Kya Buller
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing
Disgraced parenting vlogger Ruby Franke, who is now serving 30 years in prison for the starvation and abuse of her six children, has given people a further glimpse into her twisted mind.
42-year-old Franke, from Utah, was given the maximum sentence for her crimes after her senseless acts of abuse were unearthed, following her 12-year-old son climbing out of a window to ask for food and water from a neighbour in August last year.
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Franke ran a YouTube channel, named ‘8 Passengers’, which marketed her to viewers as an ideal parent alongside her husband, who has been separated from her since July 2023 and has since filed for divorce.
Prosecutors in her case have now released a series of her diary entries which detail the horror her children were subjected to daily.
They mainly focus on the abuse of two of her children, whose names have been redacted to ‘R’ and ‘E’.
They also reveal Franke as someone who was deeply entrenched in religious fanaticism – and believed her children had been possessed by the evil spirit of the devil.
In July 2023, the month before she was caught, she wrote: “The body must engage in good work. And the good works need to be painful – otherwise the service becomes another feel good distraction.
“A day of fasting and prayer for me after learning my children have been spawns of Satan.”
The diary entry also included: “E still tried to run. She screamed for another family, water, food, care, love.”
Another entry said: “It’s R’s birthday. He doesn’t even know what month it is.
“I told R he emulates a snake. He slithers and sneaks around when no one is watching then he scurries.
“I told R that he needs to find God. I invited him to fast and pray. R is in and out of possession."
Franke’s diaries also reveal that she shaved her children's heads, forced them to sleep outside and starved them.
Tragically, she also recounted that her daughter had resorted to making up rhymes about her abuse.
“All day, E makes rhymes about: “My mom starves me and calls it fasting”, Franke wrote.
She continued: ‘My mom won’t lift a finger and bring me food because all she does is lie on the bed and eat brownies.”
When the children were rescued, they were found with wounds bound by cling film and duct tape, and were so emaciated their bones were visible.
Franke’s children were routinely tortured, tied up with rope, forced to wear adult nappies and locked inside small rooms. Cayenne pepper was also added to their open wounds.
They were regularly denied food, water, a bed and access to entertainment.
Franke’s family told courts that her abuse came from her religious extremism. Their statement included: “She was so deeply brainwashed we could not recognise her.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.