‘She’s mentally ill’: Ruby Franke’s prison phone calls reveal evolving stance on Jodi Hildebrandt
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — On March 22, prosecutors released nearly 17 gigabytes of data — including scans of Ruby Franke’s journal, footage from police body cameras and interrogation footage — after Franke and her former business partner Jodi Hildebrandt did not file for appeals in their respective cases.
Included in the data were recordings of prison phone calls between Franke and various other people, none of whom are identified by name. The phone calls took place over several months, from August 2023 to December 2023.
In earlier phone calls, Franke can be heard defending her choices and the choices of Hildebrandt, comparing them to Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As time went on, Franke continued to reference religion, God and the devil, but her stance on Hildebrandt changed. No longer was Franke saying Hildebrandt was “misunderstood” — by December, Franke said, “She’s mentally ill.”
Each of the released recordings has been summarized below.
Call from August 31, 2023 — ‘Children can be full of evil’
“You know my heart,” Franke told the man on the other end.
He asked what she was being charged with and she said she’s facing two charges of second-degree felony child abuse.
“I think I was prepared for this,” Franke said. “I do feel strong, I do feel calm.”
WATCH: Police enter Franke, Hildebrandt home, find child in closet
Franke said she received a “prompting” to read Viktor Frankl, and recalled a passage about not knowing the end.
“Adults have a really hard time understanding that children can be full of evil, and what that takes to fight it,” Franke said.
Call from August 31, 2023 — ‘Witch hunt’
A short time after the first phone call, Franke was speaking with a man about her financial situation. He said he was preparing to step up to take the children.
About halfway through the recording, the man tells Franke that the story is out.
“Are we in the news?” Franke asked.
“It sounds like at least you’re in the news,” the man responded.
The man said he was contacted by a magazine a couple months ago and ignored it. He told Franke he’s “going dark.”
“This is a witch hunt,” Franke said. “The devil’s been after me for years.”
Call from September 1, 2023 — ‘Completely misunderstood’
“The most upsetting thing is that I am completely misunderstood,” Franke said. “That is the most horrible feeling. Like, my own family misunderstands me, they misinterpret me.”
Franke said Hildebrandt was also misunderstood and misinterpreted.
“Joseph Smith, every, every wonderful man of God has had to be misunderstood,” Franke said.
Through tears, Franke said she has compassion for the other women in prison with her and the cops, as well as herself. Franke said the spirit of God told her her children were going to be removed.
INTERROGATION FOOTAGE: Police release video of Franke, Hildebrandt questioning
“God told me I’m done,” Franke said. “Satan has taken everything away from me that I love. And I’m a good woman. I don’t do naughty things.”
Toward the end of the recording, the man on the other end references their marriage.
“You keep truth in our family,” the man tells Franke. “I will be here to support you in any way that I can.”
Call from October 27, 2023 — ‘So many angels around’
Franke is talking to a man and a woman on the other end, and they thank her for calling them back.
“I really did feel like … a rescue, like I just felt so many angels around,” Franke said.
She said she keeps thinking about an address given by the current president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about “myopic thinking.”
Franke said, through tears, that she was using this time to change and repent and let the Lord know that she loves him.
Call from December 2, 2023 — ‘Miraculous intervention’
In this recording, a man is heard talking to Franke about the hand of God.
“I could not come out of this without … without His grace, without His mercy, without His help,” Franke said. “This has been the strangest, and the most miraculous intervention. It put everyone where they needed to be.”
Franke said being separated from Hildebrandt “cleared a lot of things up” for her.
Call from December 28, 2023 — ‘She’s mentally ill’
“I think putting the pieces together and just seeing, like — she knew she was lying the whole time,” Franke said.
The recording from December 28, 2023 that was released by officials is nearly 20 minutes long. Franke is speaking with a woman, who asks at the beginning of the call if Franke saw that Hildebrandt had pled guilty.
Franke said she did hear the news. The woman then asked if that was a relief, and Franke said, “Yeah, it’s a big relief.”
Franke said if Hildebrandt hadn’t pled guilty, she could have been convicted for life because of how much evidence there was.
READ NEXT: Convicted YouTuber Ruby Franke kept journal detailing child abuses
The woman asks about how probation and sentencing would work, and asks Franke if she and Hildebrandt would face the same amount of time. Franke tells the woman she doesn’t have a criminal history or a mental health history.
“I’m also hiring, um, a professional to do a mental health evaluation just to say, ‘She’s, she’s good, like, there’s no mental health problems at all,'” Franke said to the woman on the other end.
Franke said Hildebrandt would probably lie on some of her paperwork.
“I don’t think she’s going to give them her history,” Franke said. “I think, in the interview, it’s going to be apparent that she’s mentally ill.”
Franke also said she didn’t think Hildebrandt would take responsibility for what she did and said Hildebrandt only pled guilty “because she didn’t want to do life.”
In this call, Franke reveals the last time she and Hildebrandt spoke was the day they were arrested. That morning, Franke said she had left for a medical appointment.
“When I got to the house, I mean, it — it looked like the movies,” Franke said. “I pulled up and found a spot to park … I walked up and the driveway was just full of cops.”
Franke said she did not see Hildebrandt at the house when she was there, and once the children were transported in the ambulances, a detective showed up and arrested her. Franke said when she and Hildebrandt were “in the back,” they didn’t say a lot to each other. They did, however, hum some hymns, Franke said.
“I’m glad I didn’t say anything,” Franke told the woman on the other end. “If you ever get arrested, don’t say anything.”
Franke said her attorney told her Hildebrandt was denying everything. Franke told the woman on the other end that that’s why she believed Hildebrandt was lying from the beginning.
“You get a six-year-old who knows they’re supposed to pee in the toilet, and they’re peeing down the heater vent, they’re gonna try to hide it,” Franke said. “And that’s when I realized, she knew. She knew all along. And she’s hiding it.”
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