Moms of Truth/ Instagram
The two Mormon podcasting partners have been held separately since their arrest at Hildebrandt’s home in Ivins, Utah, on August 30.
Officers arrived at the home after a neighborcalled 911to report Franke’s 12-year-old son had arrived at his doorstep “emaciated,” “covered in wounds,” and asking for food and water. Police soon found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter in “a similar physical condition of malnourishment” inside Hildebrandt’s home and sent both children to the hospital, according to a police press release.
The children are now safe, according to Franke’s family members, some of whom spoke out after her arrest.
Moms of Truth/Instagram
“Finally,” Franke’s oldest daughter Shari wrote on Instagram following her mother’s arrest, alongside a photo of police outside their family’s home. Shari, 20, has said she’s been estranged from her mother for some time and has been worried about her five younger siblings, four of whom were still underage and in Franke’s care.
“Today has been a big day," Shari wrote in another Instagram post after her mother’s arrest. “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.”
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Franke rose to prominence on social media through her former YouTube channel “8Passengers,” which had amassed about 2.5 million viewers before the family stopped vlogging their daily life in 2022. The Mormon mother of six then joined Hildebrandt’s “ConneXions” podcast, and the two women began sharing controversial parenting advice on their “Moms of Truth” social media pages.
Jodi Hildebrandt.Moms of Truth/ Instagram
“We’re working hard to get the kids back with Kevin in the family home,” Kevin’s attorney Randy Kester toldThe Salt Lake Tribunelast week.
Kesterspoke with reportersfollowing a custody hearing involving the Franke children earlier Monday morning, telling reporters the kids “need” to be with a member of their family, “preferably” his client Kevin.
Shari, the sister of those four children, was also in attendance at the hearing. Kevin did not address the media when he walked out of the courtroom Monday morning.
Franke’s three sisters, who also post heavily about their families on social media, have all also spoken out about her arrest, saying in a joint statement that “behind the public scene we have done everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe.”
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source: people.com
