West
Abusive Utah mommy blogger accomplice's $5M fortress with panic room for sale after guilty plea
Former-therapist-turned-child abuser Jodi Hildebrandt’s $5 million Utah home became the most-viewed listing on Realtor.com last week.
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. Some of that abuse occurred in Hildebrandt’s multimillion-dollar desert home in Ivins, located on the border of Snow Canyon State Park, according to public records.
“A notorious desert dwelling in Ivins, UT, that gained national attention as the place where parenting influencer Ruby Franke abused her children alongside disgraced therapist Jodi Hildebrandt has become the most viewed home on Realtor.com® this week,” reads an April 5 blog post on Realtor.com.
The blog post added that Hildebrandt’s home on W. Tawgoo Ct. was listed for $5.3 million in January, but the price has already been reduced by more than $300,000.
MOMMY BLOGGER RUBY FRANKE’S HUSBAND SAYS ‘SOME CRAZY S–T’ WENT ON IN ABUSE ACCOMPLICE’S $5.3M FORTRESS
Jodi Hildebrandt’s home on W. Tawgoo Ct. was listed for $5.3 million in January, but the price has already been reduced by more than $300,000, according to Realtor.com. (Washington County)
Washington County, Utah, property records list the 2023 market value for Hildebrandt’s home as $2.55 million.
Franke, who initially ran her own parenting blog called “8 Passengers,” and Hildebrandt became close around 2019 due to their similar lifestyle and parenting views, Franke’s husband, Kevin Franke, said in a 2023 police interview recently released by the Washington County Attorney’s Office. Around 2022, the pair decided to start their own blog together.
UTAH POLICE DISCOVER ‘PANIC ROOM’ INSIDE ABUSIVE MOMMY BLOGGER ACCOMPLICE’S $5.3M DESERT HOME
Utah police found a “panic room” inside Jodi Hildebrandt’s $5.3 million Ivins home, where Ruby Franke, inset left, sent her children to stay with Hildebrandt. (Washington County Attorney’s Office)
Franke made the nearly four-hour drive from her Springville home to Hildebrandt’s desert fortress multiple times, according to public records and interviews. Kevin Franke remembered making one such trip with his wife in the police interview.
“It blew my mind,” he told police of Hildebrandt’s home, adding that he thought, “How does a therapist live like this?”
YOUTUBE MOMMY BLOGGER RUBY FRANKE, CO-HOST JODI HILDEBRANDT SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE: ‘DARK DELUSION’
He went on to describe strange happenings that occurred inside Hildebrandt’s home while they were all there together.
“I can’t explain some of the stuff that happened while we were there, like crashes in the basement while we were talking upstairs, and plates in the kitchen just flying off by themselves, like, full-speed smashing off the wall and falling to the floor by themselves,” he told police in the interview. “I can’t explain it, but I saw it with my own eyes, and I don’t have any way to explain it other than there was some crazy s— going on.”
YOUTUBE MOMMY BLOGGERS ARRESTED ON ALLEGATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE: ‘FINALLY’
WATCH: Kevin Franke speaks with police
At the time of Franke’s and Hildebrandt’s August 2023 arrests, two of Franke’s children were staying in Hildebrandt’s home, which contained a bunker-like “panic room” in the basement below Hildebrandt’s garage, according to police records.
One of the children escaped through a window and sought help from a neighbor, who called 911 after seeing the malnourished boy with duct tape on his wrists and ankles on Aug. 30.
UTAH CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR SENT DAMNING TEXT TO LOVER BEFORE HUBBY POISON PLOT: DOCS
Ruby Franke, right, and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested and charged on Aug. 30 after Santa Clara police received a dispatch call around 10:50 p.m. asking for help. (Instagram/moms_of_truth)
Police later located all six of Franke’s children in different locations and arrested both parenting bloggers.
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The abuse inflicted upon Franke’s children included forcing them to do physical labor, restricting food, binding one child’s hands and feet, and emotional harm. Franke and Hildebrandt told Franke’s children that they were evil and needed to be punished.
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Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Tuesday | ||
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| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Occasional showers. | |||||
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| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming north after midnight. |
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| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | |||||
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| High Temperature | Around 80. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. | |||||
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| Sunrise | 5:53 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:42 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Tuesday | ||
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| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy until 12 AM, then partly cloudy. Scattered showers. |
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| Low Temperature | Around 70. | ||||||||
| Winds | Northwest winds around 5 mph, becoming east in the evening, then becoming southeast after midnight. |
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| Weather | Mostly sunny. Scattered showers. | ||||||||
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| High Temperature | In the lower 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Southwest winds around 5 mph. | ||||||||
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| Sunrise | 5:57 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:46 PM HST. | ||||||||
Surf along north and west facing shores will remain small through midweek. A small bump in surf is expected with the arrival of a northwest swell on Tuesday. An upward trend is expected during the second half of the week as another northwest swell arrives. This is likely to be followed by a larger northwest swell over the weekend, with surf heights nearing advisory level.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain small through much of the week, with mainly background south to southwest swell expected. Another south-southwest pulse may arrive by this weekend from recent activity within our swell window east of New Zealand, providing a small increase in surf. Surf along east-facing shores will remain relatively small and choppy through midweek, with a slight rise possible later in the week as trades strengthen.
NORTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NNW winds 5-10mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting to the WNW.
SOUTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Sideshore texture/chop with NE winds 10-15mph.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
Last Tuesday’s election in Virginia over adopting a redistricted — gerrymandered — congressional district map was, whatever else, dramatic. As the vote trickled in over a couple of hours, it stayed close almost always, and while the “no” side narrowly led most of the time, the “yes” side eventually prevailed.
Idaho doesn’t have a lot of election nights like that anymore, but the primary election about a month from now does have some unpredictability about it, and some races that could be close in the Republican primary, where most of the action will be.
A bunch of contests have emerged, pitting two clear sides against each other: mainstream candidates against the harder-edged contenders aligned with the state party structure. Both have scored wins in recent years. In 2024, the state party side seemed to get the better of it. This year, especially in the Magic Valley, we’ll see if a pushback attempt succeeds.
One of those contests stands out for the stark choices involved and the unmistakability of whatever the voters decide. That is the race for the Idaho Senate in District 6, which includes Moscow, part of Lewiston and rural areas around them.
It’s a district that in theory might have been designed for something resembling moderation, but has not turned out to be. Moscow is nearly central, but its university community is offset by a large religious group development. The district’s senator is third-term Republican Dan Foreman, of Moscow. His challenger is Lori McCann, of Lewiston, a Republican House member appointed in 2021 and elected twice since.
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