Ruby Franke's Estranged Husband Details How She Fell Into Religious 'Cult' and He Became 'Resident Exorcist'

According to Kevin, his estranged wife got involved with a group called ConneXion Classrooms through Jodi Hildebrandt, her business partner at the time of Ruby's arrest. Ruby was living with Jodi at the time of the arrest, with both women ultimately sentenced to four to sixty years behind bars for aggravated child abuse of Ruby's children.

Jodi's relationship with the Frankes started as Ruby's "therapist," before evolving to being their children's mental health counselor. It was through this connection that Kevin says Ruby slowly became more deeply involved with ConneXions, a group NBC News reported Jodi started as a life coaching service in 2007.

The organization also had religious associations, with former clients telling NBC News that it was largely based on the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Frankes and Jodi are all three members of the church.

As for Kevin, though, his take upon learning more about ConneXions was, "This is absolute craziness."

"This is a bunch of man-hating women that are just looking for excuses to tear down their husbands," he thought, as reported by E! News. And yet, there were men involved, as well, with Kevin sharing that he'd agreed to take part in "addiction recovery" meetings with some of them, which he said did appear to be helping his marriage.

Things took a turn, Kevin told authorities, in May 2021 when they went to Jodi's house. He said that her mental state had started to change, but things slipped toward the unexplainable there, even for an engineer and college professor like Kevin.

"I can't explain some of the stuff that happened while we were there," he said, describing actually seeing plates fly off of the shelves in the kitchen and "full-speed smashing on the wall," as well as hearing crashing sounds from the basement while they were upstairs.

Kevin said that he and his wife enlisted the aid of a bishop to help them "cast the demons out" and fight any "evil spirits" around Jodi in her home, saying that this happened for hours every night. But when that didn't seem to be helping, the idea suddenly for Jodi to move into the Franke's house came up.

Almost immediately, Kevin said that Jodi and his wife started sharing a bed and "then [Ruby] started having trances and stuff." He said that by September, his wife was talking about going to Heaven to see God and Jesus and he'd labeled himself "resident exorcist," having to perform blessings on Jodi each night when she would go into trances.

He said the women would sometimes lock themselves in a room "for four or five hours" and upon coming out, Ruby would tell him about these visions she'd had, telling him, "We have work to do from God."

For Kevin, it all became too much, with him telling authorities he decided he "wanted to move on with life," and separated from his wife. He said that by this point, Ruby was dictating every aspect of his life, including forbidding him to go upstairs "where Jodie roamed." She filed for divorce in December.

At the time of her arrest in August 2023, the couple had been living separated for a year, with Kevin revealing he'd not seen his children for longer than that. Describing Jodi as a "cult leader," Kevin told authorities, "I was completely cut off," per Salt Lake City's KTVX.

He told authorities that while he wasn't able to see his children, he spent that year trying to win that right back by seeking Jodi's approval with continued ConneXion Classrooms work under her.

"I knew that the only way into my house was to get Jodi's approval," he said. "It felt like an impossible task." He said he withdrew, becoming more isolated, and started to question his sanity during that year apart. He would occasionally see Ruby outside the home.

"I cannot describe to you what torture and hell it was to live… in complete isolation," he said.

Ruby and the children were still living with Jodi when Ruby's 12-year-old son escaped the home and ran to a neighbor's yard for help. He appeared to be "severely emaciated." Police subsequently found his 10-year-old sister in a closet in Jodi's home, spending hours coaxing her out.

What has since come out is a long-standing pattern of systematic abuse by both women on Franke's children, with prosecutors saying in their case summary that the women "appeared to fully believe that the abuse they inflicted was necessary to teach the children how to properly repent for imagined 'sins' and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies."

Ruby's diary entries were also released, in which she said one of her children was "in and out of possession" and "needs God," and wrote about how she punished them by making them stand in the sun and by shaving off their hair. See more from those here.

Audio of Franke's jail calls were also released, showing the conversations she had with estranged husband Kevin just one day after her arrest for child abuse. In them, she called the case a "witch hunt" and argued she and Hildebrandt were "completely misunderstood." You can read more about those calls here.

Other videos in the case have been released to the public in the past week, including the police raid on Hildebrandt's home, the arrests and police interviews of both Franke and Hildebrandt, as well as an interview with Ruby's estranged husband, Kevin, who was not charged in the case. Get a full breakdown of that footage here.

Over time, though, Franke changed her tone. According to her plea agreement, Franke has "actively engaged in an introspection that has allowed her to reset her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions." Further, she "is committed to taking responsibility for the part she played in the events leading up to her incarceration."

During her sentencing hearing, Ruby expressed remorse and regret, apologizing to her husband and children. "For the past four years, I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion," she said.

"My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me." She apologized to her children for taking from them "all that was soft and safe, and good," and said she as "humbled and willing to serve a prison sentence for as long as I need."

"I am committed to unlearning my toxic behavior," Franke continued, emphasizing her regret for "twisting God’s words and distorting His doctrine." Franke and Hildebrandt both received the maximum sentence under Utah state guidelines.

You can read more details about this story below.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse or violence, get help. The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in need.