ruby Franke’s journey to becoming a popular parenting influencer on her now-closed YouTube channel, 8 Passengers. On the channel, she and her then-husband, Kevin, documented their family life and raising their six children. Concerns about the family’s potentially abusive behavior had been raised by viewers for a long time, and these concerns gained wider attention with a Change.org petition in 2020, as reported by NBC News.

In 2023, Ruby Franke resolved her criminal case by pleading guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced in February 2024 to four separate prison terms, each lasting from one to fifteen years, and is currently incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility. She’s eligible for a parole hearing in December 2026. According to Borgman, Franke seems to have separated herself from Jodi Hildebrandt while in prison, which may give her an opportunity to consider what she did.

Since divorcing Ruby in March 2024, Kevin Franke has become a supporter of tougher laws regarding child welfare. He married Becca Bevin in November of the same year.

Shari and Chad, his children, are both starting new chapters in their lives. Shari, age 22, published a memoir called The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom in January, and his 20-year-old son, Chad, recently got married. According to Borgman, they are both “moving on and trying to find some form of normal.”

Hildebrandt admitted guilt to four charges of severe child abuse and received the same sentence as Franke. They are both incarcerated at the same prison, but in different areas.

ConneXions, the company Jodi Borgman founded, has closed down. Borgman says people who were once part of Hildebrandt’s community are now ready to talk about their experiences. They want to share how Jodi manipulated them by exploiting their trust and the power dynamics within their families, religion, and communities, ultimately causing them to lose sight of who they were. They believe this could happen to anyone.

The Netflix documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is now available, detailing a case that gained national attention for its shocking details.

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2025-12-31 13:45