Original subtitles

[♪ suspenseful, dramatic music playing]

- [banging on door] - Police officers. Open up!

- Got movement. - Open the door!

[door clicks]

Jodi? I need you to step out.

I-- I have-- I have my attorney--

That's great. Step out of the house.

- No, I'm not gonna step out of the house. - Step out of the house.

- [officer] Step out of the house. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

[officer] We're just gonna see if anybody else-- is there anybody else home?

Wait a minute! How do you come in my house?

[officer] Right there.

[interviewer] We should probably talk about

what Ruby and Jodi did to the kids

after you moved out.

[Kevin sighs deeply]

If that's okay.

[♪ suspenseful, dramatic music continues]

[♪ music fades out]

[lawn mowers rumbling]

[birds chirping]

[bell ringing]

[Ruby Franke] Okay.

Come down.

[♪ tense music playing]

Keep coming.

[Lisa McClean] Kevin and Chad are gone.

Shari's been disowned.

So that leaves four young kids with only Ruby to care for them.

We were all starting to worry.

[Ruby] What I say is often really difficult

for people to hear.

And what I'm suggesting is that your woke child

is a walking zombie.

And you have an opportunity to wake the zombie up.

You have hurt, you have fear, you have resentment.

You have feelings of being entitled.

[Ruby] Watch the computer.

You have these kind of perceptions inside you.

And you may not even know you have them, but you do.

[Ruby] Will you step forward just one step so I can see your face?

Step forward a little more.

There you go. Right there.

[Lisa] These were once very bubbly children.

Now they were withdrawn,

um, almost seemed like no joy.

[Matt McClean] One day, Ruby happened to be in her front yard.

So I asked her, "Why did Kevin and Chad leave?"

And she said, "Every marriage should have a separation."

She said, "It could be a year. It could be five years."

[Sydney Condie] We don't know what is wrong,

but there is something wrong.

I think, if anything, we hoped that maybe Kevin would come home

and either remedy the situation,

or get those kids away from, what we felt was, a dangerous situation.

[birds chirping, cawing]

[dog barking]

[Kevin Franke] Going into the no-contact separation,

I was terrified that I was going to lose my marriage,

that Ruby was going to ask for a divorce.

I was 1,000% compliant by that point.

[♪ curious music playing]

I was going to support her over all my children.

Period.

And somehow, I had to convince Jodi

that I was ready to go back to Ruby.

[Jodi Hildebrandt] You have to be willing to make choices that are in truth.

Just focus on not being selfish in any form tomorrow.

[Kevin] It was radio silence

from anybody and everybody

with the exception of the weekly men's group.

And so, I shifted to an absolute hermit.

[Chad Franke] I moved right outside the local university.

[Jodi] You are depressed, you are anxious, you are addicted.

[interviewer] The calls with Jodi, they're still going on?

[Chad] Once a week, every Tuesday, at 3:00 p.m.

There's selfishness, there's greed, there's porn, there's lust,

there's manipulation, there's lying, there's hiding, there's secrets.

[Chad] At this point, Jodi really just had kind of a control on me

'cause I learned to love her and I learned to trust her.

As you know...

[Chad] All I really wanted that whole time moving out

was to make my mom and Jodi proud

and to really show that I was changing.

[Jodi] [over laptop] Because the lies, they're attacks...

♪

[Shari Franke] After about a month, I texted Kevin from college.

Just saying, "I love you and I miss you."

And I saw that he hearted the message,

and then a minute later he un-hearted it.

I just said like, "What are you doing?"

Like, "Pull your head out of your ass" and, like, "Come back."

And I think I got blocked after that so I stopped sending text messages.

[interviewer] Why didn't you stand up to say, "This is nonsense"?

- You know what I mean? - I know, and...

and if I dwell on that question, it eats me alive.

[♪ unsettling music playing]

[Lisa] It was very clear that Kevin's really not coming back.

And I was really uncomfortable with every new video that was coming out.

It was getting worse and worse.

Very harsh and just no compassion.

"I love principles more than my child."

- Yikes! - That's a really--

- And-- And that is the truth. - Truth! That is the truth.

Don't let the child control and dictate what goes on.

[Lisa] We started seeing less of her around the neighborhood.

We started seeing more of her being filmed in St. George,

which is four hours away.

We are beyond Band-Aids.

We're beyond

putting a little bit of ointment on the wounds.

We're beyond that!

[Lisa] It got to the point where

Ruby's car seemed to be gone for days.

These kids were home alone.

You would see little faces peering out the window when you walked by,

and that same face would be peering out the window hours later

when you walked by again.

[Lisa] Shari and I would text often.

I asked her how she was doing

and she just said, "I'm, I'm kind of getting nervous."

And I said, "Yeah, I can see why."

[operator] 911. Emergency.

[Sydney] The first thing I remember is getting a text from Lisa...

and I responded "yes."

And she said, "Shari called the police for a welfare check.

Can you come talk to the police? We need more witnesses."

And at that point, nobody would answer the door.

[interviewer] Why couldn't the police just go in?

- [Lisa] They needed to get... - [Matt] A warrant.

...a warrant by the judge.

And the officer said that the judge would not sign off on it.

[Grant Collard] I text Kevin, I'm like, "Hey, man,

"cops are outside your house.

Hope things are okay. What's going on?"

No response.

[Matt] I tried to text Kevin and I was blocked.

And that was shocking.

[Grant] The guy's totally brainwashed at this point.

Just gone.

[Ruby] If your kid came to you on fire,

you throw them on the ground and you start rolling them.

[Grant] Our intuition's going nuts.

They're putting out these culty videos,

she's neglecting her kids,

the kids are, you know, quiet and evasive.

They're gonna say, "You're hurting me. You're-- You're beating me.

You're controlling." It's like, "No, dear.

Hold still. I'm getting the fire out."

[Lisa] There were so many of our neighbors that all contacted

the Division of Child and Family Services.

[Kristin Collard] So I remember one conversation with a DCFS worker

and she asked me, "Well, do you see any signs of abuse?"

And I said, "No. I, I didn't-- I didn't see any physical signs of abuse."

She just said we-- they needed to see some physical evidence

for them to be able to step in.

[Shari] I got a call from the case worker

who just said, "I'm so sorry. We have to close this case."

Um, she said, "Personally, I just want you to know, like, I'm really concerned.

But there's, like, nothing that we can do."

And from that point on, I never saw the kids play outside again.

Never. Just like lockdown.

You need to get a surgical knife.

[shaky breaths] You-- You need to put the kid out

and surgically go in and find the infection.

[Kristin] I realized I should have lied

and told them that the kids were being harmed and I could see it.

I really regret not saying that.

I didn't know.

Yeah, I wish I had lied.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[♪ music fades out]

[insects chirring]

[doorbell rings]

[door opens]

[operator] 911. Emergency.

[caller crying]

[♪ dark, tense music playing]

♪

I heard over the radio that there was a young boy that showed up to a house

that had, uh, duct tape, uh, on his ankles and wrists.

The ambulance was already there, backed into the driveway.

So I grabbed my camera out of the back of my vehicle,

went up into the ambulance to get a few pictures before they take off.

Hey, I'm Sergeant Tobler.

I here to just get a few pictures. Are you okay with that?

I'd say my first impression was just how extremely emaciated he was.

Just nothing but skin and bones.

And I just recall being able to see the tendons

on the upper part of his ankle in that Achilles tendon area,

front and back.

[interviewer] Had you seen anything like that before?

[Det. Jessica Bate] No.

He said that he had been tied up

and that he had handcuffs on him.

And he said, "I have a younger sister in the home."

And I was like, "When did you see her last?"

And he said, "It's been over a month."

He said he had heard her in the home, but they had been kept totally separate.

[Sgt. Nick Tobler] We decided we were gonna do a sweep of the house

and try to locate whatever other children were in the home.

Police officers. Open up!

[officer knocking loudly]

Open the door!

[door clicks]

Jodi? I need you to step out.

That's great. Step out of the house.

- No, I'm not gonna step out of the house. - Step out of the house.

- [officer] Step outta the house. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Wait a minute! How do you come in my house?

- [officer] Right there. - They're going into my house.

- [officer] Have a seat right there. - [Jodi] Do you have a search warrant?

- Do you have a search warrant? - [officer] Have a seat right there.

But don't you have to have a warrant?

[♪ eerie, haunting music playing]

[Sgt. Tobler] We ended up working our way through the entire house.

And you're just looking through each door or closet.

You go downstairs, there's like a basement that's all concrete walls,

concrete floors, concrete ceiling.

We found a-- looked like to be a safe,

that could have been just a safe for guns or a safe room.

- [officer] I have a question for you. - Yeah?

You have a room downstairs that has a safe wheel on the front.

- Uh-huh. - How do we get access to that

to ensure that there's no one else in this home?

[Jodi] I don't know if I have the code, whatever it--

[officer] 'Kay. Is that a panic room or a room where--

It's a room with a toilet, with a sink.

[officer] Toilet and a sink. And you don't know the code?

- I haven't used it. - [officer] Okay.

[Sgt. Tobler] Coming upstairs, went into one room

that had an attached bathroom and an attached closet.

I cleared the bedroom

and then Sergeant Hallman cleared that bathroom.

And I heard him talk to somebody.

Hi. I'm a police officer.

(indistinct)

[Sgt. Tobler] Hey, you okay?

I'm Sergeant Tobler. What's your name?

The girl looked like a young boy sitting there.

Shaved head, real skinny, didn't talk to us.

Kinda looked scared to me.

You doing okay?

Are you scared?

[officers shouting in distance]

Yeah?

I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanna make sure you're okay.

And I get it if you're scared. I would be too.

I've seen two children at this point, young children, in a bad situation

and it's hard not to personalize it.

I was kinda getting a little choked up.

So, Sergeant Hallman continued to clear the room and I said,

"You know, I'm just gonna stay here."

What kinda person does this to these two children?

[♪ somber music playing]

[interviewer] How did that day begin for you?

[Shari] I don't even remember.

I don't remember a lot of that day.

It's just a blur.

- [♪ music fades out] - [birds chirping]

[Kevin] I had had no communication with the family

in over a year.

[phone ringing, buzzing]

My phone started ringing and I looked at it.

It was Ruby and then the heart emoji.

She was calling me out of the blue, so I answered it.

I was so emotional.

For the first time in over a year,

I was having a conversation with the woman that I loved,

with my wife.

She was talking to me again!

[♪ tense, unsettling music playing]

She was in a panic and she said, "I have some explaining to do."

And she started to share with me

that the two younger children were demonically possessed.

I remember asking, "How-- Well-- Well, how-- how do you know?"

And she said, "Well, they've confessed to it."

And one of the younger kids,

he'd gotten out.

He'd gotten to the police.

And, and she said, "I can only imagine the lies he's telling the police right now.

"You need to go pick up our children from the police station.

This is your chance to redeem yourself."

♪

I was going to go get those kids.

And I was going to bring them back home.

[♪ music fades out]

[insects chirring]

[officers chattering]

[Det. Bate] The only place that hadn't been accounted for

was the safe room downstairs.

So our lieutenant went to the code and kind of just messed around

and he's like, "I'm gonna try 123456."

[lock beeping]

[door clicks]

And click, it opens.

[♪ tense music playing]

That's when we found rope and handcuffs in the bottom drawer.

Gauze, like the medical dressing for wounds.

He mentioned, like, a cayenne pepper and honey paste,

which was made to put on his wounds.

And duct tape.

At that point, we still had two outstanding girls.

It was the two middle children. We didn't know where they were.

We had other agencies throughout the state looking for them.

Ruby, it's the police department! Open the door! Do it now!

- [officer knocking loudly] - [officer] Police department!

[bangs door]

[officer] Alright, let's go.

[officers shouting]

[Det. Bate] We had local police search the Franke home...

[officer] Police department! Make yourself known!

[Det. Bate] But there was no one there.

It was empty.

[police radio chatter]

The two middle girls were eventually found close to the Franke home

at the house of a friend of Ruby's.

They were physically fine,

but at that point, Ruby was the person we really wanted to speak to.

[Det. Bate] We were searching the house

and out of nowhere, Ruby just pulls up.

[handcuffs clicking]

And then...

right now, I can put a finger in each of these, 'kay?

Um, you don't have anything on you that I should know about, correct?

Any weapons, anything that we're gonna find...

[Det. Bate] She didn't ask questions. She didn't ask how the kids were.

Just nothing.

And then if you wanna go into the interview room downstairs.

[officer] Sounds good.

Going down? Or I'm going down?

[♪ unsettling music playing]

[Kevin] I went straight to the Ivins Police Department

and I walked in and I walked right up to the receptionist

and I said, "I'm Kevin Franke, and I'm here to pick up my two children.

I understand that they're here waiting for me."

And she said, "Oh, okay. Um...

"A couple of officers, uh, they have your children.

They wanna speak with you about some things."

We're just gonna kind of ask you a few questions about your involvement.

'Kay?

[Kevin] I remember just thinking to myself,

"I just want my kids and I want to go."

[interviewer] So you really thought you'd just pick them up, yeah?

Yeah.

[Det. Bate] And how many kids do you have, Kevin?

[Det. Bate] So, are they all living with you or...?

[Det. Bate] Any of them?

I just remember thinking, like, "This is crazy for a dad

to not have seen his kids in over a year."

[Kevin] I was very suspicious. I was nervous.

I-- I mean, I was terrified

because, in my mind, they were--

they were the wolves wanting to tear my family apart.

[Det. Bate] And who was that message from?

[interviewer] Why did you not tell them who had called you?

Uh, I was afraid to do anything that would point them towards Ruby.

[interviewer] Why?

Because I was trying to protect her.

[Kevin] I couldn't comprehend it.

I could understand it. Didn't make sense to me.

I-- I truly believed that they were lying to me.

They even offered to show me some pictures, and, and I refused.

[interviewer] Wh-Why?

Because, oh, I didn't wanna be manipulated.

[Kevin] I didn't know what to do.

I just was lost.

[♪ unsettling music playing]

[sighs deeply]

[Det. Bate] Going into that interview,

I wanted to find out more about the dynamic,

what had led to this.

And then I just pretty much heard, "I support my wife.

I support Jodi and her teachings. And I haven't seen my kids in a year."

I'm like, [chuckling] "Great. So... not very helpful, but

you're also not really a suspect anymore at this point."

♪

So, I know I introduced myself to you earlier,

but my name's Detective Bate and this is Sergeant Tobler.

We're just here to talk to you about kind of a few things involving your kids.

Do you live down here, or...?

She said nothing.

Wouldn't give me anything.

Just, like, the long blinks.

[♪ tense music playing]

Do you wanna talk to me about where you live

or how many kids you have?

I just remember thinking,

"This is the most awkward interview of my life."

I can wait all day,

so it's up to you if you wanna talk to us about what's going on.

[Det. Bate] Okay.

So, if you just kind of wanna share a little about yourself

and what brought you down here, and...

So, I trust my attorney. He said, "Don't say anything."

And I said, "I have nothing to hide." He's like, "I know that,

but just let me be there with you when you talk."

So, I-- You guys seem nice people.

I-- I'd like to just tell you, but I don't, I don't know who you are.

I don't know if you're gonna flip my words. I-- I don't know!

[Det. Bate] And that's the good thing about cameras,

everything, it's pretty much double recorded, audio, video.

And it's for the safety of y-- for you and for us,

'cause we don't wanna flip your words.

I'm a psychologist.

I've watched people flip things all the time!

[scoffs] So I get it.

I, I, I sit on your side. I get it.

I wish people didn't do that, but they do.

[Det. Bate] She's clearly trying to manipulate us in that moment.

"I'm a therapist. I'm with you guys on this.

"I would love to share, but my attorney has told me not to.

But I want to! I wanna be forthcoming."

And it's like, okay. [chuckles]

Clearly! [chuckles]

Clearly, that's not the case.

[♪ music fades out]

[crickets chirping]

[Chad] At this point, I had no contact with my mom.

I was just isolated for a whole year.

[indistinct chatter]

I was at work and just was sitting in my guard chair in Springville

and my boss came out to me and, uh, she just said,

"Hey, I'm so sorry. It's all over the news.

Anything you need, just let us know."

And, uh, I had no idea what she was talking about.

So, I, I get on my break and I go on my phone

and instantly look up "Ruby Franke today."

And, uh, there-- there it was.

[reporter 1] YouTube parenting influencer Ruby Franke...

[reporter 2] ...sometimes controversial parenting influencer...

Tonight, she is under arrest.

[reporter 3] Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt...

Charged with child abuse...

[reporter 4] ...aggravated child abuse. Open wounds...

[reporter 5] ...malnourished, bound, and covered in wounds...

Had to be taken to the hospital.

[reporter 6] Police found another minor inside...

[reporter 7] ... Franke's malnourished 10-year-old daughter.

I was being fed all this information, and I remember my thought process was,

"This is-- this is not real." And I really believed that.

Like, this is... This has to be a setup.

At this point, I really believed Jodi and my mom were God's chosen people.

I really believed these were the last days.

The prison would crumble, they would walk out,

and they would be standing with God.

That's what I truly believed.

[Det. Bate] We met with both of the kids

for the second interview in Provo.

At this point, the young boy was particularly forthcoming,

and what he described... was bad.

[♪ haunting music playing]

How he would be forced to stand in the sun all day long.

Being tied down to weights.

He would have to jump on a trampoline all day.

He had mentioned going out to Hell Hole Road,

it's just in the middle of the desert,

and they were forced to run.

We were able to articulate the need

to go back in the home for evidence a second time.

I just remember going into the room where the boy was staying with his mom

and on the nightstand, there's this blue folder.

This is everything.

Like, she's literally written down everything.

It's the day-to-day recollection of events.

I just remember as we went line by line

that we were just in shock.

"July 10th, 2023,

"I told the boy he emulates a snake.

"If he wants to emulate the savior,

"he needs to be 100% obedient with exactness.

"The body must engage in good work

"and the good works need to be painful.

I have the power of God and he must obey."

[Brannon Patrick] In the journal, you can see that she genuinely believed

that her children were possessed.

And in the LDS religion,

there's a belief that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God.

So her anxiety about being righteous

and getting to a certain place in heaven

actually turned to abusing her children.

But she thought she was doing what was good.

That creating pain is what gets you to God.

[Det. Bate] "I push him into the sun.

"He comes back. I come back with a cactus poker.

"When I poke his back to get in the sun, he doesn't even flinch.

"I told him, 'Give your demon friend a message for me.'

"'I will not rest. I will not stop. I will not leave.

I will fight him until the day you die.'"

- There's absolutely no doubt... - [doorbell rings]

...what that young boy did that day saved his and his sister's life.

[reporter] Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt

seen giving advice in this video

a re charged with aggravated child abuse

after police say Franke's 12-year-old...

[Chad] I called Jodi, no response.

I even tried to call my mom, which was a big no-no,

because I'm not supposed to contact my mom at all,

and, uh, I got no response from my mom either.

[reporter] So far, there's been no comment from either of the women.

Franke's family...

So, I did the impossible and the unthinkable

and I messaged my dad.

Who I hadn't messaged in over a year.

And I got a message from my dad that said, "Hey, this evening I'm going to the house.

I'd like to check on it and you are welcome to come."

♪

I pull up and I see this man in the front yard

and I think, "Who is that?"

And then he stands up and

it was just this skinny, scrawny man.

♪

[Kevin] Chad looked so much older.

And he asked, "What's going on? What is all this I'm hearing about?"

And I told him

about the children being under the influence of evil spirits

and the things that they were purportedly doing.

[bird cawing]

[Chad] This is the hardest part.

I accepted the abuse as something truthful.

And that's really hard for me to say

because my mom explained it to my dad in a way,

and my dad explained it to me in a way,

of it was the right thing to do.

[Kevin] I walked into the house for the first time

in over a year.

[breathes deeply]

[♪ unsettling music playing]

And it was just a mess.

Things were littered all over the floor

in bins and buckets.

And I opened the drawers and the drawers were all empty.

Everything was empty.

My mind was just racing by this point.

The things I was believing

weren't compatible with the facts that were sitting in front of me.

[Matt] I walk in and Kevin is sitting on the ottoman

with his head down and he stands up and we hugged

and he just sobbed and he apologized.

He said, "I apologize for the mess."

And we said, "Well, you know it's messy because they were packing up to leave.

They were moving."

And he said, "Wait. No-- No. W-- Where? Why?

"This is their home! This is where they live!

W-- Why would they go anywhere?"

And we started to explain to him and-- and he said, "No. Stop.

Just listen. I need to talk."

And we went over and into his living room and sat down and talked.

And we talked for six hours.

And so, I started asking questions for the first time.

"Did Ruby really move to St. George?

True or false?"

"True."

"What was going on at my house?"

And they shared.

He just kept grabbing his head and he would cry

and he was so angry.

And he just said, "I just feel like I'm going crazy.

None of this makes sense. I feel like--"

He says, "I think everything-- everything has been a lie."

[Matt] He was just realizing that he had been brainwashed.

- Yeah. - And he was just starting

to come out of it.

All of a sudden, two plus two equaled four

and things made sense.

He just said, "Chad, we've-- we've been lied to this-- this whole time.

"No child is possessed.

No kid or child has done the things that your mom has said they have done."

My dad was in tears. He hugged me.

He was sobbing on my shoulder.

And I was battling with myself in my head

like, "Everything you've been learning is a lie."

And I just remember, I closed my eyes

and I just remember all the blood rushing to my head,

and I realized I couldn't really defend her anymore.

[Kevin] Little by little, I was accepting the idea

that Ruby and Jodi had done something awful.

I feel angry when I think about that.

[♪ music fades out]

[interviewer] Do you feel guilty?

Absolutely.

I was the last line of defense for these children

and I packed my bags and walked away.

[birds chirping]

[bailiff] All rise!

Fifth District Court in Washington County, State of Utah is now in session.

The Honorable John J. Walton presiding.

You may be seated.

[Judge John J. Walton] Ms. Hildebrandt, how do you plead to count one,

aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony?

[Jodi] Guilty.

[Judge Walton] And to count three, aggravated child abuse,

a second-degree felony?

[Jodi] Guilty.

Jodi convinced Ruby that there was a cause worth fighting.

And in that process,

Ruby's cause became to eliminate her children of evil

when there was never any evil to eliminate.

[Judge Walton] To count five, aggravated child abuse,

- a second-degree felony? - [Jodi] Guilty.

[Ruel Haymond] I think she received a great deal of satisfaction

taking revenge on anyone that is happy.

[Judge Walton] Ms. Hildebrandt...

[Tresa Haymond] Jodi was very gifted.

Part of the gift was to be able to

get people to believe things that

don't even make sense, but they believe 'em.

Thank you, Your Honor.

[Jodi] [echoing] If you're like me, you've had pain in your life.

[over laptop] Connexions is the solution.

[pause button clicks]

[Paige Hanna] My brush with evil

only led me to Jesus Christ.

Before, I thought that these teachings were of him.

And I saw so thoroughly that

no part of it embodied him.

[♪ somber music playing]

[Judge Walton] Ms. Franke is now here.

Alright, I've been handed a plea agreement

and it appears to be signed by Ms. Franke.

- Ms. Franke, did you sign this agreement? - Yes.

[Kevin] I found it very difficult to look at Ruby

and so I, I chose not to.

[Judge Walton] Ms. Franke, how do you plead to count one,

aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony?

Guilty.

[Judge Walton] To count three, aggravated child abuse,

a second-degree felony?

Guilty.

[Kevin] To hear this woman that I have worshiped

just admit to destroying our family,

that hurt.

[Judge Walton] There is a factual basis...

[Chad] It really was heartbreaking seeing her

in ankle chains and, um, and-- and handcuffs.

[Shari] Before I went to the sentencing, I said, "I'm not gonna look at Ruby."

Like, "I-- I don't care to see her."

And so, I, I just stared at the judge the entire time.

I personally have seen too many crocodile tears from her.

And so, I can't say whether she is sorry.

- [birds chirping] - [dog barking]

[Kevin] What are we doing?

So, we're gonna find out if it's pink or if it's blue.

[child] [gasps] It's pink!

It's gonna be a girl!

[children squealing, chattering]

- [Ruby] Oh! - [Kevin] Oh!

Yay!

[Ruby laughing]

I knew it!

[Kevin] Chad? What do you think?

[children chattering]

Staring at it won't make it turn blue, pal.

[♪ somber, haunting music playing]

[laughter and chatter continues on tablet]

[Shari sniffles]

[interviewer] Where are you at with Ruby now?

I will never talk to her again.

Like, whether she's the most apologetic person in the world or not.

Like, that doesn't change anything for me.

[indistinct chatter]

We have one childhood and one mom...

[cheering and laughter]

...and that was mine.

[♪ somber, haunting music continues]

[interviewer] Do you miss her?

[Chad] I miss a mother figure.

I, I miss how she was when I was very young.

- [smacking sound] - [laughter]

But I think what she's going through is deserved.

I don't think she should get out

at least until the kids, all the kids, turn 18 years old.

♪

But that doesn't mean that I don't have love for her.

[interviewer] Do you still love her?

Definitely.

I-- I've always loved her.

[interviewer] Even though she abused the kids,

you still love her?

Oh, yeah.

♪

The actions that she did are atrocious,

but I still feel a longing.

I-- I miss her.

All of the delivery rooms,

all of the moments holding our children--

It is easy for the world to hate that woman,

and so many people want me to join in that chorus,

and I cannot turn off all of those other memories.

[♪ intense music playing]

[Ruby] [echoing] This is heaven!

I live for being in the kitchen with my kids and good food.

[squealing] Daddy!

[interviewer] How do you make sense of all this?

Of what's happened to you all?

[Ruby squeals]

[Kevin] This really is a story of love,

of hope...

[Ruby laughing]

[indistinct chatter and laughter]

[child squealing]

[Kevin] ...of family.

But this is also a story of deception...

[Ruby squealing and laughing]

♪

...of control.

[♪ music fades out]

And ultimately, it's a story of faith.

If you put your faith in the wrong hands,

you can lose everything.

[marbles rattling]

Thanks, you guys. Happy scheduling.

[♪ brooding piano music playing]

♪

[♪ music ends]