Daughter of disgraced 'child abuser' mummy YouTuber's 'mixed emotions' ahead of plea
Shari Franke, eldest daughter of Ruby Franke's six children, is estranged from her mum who was arrested in August alongside business partner Jodi Hildebrandt and charged with six counts of felony child abuse
by Liam Buckler · The MirrorThe daughter of a disgraced "child abuser" mummy YouTuber has admitted she has "mixed emotions" ahead of her mum's plea.
Mum-of-six Ruby Franke, who ran the popular YouTube channel "8 Passengers", is expected to reach a plea on Monday after being charged in September with six counts of felony child abuse.
The 41-year-old was arrested in August alongside her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt after her 12-year-old son escaped Jodi's home by climbing out of a window and running to a neighbour's house, pleading for food and water. He was also found tied in duct tape. His sibling was also found in similar conditions and was suffering from "open wounds", according to authorities.
READ MORE: Child abuse downfall of disgraced mummy YouTuber who 'tied child in duct tape'
Shari Franke, the eldest daughter of Ruby's six children, took to Instagram to admit the holiday period is full of "mixed emotions" for her as her mum looks set to enter a plea.
Alongside a picture of her as a child, the estranged daughter told her 615,000 followers: "The Holidays are full of mixed emotions for me. I’m so grateful for all the memories I have to hold onto (as pictured above), and I also look forward to the memories I know I can create. How have your traditions changed as you’ve gotten older."
The post, which has received over 158,000 'likes', saw dozens of comments from supportive members of the public. One replied: "Thanks for sharing. It's difficult for me too. Family and memories are NOT easy things. We stand with you, Shari." Another added: "Shari, I can tell you from experience that things do get better!! Keep working on yourself and moving forward. You deserve to heal and to create new, wholesome traditions and memories."
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Shari has previously welcomed her mum's arrest, writing on Instagram: "Today has been a big day."Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up." She added the two children were taken to hospital and were on the road to recovery."
The horrific case destroyed the family after Franke’s husband, Kevin Franke, filed for divorce from the family vlogger in November. In October, Kevin's lawyer Randy Kester confirmed the couple had been separated for 13 months “at Ruby’s directive.”
The family had set up the "8 Passengers" YouTube channel which had more than two million subscribers. However, it soon came under scrutiny amid fears over her parenting tips. But it wasn't until 2022 when the Utah-based mum announced she was joining a new YouTube channel called ConneXions - which has since been deleted - alongside Jodi Nan Hildebrandt. Many viewers, before Franke's arrest, were concerned with the mum's conduct and even started a petition to have the family investigated.
In one video, Franke said she and her husband told their two youngest children that they would not be getting presents from Santa Claus because they had been selfish and weren’t responding to punishment like being kept home from school and cleaning the floorboards.
Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services visited the Frankes’ home and interviewed the children for two hours. The case was dropped due to a lack of evidence for the allegations.