ST. GEORGE, Utah — Hours before YouTube star and Utah mother Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were scheduled to appear in court, their hearing was continued to "a date after October 5."
An exact date for the continued hearing was not immediately decided, with court documents stating that it will be "rescheduled at the convenience of the Court on a date after October 5, 2023."
The Monday hearing would have been the women's second court appearance after both were charged with six counts each of felony child abuse.
READ: Who is Ruby Franke, '8 Passengers' YouTuber charged with child abuse?
At 8:30 Monday morning, officials reported that attorneys filed a motion to move the hearing until after October 5, citing "additional time needed to review copious amounts of discovery."
Franke and Hildebrandt appeared in court for the first time on September 8, where their attorneys waived the reading of the charges and the women did not enter pleas, FOX 13 News previously reported.
At their first hearing, attorneys said they were going to ask for bail hearings for both of the women.
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested in southern Utah at the end of August after a boy escaped from the window of Hildebrandt's home in Ivins and ran to a neighbor asking for food and water.
The neighbor noticed duct tape around the child's wrists and ankles and upon investigation, police called the child's neglect as "severe."
LISTEN: Transcript of 911 call leading to arrest of Ruby Franke, Jodi Hildebrandt
Another child was also found in the Ivins home with signs of abuse, FOX 13 News previously reported.
Documents obtained by FOX 13 News show the Ivins incident was not the first time police were called to check on the Franke children. In 2022, neighbors and family raised concerns that the children had been "left alone for days" while their mother traveled with Hildebrandt.
In the weeks since the arrest, the case has received global attention as Franke was known for her YouTube channel, "8 passengers," which documented the life of her family. The YouTube channel and content was removed following Franke's arrest.
Hildebrandt owns a parenting counseling business, ConneXions.
Since the arrest, family members of Franke have been speaking out saying they were shocked by the arrest, with Franke's sister, Bonnie Hoellin, who is also a Utah influencer responding with a video statement.
"I am beyond disgusted and I feel like I...it makes me tremble, it makes me tremble because it is, it is unheard of," she said in the video.
The next court date for Franke and Hildebrandt was set for "after October 5," court officials report.
