When the news broke about the 8 Passengers arrest, everyone had the same question: how did this happen in such a seemingly "perfect" neighborhood? If you followed the 8 Passengers YouTube channel, you probably felt like you knew every corner of their house. You knew the kitchen where they made breakfast and the yard where the kids played. But where is Ruby Franke from, really? And where is she now that the cameras have stopped rolling?
The story doesn't start in a courtroom. It starts in the heart of Utah, in a culture that prizes family values and "wholesome" living.
The Utah Origins: Where Ruby Franke Grew Up
Ruby Franke is a Utah native through and through. She was born Ruby Griffiths on January 18, 1982, in Logan, Utah. Logan is a college town in the northern part of the state, home to Utah State University. It's the kind of place where people know their neighbors and life moves a bit slower.
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Growing up, Ruby wasn't alone. She was part of a large, tight-knit family. She has three sisters—Bonnie, Julie, and Ellie—who all eventually followed her into the world of YouTube vlogging. Her parents, Chad and Jennifer Griffiths, raised the girls in a strict, traditional Mormon (LDS) household. This religious and cultural background is a huge part of "where" she is from because it shaped the very parenting philosophy she later monetized—and eventually took to a terrifying extreme.
By the time she met Kevin Franke and married him in 2000, she was fully immersed in the suburban Utah lifestyle. They eventually settled in Springville, Utah, a city just south of Provo. This is where the 8 Passengers "empire" was built. If you saw those early videos, the ones with the massive house and the six kids, that was all filmed in their $1.3 million home on Brookwood Drive in Springville.
The Move That Changed Everything
While Springville was "home" for years, the location of her actual arrest was different. People often confuse the two. In the final year before her downfall, things shifted. Ruby became heavily involved with Jodi Hildebrandt and her "ConneXions" business.
Ruby eventually moved away from her husband and the Springville house. She ended up in Ivins, Utah. Ivins is way down south, near St. George, surrounded by red rocks and desert heat. It’s a beautiful area, but for Ruby’s children, it became a site of absolute horror. She was living in Jodi Hildebrandt’s $5 million mansion—a sprawling, luxury desert property—when the police finally knocked on the door in August 2023.
Where is Ruby Franke Now?
If you're looking for her current "address," it isn't a suburban home anymore. Honestly, it’s a world away from the luxury of Ivins or the comfort of Springville.
As of early 2026, Ruby Franke is incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City. She was sentenced on February 20, 2024, to serve four consecutive terms of 1 to 15 years. Because of how Utah’s sentencing laws work, her actual time behind bars is determined by the Board of Pardons and Parole.
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The maximum time she could serve is 30 years.
A Timeline of Her Locations
To keep it simple, here is how her life moved geographically:
- 1982: Born in Logan, UT.
- 2000s - 2022: Lived in Springville, UT (The 8 Passengers era).
- 2023: Moved to Ivins, UT (Living with Jodi Hildebrandt).
- 2024 - Present: Utah State Correctional Facility.
Why the Location Matters in This Case
The geography of this case isn't just trivia. It’s actually central to how the abuse was discovered. On that day in August 2023, Ruby’s 12-year-old son, Russell, climbed out of a window of the Ivins mansion. He didn't just run anywhere; he ran to a neighbor's house.
Ivins is an affluent area. The neighbors have Ring cameras and manicured lawns. When a boy showed up at a neighbor's door with duct tape on his ankles, begging for food and water, the contrast between the $5 million surroundings and his emaciated state was so jarring that the police were called immediately.
If they had been in a more isolated area, or if the neighbors hadn't been home, the outcome could have been much darker.
The Aftermath for the Franke Family
The "where" has changed for everyone else too. Kevin Franke, Ruby's ex-husband (their divorce was finalized in 2025), was eventually awarded full custody of the four minor children. He also kept the family home in Springville.
The Ivins mansion, where the abuse took place, has struggled to find a buyer. It was listed for nearly $5 million, but it's hard to sell a "masterpiece" home when the news is filled with stories about what happened in the basement. As of mid-2025, it was still popping on and off the market, a literal monument to a fallen empire.
What about the sisters?
Ruby's sisters—Bonnie Hoellein and Julie Deru—still live in Utah. They’ve had to navigate the "where is Ruby from" question constantly, as their own fans began to question their upbringing. They’ve mostly distanced themselves, claiming they had no idea how far Ruby had gone into the "ConneXions" cult.
Actionable Next Steps: Protecting Children in the Digital Age
The Ruby Franke case changed how people look at "mommy vloggers." It wasn't just about a woman from Utah; it was about the lack of oversight for children who are essentially "child actors" for their parents' social media accounts.
If you are concerned about the ethics of family vlogging or child safety in your own community, here are a few things you can actually do:
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- Support New Legislation: Utah recently passed a law (pushed by Kevin Franke and Shari Franke) that requires "kidfluencer" parents to set aside earnings for their children and gives kids the right to have their likeness removed from the internet when they turn 18. Check if your state has similar protections.
- Recognize the Signs: The neighbor in Ivins saved those kids because he didn't ignore a child in distress. Familiarize yourself with the signs of malnutrition and emotional abuse, which are often hidden behind "perfect" social media filters.
- Audit Your Consumption: Think twice before hitting play on "family channels." Often, the "content" we enjoy is created at the expense of a child's privacy and well-being.
The story of where Ruby Franke is from is a story of a small-town Utah girl who built a life on camera, only to have the real version of that life crumble in the desert heat of Ivins. She remains in prison today, while her children and the state of Utah continue to pick up the pieces.