Netflix Drops Chilling True Crime Doc on Infamous Child Abuse Case

A new Netflix documentary, Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, uncovers the shocking abuse of children tied to Utah momfluencer Ruby Franke and life coach Jodi Hildebrandt.

The series begins with security footage showing a young boy, malnourished and with injuries, asking a neighbor for help, leading authorities to uncover the disturbing situation, according to Netflix’s Tudum.

The children, a 12-year-old boy and his 9-year-old sister, were kept in Hildebrandt’s home and subjected to physical and emotional abuse. Hildebrandt, a prominent figure in Utah’s Mormon community and founder of the now-defunct ConneXions coaching company, and Franke, who ran the YouTube channel 8 Passengers, used religious extremism to justify mistreatment of the children.

Evil Influencer explores Hildebrandt’s growing obsession with controlling families, her influence in the church, and her relationship with Franke, which contributed to the abuse and ultimately led to both women’s arrests in 2023.

Director Skye Borgman told Tudum, “If that young boy hadn’t escaped that day, I think those kids probably wouldn’t be with us today.”

Ruby Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in December 2023 and was sentenced in February 2024 to four consecutive terms of one to 15 years.

She is serving her sentence at Utah State Correctional Facility, with her first parole hearing scheduled for December 2026. Audio recordings included in the documentary show Franke appearing to distance herself from Hildebrandt, which Borgman says may be an attempt at self-preservation.

Kevin Franke, Ruby’s ex-husband, has since become an advocate for stronger child welfare laws and remarried in November 2024. Their children are reportedly trying to rebuild their lives. Borgman commented, “I think they’re moving on and trying to find some form of normal. When Ruby’s released from prison, it’ll be really interesting what kind of relationship — if any relationship — happens.”

Hildebrandt also pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse and is serving time in the same facility but in a separate section from Franke. While ConneXions has shut down, Hildebrandt’s impact on the community remains, and many former clients appear in the documentary to share their stories.

Borgman told Tudum, “They wanted to tell their story of how Jodi manipulated them, how she used sort of this intersection of trust and power and harm to really obscure their own sense of self and family and religion, and how it can happen to pretty much anybody.”

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is now streaming on Netflix.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!