ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — Ruby Franke, the YouTube mom and creator of 8 Passengers family lifestyle vlog, who is accused of felony child abuse, will be held without bail, a judge ruled Friday.
Her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, who was arrested in the same case, is also being held without bail.
The two were arrested Aug. 30 at Hildebrandt's home in Ivins after one of Franke's children showed up at a neighbor's house asking for food and water, according to a police probable cause affidavit. The boy reportedly had evidence of being bound with duct tape and rope and was transported to the hospital with a younger sibling, both of whom were found to be malnourished.
Franke's other minor children were taken into state custody. A Utah Division of Family and Child Services hearing was held Thursday to determine where the children would be placed.
The hearing was delayed by more than half an hour, and at one point the Utah Courts representative released a statement saying that Franke would not be in attendance.
Jail documents showed that she had been moved from a holding cell where she would be joining the proceedings remotely and into a medical block at Purgatory Correctional Facility.
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In the meantime, local media could not access the remote, WebEx hearing, which the courts spokesperson said was due to virtual courtroom being "overloaded."
Eventually, a KUTV reporter was physically let into the courthouse in Washington County the event that the hearing would not be available remotely.
At 2:08 p.m., Utah Courts announced that "most media has been allowed in," and any news providers who were unable to witness the hearing physically or remotely would be sent the recorded version of the hearing.
The hearing eventually began, though the broadcast cut in and out, likely due to the sheer number of viewers attempting to watch, and many portions of the proceedings were inaudible. Some details may not be available until the courtroom pool video and/or transcripts are distributed to the media.
Franke, it turned out, was in attendance after all, appearing via webcam, either from, or having come directly from, the medical block at the correctional facility.
The judge ordered that Franke will be held without bail. The question of whether she'd be released on her own recognisance surfaced earlier in the week when a court assessment was filed that recommended she be released and monitored pending trial.
Her next hearing is set for Sept. 21.
It wasn't immediately clear why Franke had been moved to the medical block. Neither the court spokesperson nor her attorney had not released any statements regarding to the media as of 3 p.m. Mountain on Friday.
Hildebrandt's hearing immediately followed Franke's, and she, too, was ordered to be held at the southern Utah jail without bail until her next hearing.
It was also scheduled for Sept. 21.
Fifth District Judge John Walton will be overseeing both women's cases.
Both Franke's and Hildebrandt's YouTube content, much of which featured the two of them together, offering parenting and family advice, were removed from the platform by YouTube in the days following their arrests.
Franke's 8 Passengers channel was taken off the platform earlier in the year, though it has never been explained why.
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