Overview
- Police rescued two severely malnourished Franke children on August 30, 2023 after a 12-year-old escaped Hildebrandt’s Utah home and sought help from a neighbor.
- Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to multiple counts and were each sentenced in February 2024 to four consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison.
- According to court filings tied to her plea, Franke admitted holding her son’s head underwater, kicking him while wearing boots, and using restraints in ways she described as “physical torture.”
- Case records and the documentary describe prolonged barefoot labor in extreme heat, food and water deprivation, binding injuries treated with cayenne pepper and honey, and Hildebrandt forcing a young girl to jump into a cactus and walk until her feet blistered.
- All four minor children were initially placed with Utah child services and later their father, Kevin Franke, received full custody, while the first parole hearing for Franke and Hildebrandt is scheduled for December.