Jodi Hildebrandt’s sprawling desert fortress in Utah goes on the market for $5 million – including sick ‘panic room’ where Ruby Franke’s emaciated children were tortured: Curious viewers rush to tour the house of horrors
Jodi Hildebrandt’s Utah mansion has been put on the market for $5 million, including the hidden panic room where Ruby Franke’s children were tortured.
The four-bedroom fortress, which spans nearly 10,000 square feet, was originally listed in January for $5.3 million but has since been reduced by more than $300,000.
It was from this house that Franke’s emaciated 12-year-old son escaped last August, leaving police to find his sister slumped in a closet.
Hildebrandt and Franke pleaded guilty in December 2023 to four second-degree felonies of aggravated child abuse and face four prison sentences of one to 15 years.
Prosecutors accused the former business partners of starving and abusing Franke’s own children while doling out brutal parenting advice on social media.
Jodi Hildebrandt’s Utah mansion is listed for nearly $5 million. In this house, she and Ruby Franke held the mommy blogger’s young children captive while starving and torturing them.
Hildebrandt and Franke each pleaded guilty in December 2023 to four second-degree felonies of aggravated child abuse
The 10,000-square-foot home includes a “panic room” in the basement, with a vault-like door that locks from the outside
When police searched the premises, they found a mixture of cayenne pepper and honey used to dress the children’s wounds, and several coils of rope.
The property is located at 854 West Tawgoo Court in the sleepy community of Ivins and was put up for sale about a week after the couple entered their guilty pleas.
It features a mahogany front door, skylights, 15-foot ceilings and expansive views of the desert landscape.
The kitchen features double ovens, high-end appliances and large counter space, plus a stainless steel sink and butler’s pantry with its own dishwasher, refrigerator and microwave.
The master bedroom has a fireplace and a walk-in closet with washer and dryer. The large bathroom has a bath and a steam bath.
The lower level of the home features another large kitchen, home theater and family room. Other amenities include a pool, spa, fire pit, outdoor kitchen, and five-car garage.
Excluded from the list are the so-called “panic rooms” that investigators discovered while combing through the house for evidence.
Beyond the vault-like door that locked from the outside was a bed, a toilet, a microwave, and an empty refrigerator and freezer.
Police recovered a piece of knotted rope from a drawer in the cramped room. At one end, metal chains were connected to a set of handcuffs.
The four-bedroom home features a kitchen with high-end appliances and extensive counter space
The Ivins property features 15-foot ceilings and expansive views of the natural landscape
Franke, 41 (left), and Hildebrandt, 54 (right), told nine-year-old Eve and 12-year-old Russell that they were possessed and that ‘the punishments were necessary to repent’
The inhumane living conditions came to light when Russell escaped from the house in August 2023 and ran to neighbors for help
Police found Eve, 9, cowering in a cupboard in the dingy house and were able to coax her out after four agonizing hours
The appalling living conditions came to light when Franke’s son, Russell, snuck through a window and attacked neighbors with duct tape around his ankles.
One man, who later described the boy as “emaciated,” called 911 while his wife offered Russell water and some fruit.
The 12-year-old told police he had tried to escape a month earlier, prompting his own mother to handcuff his wrists and ankles.
After the daring escape, police ventured back in to look for the boy’s nine-year-old sister, Eve, who had not been seen in a month.
The malnourished girl, whose head was shaved, was found cross-legged in a closet. She was brought to safety after a four-hour effort that culminated in officers ordering her pizza.
Franke, a mother of six, later admitted that she had forced the children to toil for hours in the oppressive heat with little food and water.
Twelve-year-old Russell suffered severe sunburn after working outside for several weeks without proper protection.
While Franke and Hildebrandt regularly withheld food from the children, photos from the crime scene showed a pantry packed with snacks and canned goods.
A neighbor who called 911 described the boy (seen here in Ring doorbell footage) as “emaciated”
The home was originally listed in January for $5.3 million, but that price was abruptly reduced by $305,000
Russell was severely malnourished at the time of his escape. He told police that Hildebrandt tied his wrists and ankles with rope before she and his mother “used cayenne pepper and honey to bandage the wounds.”
The 12-year-old told police he had tried to escape a month earlier, but Franke tied his wrists and ankles with handcuffs.
While Russell and Eve were regularly denied food, photos from the crime scene show a well-stocked pantry
Both Russell and Eve were told they were possessed and that “the punishments were necessary to repent,” according to court documents.
The women “regularly tried to indoctrinate Russell and convince him that he was bad,” framing the abuse as “acts of love.”
Russell told police that Hildebrandt tied his wrists and ankles with rope before she and his mother “used cayenne pepper and honey to bandage the wounds,” documents show.
Officers later found a container containing the mixture with a spoon dipped in it and a coil of rope next to it.
Franke, 42, gained a large social media following as a mom vlogger and showcased the lives of her children through her YouTube channel, 8 Passengers.
Hildebrandt, 54, is divorced and estranged from her own children. She claimed to specialize in sex addiction, but was reprimanded by the state in 2012 for having an inappropriate relationship with a client.
In the weeks following the couple’s arrest in August 2023, videos circulated of Ruby happily discussing how she had to make her son sleep on a beanbag as punishment and how she refused to bring her daughter a school lunch after forgetting to pack it herself .
Franke and her ex-husband Kevin hired Hildebrandt as a family therapist in 2021. But Hildebrandt eventually convinced the couple to break up a year later.
Franke then deleted her YouTube channel, which had more than 5 million subscribers at the time, before taking on a role as a mental health coach at Hildebrandt’s company, ConneXions.
They launched a new YouTube channel under the same name and created a joint Instagram account called Moms of Truth to teach their parenting lessons.