One year ago, parenting advice vlogger Ruby Franke and her podcasting partner Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested and charged with child abuse.
On Friday, Aug. 30 — exactly one year since their August 2023 arrests — Ruby’s 19-year-old son Chad observed the anniversary on Snapchat.
“Happy Prisonversary,” Chad wrote in one snap, which included a photo of Ruby, 42, taken presumably before her imprisonment.
8Passengers vlogger Ruby and Hildebrandt, 55, were arrested after Ruby’s then-12-year-old “emaciated” son Russell, who is Chad’s brother, escaped Hildebrandt’s Utah home and asked a neighbor for a “favor” — “If you could take me to the nearest police station,” Ring camera footage showed.
Chad Franke’s Snapchat post shared on Aug. 30, 2024.
Chad Franke/Snapchat
As PEOPLE previously reported, police said the boy had visible wounds and marks from tape around his wrists and ankles and they later found Ruby’s then-9-year-old daughter Eve in “a similar physical condition of malnourishment” at Hildebrandt’s home.
In December, Ruby pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse. On Feb. 20, Ruby and Hildebrandt were sentenced to four to 60 years behind bars after four convictions each of aggravated child abuse.
This investigation didn’t find evidence of Chad being physically abused at the time. Chad, who had already moved out of the family home before the arrests, mentioned “Jodi” in one of his Snapchat posts on Friday.
“A year ago today, I had just gotten off a phone call with Jodi and was going to work a Lifeguard shift,” Chad wrote on top of a selfie.
This isn’t the first time Chad has posted about his incarcerated mother on social media. On June 17, Chad posted an Instagram video of him with text overlay reading, “GOT A TATTOO OF MY MOM FOR THE SUMMER.”
In the video, Chad wipes off post-tattoo lotion to reveal nothing on his forearm, captioning the post with an emoji face with its tongue out.
Chade Franke’s Instagram video posted on June 17, 2024.
Chad Franke/instagram
Chad’s older sister Shari, 21, has also posted about their mom.
“Today has been a big day,” Shari wrote on Instagram at the time of the arrests last year. “Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
