Disturbing Details Devil In The Family: The Fall Of Ruby Franke Revealed

In August 2023, a visibly malnourished and abused 12-year-old child walked up to the door of a home in Ivins, Georgia. He asked the residents for food and water and to be taken to the police station. Bearing heavily wounded extremities still bound by duct tape, the boy admitted to escaping from captivity at a nearby home. Before long, police found the boy's also-abused sister and arrested their mother: Ruby Franke, a popular family blogger turned life coach who detailed her disturbing acts in her journal.

In February 2025, Hulu debuted "Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke." With the participation of multiple members of the Franke family as well as friends and neighbors close to the situation, the three-part documentary series tells the complete story of how a mother of six wound up in prison for decades. She became estranged from her family, whose wholesome activities she once meticulously captured and shared on YouTube to the delight of millions. Some disturbing details about the Ruby Franke case shown in the series were never previously revealed to the public. Here are all the sad and terrible new elements of the Franke family saga shared in "Devil in the Family."

Kevin Franke, former husband of "8 Passengers" YouTuber Ruby Franke, shares his side of the story at length in "Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke." He doesn't always come across in the most positive light, such as when he reveals his initial and recurring motivations for participating in his wife's family vlogging project. The father of six admits that he was a self-styled nerd and pushover, not quite the strong patriarch that Ruby Franke wanted and wished to depict in her YouTube videos. So, he participated in the videos to please his wife, but he only got excited about it after the first check from YouTube arrived in the mail. It amounted to just $85, but soon the family was making $2,000 a month from its channel, and at its peak, $100,000.

"Devil in the Family" suggests that the channel's first popularity boost was due to the presence of Chad Franke, the eldest son in the family. Videos where Chad appeared in the thumbnail racked up more hits than ones that didn't, and he was the breakout star — a fact not lost on the budding teen idol's father. "I was living vicariously through him," Kevin said. "He was everything that I wish I was when I was a kid. Confident, handsome, great at sports, the heartthrob, and the comedic relief."

In retrospect, there are many tipping points in the transformation of Ruby Franke. The tireless creator of sunny, reality-based family content YouTube turned into a life coach who associated herself with a discredited therapist and entertained notions of demonic influence on her family. And "Devil in the Family: The Fall of Rube Franke" suggests that many of the frightening and serious world events of 2020 significantly unnerved Ruby.

In the early months of 2020, the COVID-19 virus rapidly spread and grew into a pandemic, killing thousands of people a day. To Ruby Franke, an ardent follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, that situation closely resembled the "end of days" outlined in the Bible — apocalyptic world events that would lead to the destruction of the world and the return of Jesus Christ. Ruby fully believed that the world's end was forthcoming, particularly after a major earthquake struck near her home in Utah and social unrest broke out in the summer of 2020. 

While Ruby Franke was seemingly frightened, Kevin Franke admitted to feeling excited about the end of the world. They both channeled that energy into preparation. The pair became doomsday preppers, stockpiling large amounts of food and supplies to see their large family through the worst of the armageddon they were convinced was around the corner.

In 2023, Ruby Franke was arrested on suspicion of child abuse after two of her children were discovered abused and emaciated in and around the home of her business partner, Jodi Hildebrant. Police footage shown in the documentary "Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke" depicts Ruby as stone-faced and unmoved by any of the events as she allows herself to be taken into custody but refuses to speak without a lawyer present. Soon after, Kevin Franke, who hadn't had meaningful contact with his wife or any of their six children to that point, showed up at the Ivins police station. Authorities didn't contact him — he appeared by his own volition, driving more than 250 miles from Springville, Utah after being told that he needed to come pick up his two youngest children. At the time, Kevin Franke didn't reveal who had kept him abreast of the situation.

In "Devil in the Family," Kevin Franke divulged that it was Ruby Franke who called him. He also shared that his wife had informed him that their children were possessed by demons — they'd confessed as much, and everything they told police about what she did to them was a lie. He was unaware of the abuse, and by attesting to keeping the distance requested by his wife, he absolved himself of any legal culpability in the case.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.