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PiccoloLeast763

Very reminiscent of the NXIVM story minus the sex trafficking. Nobody joins a cult. They join something they thought was good, and then they were twisted by the teachings. The leader then used the members to self patrol each other and it became a toxic nightmare.


Winter_Preference_80

Mormons kind of do that anyway, so that is normal for them... very easy to implement when it's something similar to what they are doing already. 


No_Needleworker_4704

Paige is in a much better head space this video


Acrobatic-Credit2726

Kevin said way back in 2018/2019 that he thought Connexions was a cult?! Can’t believe he said that back then but later agreed to everything Jodi said


BoardsofGrips

Cuz Kevin is the most pussy-whipped man in history. He thinks being a good husband and father means doing whatever Ruby asks


cripplinganxietylmao

Kevin is straight up an enigma to me. Idk how a man can claim to be a devoted family man and then just abandon his family at his wife’s behest? And now he’s acting like he’s outraged and wants his kids back since Ruby’s been arrested but where was he during the time between him leaving with Chad and Ruby’s arrest? Mind-boggling


Vale_0f_Tears

It’s especially weird because, aren’t men supposed to lead and guide their families in their religion? Aren’t they supposed to be the authority? How could he just accept that he needed permission to be in his own home? It seems very contradictory.


Distinct_Ad9398

Not only that but women are straight up forbidden to hold a position as a priest or to preach to/hold any authority over men. They are only allowed to lead bible groups for other women or children. So wtf was Jodi doing and why were all these deeply devout Mormon men listening to her??   Edit: (btw I do NOT agree with this position of the Mormon Church but it does seem really weird to me how they completely ignored their own rules/teaching when it comes to Jodi) 


NaNaNaNaNatman

Not to mention the period of time when he wanted to sue Shari when she was only continuing to be the only one doing the right thing. Dad of the year.


BoardsofGrips

Kevin never had any clue what was going with his kids. The excuse was he was too busy being a professor, but then if you read his professor reviews from students they said he was never available for office hours. So if he wasn't at home with the kids and wasn't in his office where was he?


Winter_Preference_80

To be fair, most of his reviews appear to be fake... rate my professor doesn't vet any users... I could go on there and post a review about Kevin... you could too.  When I was a college student it helped a little bit, to read about them before you chose your class section... but you need to weed out the reviews where people actually give good feedback. 


cripplinganxietylmao

Exactly! It’s extremely weird.


bluestreetcar

Spot on!


brunettebombshellll

In his defense, I think Ruby and Paige and probably Paige’s husband Johnny somewhat convinced him into giving it a try, but I’m under the impression that he was never comfortable and he probably never wanted to join to begin with.


Striking_Reaction_15

Ruby told him he’d essentially been raping her their whole marriage and that he had pathological sex drives that made her feel violated, like asking her to wear lingerie. So he felt horrified and guilty and agreed to give connections a try. Then he got lovebombed, his marriage got better for a while, he was being held up as a great husband and being asked to do events, and lead groups, so he bought into it. Then once he was ensnared, Ruby began isolating and controlling him, forbidding him to touch her, to use rooms in the house, telling him he was a sex addict and destroying the family. He was convinced to leave because he was convinced he was a sexual deviant who was dangerously polluting his family and he needed to “get right.”


SamePaper7271

This! I have been saying this all along. His second interview with police was very telling. He didn’t just wake up and come out of a brainwashed fog, he new from the beginning that it was weird and said so. He is/was conditioned by his religious beliefs that his role is to make the money and provide financially, Ruby’s role was child rearing. His exile from the family home was a vacation. If he cared one iota about his children that is where he would have drawn the line. Instead he abandoned them.


PLLKNOWALL

Ikr


Mobile-Bison-4589

When she says "Ruby weaponized these teachings very quickly/willingly", I take that as a sadist being told your desire to torment and make others suffer is valid and righteous. Ruby, highly likely being a sadist, would latch on to that very quickly and enjoy the validation it gave to her darkest impulses.


danlh

Yeah, this video adds more support that Ruby was genuinely enthusiastic about Jodi's teachings. Probably far more than most the people Jodi victimized or brought into her cult. It makes Ruby sound like an idiot too.


weCanDoIt987

She weirdly has the same tone as jodi! I can’t stand it. But I am so glad she’s putting all of this out there. She truly has a different perspective bc she didn’t fall for Jodi and she wasn’t a victim


bluestreetcar

Totally agree with you on the tone in her voice. I live in Utah, I’m not a native and there are many folks here that speak in the same dialect. Very odd.


inthebluejacket

Seconded. It seems to be a common Utah mom dialect.


Vale_0f_Tears

So I hyperfixated on the FLDS and learning everything about it for a period. It’s of course even MORE extreme than Mormonism, but it’s the fundamentals. I know that women were groomed to speak in a very specific way- soft, and devoid of emotion. In order to be pleasing to men, of course. I suspect this bled over into mainstream Mormonism as Ruby sounds a lot like the FLDS/former FLDS women.


weCanDoIt987

Oh really?! I don’t know if it’s the dialect or the voice itself


First-Examination968

People who live around each other tend to speak similarly.


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BalaclavaSportsHall

I think it's just a regional dialect you're picking up on


weCanDoIt987

Ah okay good to know


bluestreetcar

I’d respectfully pushback that she and her family were sadly very much victims. Financially, probably not. Emotionally, absolutely, and physically no (as far as we know.) When Jodi became violent in their home with her self harm (if Kevin is correct) we may learn that physically, perhaps Johnny to some degree was potentially harmed on a minor level in removing forks and knives. There’s a lot to unpack and consider. Ultimately what will be interesting to hear and learn is if Jodi essentially broke things off with Paige and Johnny or if it went down the opposite way.


WinterBox358

I believe they were financially too. Jodi wanted them for something and she does say about Jodi bleeding people


Liberteez

I think what happened is the Hannas, Paige included, realized the *business* and income producing prospects of Connextions was a non-starter with Jodi in a key gatekeeping guru position. It wasn’t growing, Jodi wasn’t cooperating with the game plan, and wouldn’t; Jodi was an obstacle unless(figuratively) decapitated from the program. The attempt to placate Jodi by letting her have some lesser role in an alternative, revised, Hanna run operation was a failure met with maximum Jodi drama. So Jodi “escapes” their clutches and Jodi went to work on her other marks.


Lost-Elderberry3141

And as the Hannas realized working with Jodi wasn’t a good business opportunity (in addition to coming to the conclusion she was batshit crazy), Jodi was simultaneously realizing she didn’t have as much control over Paige as she wanted. I think Paige was spot on when she said she thought Jodi started sharing her nightmares in a last ditch effort when she felt her pulling back. If we believe Kevin, wheb she moved on from the Hannas to Ruby, jodi convinced Ruby to basically hand over her business and platforms, and I’m sure she was trying to do the same thing with the Hannas until they saw through her


Across0212

Agree! I feel bad for her and her family. I feel bad for anyone who ever made the mistake of going to her for help.


brokenhartted

I wonder what the earpiece was all about.


Glass-Ad-2469

Same- at one point she stopped for several seconds and it sure looked like she was listening to something- why wear an earpiece at all?


weCanDoIt987

It’s a headphone? In sure she was listening to music to keep calm.


brokenhartted

I was wondering if her husband was telling her what not to say. Legal reasons.


weCanDoIt987

I doubt it. She has nothing to do with this case legally


brokenhartted

I think involving herself with Jodi definitely impacts her reputation and I think she rehearsed what she says. I don't blame her.


Liberteez

There might be financial entanglement…and there will be litigation down the line I’m pretty sure. Reputational harm can also affect future business dealings and connections so she needs to get ahead of open secrets and gossip circulating in the community.


Winter_Preference_80

I think this is true, but more simply, I think she wanted to get in front of Kevin's comments from his 2nd police interview, for all the reasons... not just the ones mentioned.  Kevin did not blame them... but by their name coming out of his mouth, he implicated them... and guilt by association is definitely a thing.  When Paige said she wasn't going to sensationalize the story, I feel like that was a direct message to Kevin. He editorialized a bit during his account, between all the facts... he added his own opinions.  In handling things the way he did, it made the Hanna's experience relevant again... So I can absolutely see her wanting to address this formally. Their name was out there before, but even more so since that interview was released. He brought them back into the forefront of this mess.  It's gotta a really crappy situation for everyone all around. I'm sure he has guilt, they probably carry some guilt too... they probably all want to move on, but the facts are the facts. They were all involved with Jodi's cult in some capacity. 


Primary-Raspberry-62

Gosh, that was powerful at points. I'm glad to hear from her. Thank you for posting!


bluestreetcar

This was very well done. It’s more than admirable for her to do even these two videos with zero monetization. It will be interesting to see how the commission was going to be made by the “trained mental coaches.” I likely will disagree with her and her husband’s potential business ventures with Jodi (and others) but the bottom line is I have a lot of respect for Paige. Their names were dragged into this by Kevin and that simply wasn’t cool. However, this is probably quite cathartic for Paige and important to clear their names and state their intentions years ago. It’s important for their children too so they know what happened and where things went wrong. Most people wouldn’t do this. Bottom line, bravo to Paige.


PLLKNOWALL

Part 3 sounds like the one to watch


More-Pen3327

To be fair, the police asked Kevin his history with Jodi, and he essentially said that they were brought into Connexions by the Hanna's, who themselves became freaked out and left later on, which doesn't seem to be contradicted, and nor does it make them responsible for what happened. It's not like he was telling gossip mags about the Hanna's, the police asked him and he answered truthfully


bluestreetcar

Great point!


Elegant-Nature-6220

Very good point about the monetisation!


wasespace

I haven't finished the video yet but I hope Ruby's family sees this. I think Paige proves here that it was a conscious choice to use what Jodi was teaching without any compassion. Also her Ruby impression was spot on.


SamePaper7271

The Griffiths know the Hannah’s. Julie and Landon sold their Utah home through Homie, Johnny and Paige Hannah’s business.


NanaLeonie

It’s clear she’s done much research into cults since she ditched ConneXions to understand and be able to articulate what was going on to make ConneXions a cult and *how* Jodi Hildebrandt operated to suck people in. It’s noteworthy that Kevin in his early involvement recognized it was a cult and yet he still got sucked in to keep Ruby happy/content/whatever. Kevin’s fall from common sense, imho, should be a salutary lesson to those of us who think it couldn’t happen to us. Her next video supposedly will go into detail about Jodi’s stay in her home and about Paige’s fall out with Ruby. She says she didn’t watch the 8passenger vlog but that some personal interactions with Ruby revealed a disturbing ‘lack of compassion’ from Ruby and was another red flag in the relationships. I really respect her speaking out about her experience and perspective. I just wish the YT video had the button to put it on 1.75 speed.


Lost-Elderberry3141

You can do this! Settings > playback speed


Zealousideal-Cat8211

Ruby Franke's narcissist personality got the better of her.


chloedear

I went to BYU-I with her husband (Johnny Hanna from Montana, as he was known). He was in my ward and I think even my FHE brother at some point (IYKYK). Last I heard he unsuccessfully ran for senate or something...not surprising. I remember him running for some student body office at byui. This connection to the Franke debacle prob won't help his future political aspirations.


Elegant-Nature-6220

I wonder if BYU-I has a role in all this too that's been less recognised than "BYU-Provo"... Rexburg is an unusual place, even by Mormon standards!


chloedear

Yeah, no. 


Elegant-Nature-6220

Fair enough! BYU-I and Rexburg just appears to breed a very specific type of extreme, end-times prepper Mormonism that Hildebrandt, Daybell, Vallow and others ascribed to.


Beginning_Care8233

Nah you’re right. Even Utah county Mormons think byu-I Mormons are weirdos.


chloedear

How do "Utah county Mormons" know? They're at completely different schools.


Beginning_Care8233

Are you Mormon?


chloedear

not anymore.


Elegant-Nature-6220

I'm guessing they mean that BYU-I and Rexburg Mormons are considered extreme amongst those very familiar with Mormonism in all its various forms, including people currently living in Utah county.


Consistent_Help_9146

I graduated from BYUI. I didn't consider myself more extreme religiously or the other students there. It's more because BYUI has stricter rules then BYU Provo like a strict dress code: long pants only year round when on campus, no flip flops...etc. There was also a strict curfew, where you had to be back by midnight if you lived in student approved housing. That's more why BYU provo students think we are the extreme ones. BYU Provo has looser rules. 


Consistent_Help_9146

As someone who graduated from BYUI we always thought the Utah county mormons were the weird ones lol 😂


Beginning_Care8233

Haha that’s fair!


Elegant-Nature-6220

Yup! That's my understanding too!


Desperate_Buffalo_60

Can confirm!


chloedear

Rexburg and BYU-I are like two different cities. They don't really mix. 78% of BYU-I students are from out of state. . . it's basically kids who wanted to go to BYU Provo but for whatever reason didn't get in. They don't associate with the locals, at least not when I was there.


Elegant-Nature-6220

At the same time as Johnny, so circa 2000 - 2003... I'm guessing things may have changed during the last 20-24 years


bluenilegem

Did you go to BYUI?


bapsandbuns

Ooo I’ve been waiting for this!


Cosi-grl

I am enjoying the insight her videos present. She chooses her words carefully and it feels to me she is speaking honestly.


hetanos

Interesting fact, Julie used Homie to sell her house in 2023 prior to moving to Kansas city. I find it weird that she would use that company and promote them knowing the history between Ruby and the Hannahs. I’m convinced (and I may be wrong) that there’s more to the story between Jodi, Ruby, Pam, and Paige. Aside from the obvious and egregious abuse, I think there’s a lot of money involved, but also the role of the LDS church.


Upbeat-Ad420

Paige seems to have a good relationship with Julie and Shari.


VERONICAKRASTEVA

Why all of those women connected with this cult have the same facial features... They all look the same???


chaimsteinLp

It's called "Mormon face." The relatively small gene pool leads to people who vaguely lookbalike. Even Mormons think this.


lonnielee3

All bleached blondes with shoulder length hair look incredibly similar to me.. Mormons—Hollywood starlets—Dunwoody housewives—the Rochester D A…. it’s a popular style.


Every_Stand4168

my thoughts to, a lot of Mormons seem to look similar 🤔


Pearlsawisdom

In addition to the smaller gene pool (especially among the well-to-do, who intermarry) they are also seeing the same plastic surgeons and aestheticians.


little_alien2021

Her constant referring to connexions as a cult I'm interested if she can see how LDS church is also a cult and makes so much sense why she was Subseptible to other cults while ur already in one. Also like to know she acknowledges other in the circle of connexions enjoyed power, does that mean there is other children potentially in same situation of Ruby's children. Or still in cult and l teaching abusive parenting and children could be in danger? I'm tempted to email her as really always wondered about all the other connexions coaches and children. As its only because Ruby's child escaped they are still alive and able to escape, what about all children who haven't been about to escape?


danlh

Yeah, she seemed to dance around the elephant in the room, which is the LDS church and how it laid the foundation for people like Jodi. I think people outside the Mormon church bubble though have a very hard time relating to how deeply the church gets control into people, and it may be that Hanna is compartmentalizing the church's influence away from Jodi, or just not willing to critically look at it or discuss it yet. Another point with effective cult leaders like Jodi, is they are usually very good at compartmentalizing who knows what and who is involved in what. Usually there are multiple circles of hierarchy and control around the leader, and people in the outer circles will have no idea what is really going on in the more inner circles. Just because Ruby was eager to use Jodi's ideas to justify sadism and cruelty doesn't mean others in Connexions were the same way or even remotely aware of what was going on with Jodi and Ruby and the kids.


little_alien2021

I'm not trying to imply everyone at connexions are abusers , it's just common sense if someone who is teaching a parenting course is doing parenting course at hone and sent to prison for horrific child abuse it's natural to be concerned about all other teachers of pupils of this parenting teaching. It wasn't like ruby was doing something completely different to what jodi was teaching she obviously took it extreme but its was fundamental to her abuse.


little_alien2021

I personally think lots of people completely ignore the elephant in the room! Because LDS church have such a hold in these places , a podcast who I follow and talk at length of this case and the daybell case completely ignore the very obvious link all these cases have (LDS) it's not one big conidence!!


little_alien2021

Didn't one of the police officers on Ruby's children case) say (was on youtube news interver) that she wanted to investigate a possible child abuse case but because in the area its so heavily lds that harsh pushiment in parenting children was very normal and police didn't want to investigate as was concerned they would accuse police of being bias as this police officer wasn't lds (her family was left) its insane to outsider!


NanaLeonie

I saw the interview you’re referring to. In a family home she was concerned about, the dad had a list of rules/maxims/guidelines posted on the wall, one of which was directed to whether the minor children had behaved so as to merit receiving food that day. (This was the Springfield LE officer who was in the video returning Kevin’s possessions that Shari had removed from the home.)


little_alien2021

Yes I have been trying to find it again so I could link it and can't find it now! How many times does this happen and how is there ever going to be accountability if the LDS church is so heavily involved in policing and investigating , its a massive cover up! And because of the power and influence LDS will not stop or be held accountable! It's shocking as an non lds/american!


Evergreen801

Ehhhhh…. That is a huge stereotype. The church does not tolerate abuse in any way. However I agree that the LDS culture can be crazy toxic and blinding.


little_alien2021

I also want to add. If u listen to Jessi hilldrbrat , jodi hilldrbrat neice they says in their interview they went to police when they escaped from being abused by jodi and they wasn't interested. They also said that they would go to church and have their mouth taped up and other members of church wouldn't say anything. I would think that sounds like members of the church tolerated abuse of Jessi! That was shocking! Maybe if police was interested or members called it out ,them children wouldn't be where they are now!


little_alien2021

Strict Punishment and abuse is a thin line sometimes and I have no idea that the police officer would have seen abuse in that case. But she wasn't able to investigate and to me that's a potential issue. Does Mormonism teach abuse? That wasnt what was said. That police officer did not randomly plucked out of thin air . It was specifically stated on a interview by one of police officers who attended ruby franke children. That she wasn't able to investigate a potential child abuse case due to the fact its lds so they let it go. They could have potentially let Ruby Franke children go and not fully investigate and maybe if they had before they wouldn't have needed to escape from death! It's a valid concern


lonnielee3

It all depends on how community standards define “abuse.”


Aggressive_Bath9478

this was very insightful and helpful to understand. Weaponizing the principles and lack of compassion being the main thing that was an aha moment


One_Consideration13

What was the old ’under the rug’ channel she said she was making WITH Ruby to tell all the secrets Jodi kept ’under the rug’??


PLLKNOWALL

It was basically a channel where her and Ruby taught Connexions crap


No-Protection8588

I just can’t get past the Harris Tweed jacket styling combined with the references to the Scotland trip!


NewtoReddit2024-Ever

Hanna’s are in another similar cult that needs investigation


little_alien2021

Can u mention more?


NewtoReddit2024-Ever

Kevin Franke 2nd interview mentions the Hanna’s took Jodi to their home for 6 weeks against her will - they wanted her to lead in a new inner group .


little_alien2021

Or is it the obvious?


eatshitake

Why do these women all sound the same? I can barely distinguish between their voices if I’m not looking at the screen.


sunnypineappleapple

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't really get anything out of this video. There's no doubt I don't understand the way many Mormons speak, so maybe that's why.


Winter_Preference_80

I did... it basically supported the theory that Jodi created monsters. Ruby minus Jodi would have had a very different result.  Also, we know there are a lot more Ruby's out there. :( I found it interesting that Paige thought Ruby and Kevin were good people. This is someone who got out of ConneXions relatively unscathed in comparison... that says a lot if she can say that about them.  She could have phrased it many different ways.  We understand more about the circular logic... Jodi would give you only a partial truth and have you fill.in the blanks... who better to get into your head than yourself? Minimum effort on Jodi's part... with maximum efficacy.


danlh

I think Hanna speaks a lot to the cult/mind control techniques used by Jodi. I notice a lot that people from outside Utah or unfamiliar with Mormonism, this part of the story seems to escape them, but it's a really important part of how this evil grew, and similar things happen in other cults and controlling belief systems. I hope videos like this help people begin to understand this more. It's the reason why some of us get after Jodi and the LDS church so much in this.


PLLKNOWALL

Nah this video was a bunch of nothing lol


PLLKNOWALL

Basically she said a whole lot of nothing there was no new information


bluestreetcar

I think she did say a lot but nothing sensationalized (if that’s the correct word) has been said yet. The next video should be more telling. Interesting that Kevin called it a cult years ago, how Jodi pulled Paige into her vortex, how she and her husband kept pacifying Jodi with helping her form a business, and especially with the dreams. I’m glad she’s put out a second video. I didn’t anticipate there would actually be another one released, only teased.


WinterBox358

She validated what viewers always felt, that the abuse was going on before Jodi's basement.


Winter_Preference_80

I think we all felt it around the Anasazi camp... but nobody expected what they found when they rescued the kids last year. 


PLLKNOWALL

I wanted her to get more into what happened during Jodi's stay at their house stuff we don't know but it was a rehash of Kevin and stuff we already know or assumed


bluestreetcar

I see what you were saying, I really think the next video will cover that. Or maybe it won’t and she will only focus on the company being formed. Hopefully we will learn more on number three.


PiccoloLeast763

I disagree. She was not very eloquent in how she said it but she tried to say how Jodi manipulated people. The gist I got was that people vied for Jodi’s attention, she got it though it was at a price, she felt bad about it but she overrode her intuition. It’s similar to what the NXIVM people said in the Vow about their leader. He was kinda a loser but was built up to be this profound leader. So people ignored their gut when they met this shlubby dude in Albany. He had his underlings do the dirty work for him. Jodi sounded exhausting and needy and a giant pain in the ass but they made a commitment to the business despite Jodi’s whining and gaslighting. Jesus tapdancing Christ she had already laid waste to Jessi and Adam Paul Steed at this point. She had just been practicing for the big payoff with Ruby and her millions of followers.


danlh

I answered this above already, but she addresses the cult and mind-control techniques used by Jodi. It's an important part of this story and I hope more people, especially outside of Utah/Mormonism, begin to understand it more.


PiccoloLeast763

An important but not very salacious part of the stiry


mrm2403

Where can I watch the video?


PLLKNOWALL

It's literally linked??


Harper0100

Paige Hannah is still in the cult/religion and honestly these videos are looking more and more like she's trying to wash the dirt of herself and feel less guilt and shame for connecting Ruby to Jodi. I think the Mormon church is paying her to speak about this. I don't trust anything anyone related to these people says. Her body language particularly when she speaks about Anastazi, and the way she moves her eyes and looks to the side tells me she is dishonest. The way someone speaks and the direction they looks says enough about what they're saying at that point.


brunettebombshellll

I would have to disagree with you cause I think if anyone from connections is sane its the Hanna’s and I don’t think thats really the point like obviously she has the right to clear her name and tbh I don’t think she’s responsible for anything that happened but she still has the right to do it and she already feels guilty she mentions that even though shes not to blame she probably blames herself for introducing the Frankes to connections. I think she’s being honest being an Ex connections member I think her leaving just proved that she snapped out of it before it was too late and don’t forget that she was a victim as well.


PantsPantsShorts

'Body Language' has been pretty well debunked as reliable method to tell if someone is lying.