Franke, 41, has remained in police custody since her arrest last week alongside her podcasting partner Jodi Hildebrandt.
Franke appeared virtually from Washington County, Utah, jail in front 5th District Court Judge Eric Gentry. He ruled that Franke will remain on no bail hold until her next hearing, currently scheduled for Sept. 21.
Gentry also transferred Franke’s case to the docket of District Judge John Walton, who was also assigned Hildebrandt’s case. Franke’s case and Hildebrandt’s had initially been assigned to different judges.
The two women were arrested after one of Hildebrandt’s neighbors in Ivins, Utah, called 911 to report that Franke’s 12-year-old son allegedly escaped from Hildebrandt’s home and ran to a neighbor to ask for food and water. The neighbor’s tearful 911 call described the child as “emaciated” with clear wounds on his body.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.The Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department said in a statement last week that officers who responded to the call soon found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter in “a similar physical condition of malnourishment” inside Hildebrandt’s home. Both children were taken to the hospital and are “now safe,” according to Franke’s family.
Moms of Truth/ Instagram
Franke’s sisters and her oldest daughter Shari, 20, have expressed relief about the social media mom’s arrest in recent days.“Finally,” Shari wrote on Instagram alongside photos of police outside the family’s home.
“Me and my family are so glad justice is being served,” Shari added in another social media post. “We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up."
Neither suspect has entered pleas to the charges they face.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
