Too small for his baggy shirt and shorts, the sandy-blond 12-year-old boy with welts and sores on his wrists and duct tape on his ankles stood at a neighbor's doorstep pleading for help.
The boy begged him for food and water-and to call police. "His ankles are taped up, and he won't tell us why," the man told 911. "This boy has been... This kid has obviously been... I think he's been-he's been detained," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "He says what's happened to him is his fault."
The boy, Russell Franke, would later tell police officers how he climbed out the window of the Ivins, Utah, home of a family friend, therapist and life coach Jodi Hildebrandt, where he had been staying with his mother, Ruby Franke, a YouTube-famous parenting influencer with millions of followers, and younger sister Eve. He said his hunger and thirst drove him to run for help the morning of Aug. 30. Police searched the house and found Eve, 10, also emaciated, and later arrested Ruby, 41, and her therapist and business associate Hildebrandt, 54. Each was charged with six counts of aggravated felony child abuse, including starvation, causing physical injuries and severe emotional harm.
In search warrants the Santa Clara-Ivins Police Department alleges Russell Franke told them he had been tied to the ground with ropes and that the women rubbed cayenne pepper and honey into his wounds. Both Russell and Eve were taken to a local hospital and treated for malnourishment, then placed in the care of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS).
Ruby—who days earlier filmed a video on improving relationships in the home where the kids were allegedly being tortured —and Jodi are being held without bail at the Washington County jail. Neither has entered a plea.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 16, 2023 من People US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 16, 2023 من People US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Will Forte
THE ACTOR, 53, STARS IN THE NEW NETFLIX SERIES BODKIN
BILLIE JEAN KING STILL FIGHTING FOR EQUALITY
THE TENNIS LEGEND REVOLUTIONIZED SPORTS. NOW SHE WANTS TO CHANGE THE BUSINESS WORLD
JEFF EMBRACING AN UNEXPECTED PATH
JEFF DANIELS SHARES THE MOMENT JUST RECENTLY WHEN HE FINALLY KNEW HE'D 'MADE IT' AND WHY HE STILL LIVES IN MICHIGAN INSTEAD OF HOLLYWOOD
CHRISTY TURLINGTON BURNS Motherhood & Making a Difference
THE MATERNAL HEALTH ADVOCATE OPENS UP ABOUT PARENTING, HER NEW PODCAST AND MOTHER'S DAY PLANS
WNBA STAR BRITTNEY GRINER 'Love Got Me Through'
IN A NEW MEMOIR, THE PRO ATHLETE RECALLS THE 10 NIGHTMARISH MONTHS SHE SPENT IN A RUSSIAN PRISON AND THE ENDURING HOPE THAT KEPT HER ALIVE
The Jack in the Box Murder CATCHING THE KILLERS
BEVERLY MCCALLUM WANTED HER BOYFRIEND DEAD-AND ENLISTED HER DAUGHTER AND A FRIEND TO KILL HIM
Brooke Shields 'I Want My Family Around Me'
THE STAR OPENS UP ABOUT HER NEW ROM-COM MOTHER OF THE BRIDE AND BECOMING AN EMPTY NESTER
William in the Eye of the Storm
PRINCE WILLIAM'S RESILIENCE IS TESTED AS HE GRAPPLES WITH PERSONAL TURMOIL AMID HIS WIFE AND FATHER'S CANCER DIAGNOSES WHILE SHOULDERING HIS ROYAL RESPONSIBILITIES AS HEIR TO THE THRONE
The Tea on Bridgerton Season 3
Stars Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton spill about the latest twists on Netflix's Regency-era hit
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Who's gonna fight for what's right when the chimps are down?