Disgraced YouTuber asks if she 'made the news' in jailhouse calls following child abuse charges

Disgraced Mormon YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke is facing 60 years in prison for abusing her children, but it appears she's more concerned about whether or not she's appeared on the news, according to the New York Post.

When Franke was initially arrested for the abuse of her two younger children, newly released audio of her jailhouse calls indicated that she had asked if "we made the news." None of the people Franke talked to over the phone after being arrested have been identified by name.

Franke, 42, made a name for herself by creating a YouTube channel called "8 Passengers" — alluding to the number of people in her family. Though she put on a glossy front, she appeared to blame her children for their own abuse, suggesting that "adults have a really hard time understanding that children can be full of evil, and what that takes to fight it," according to the released phone records.

Reports indicated that Franke had abused her children in many ways, including shaving their heads, dousing them with dirty mop water, starving them, forcing them to stand barefoot outside in the extreme desert heat, and forcing them to wear adult diapers.

During one jailhouse call, an unidentified man told Franke that the new revelations about her abuse had made the news. Franke reportedly asked: "Are we in the news?"

"It sounds like at least you're in the news," the man responded, adding that he planned on "going dark." It is uncertain if the unidentified man was involved in the abuse.

“This is a witch hunt,” Franke said. “The devil’s been after me for years.”

Instead of expressing remorse in the phone calls, Franke mentioned that "[t]he most upsetting thing is that I am completely misunderstood" in a phone call dated September 1, 2023. The conversation was reportedly between Franke and her husband.

“That is the most horrible feeling. Like, my own family misunderstands me, they misinterpret me,” she added.

Some of the details about Franke's case are eerily similar to that of Lori Vallow, who was recently charged with murdering two of her children.

Not only is Vallow a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she previously operated under the assumption that some people were demons and zombies. The case became so significant that a Netflix documentary was made about it called "Sins of Our Mother."

However, it is uncertain if Franke and Vallow share any connection.

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