The multi-million dollar desert mansion at the center of a horrific Utah child abuse case went on sale in January and was listed as the “most viewed property” this week on Realtor.com.
But so far, nobody’s buying Jodi Hildebrandt’s 17-room home at 854 Tawgoo Court in Ivins. It was initially listed for $5.3 million and has dropped to $5 million as of Sunday, KUTV reported.
Hildebrandt and her business partner, mommy blogger Ruby Franke, pleaded guilty in December to four counts of aggravated child abuse and were sentenced in February to four consecutive sentences of one to 15 years in prison, as CrimeOnline reported.
Earlier this month, officials released multiple videos and photographs used in the case — including photographs and body camera footage from inside Hildebrandt’s home.
Authorities were called in the case last August when Franke’s 12-year-old son fled the house to a neighbor’s, asking them to call police. When police arrived, they found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter inside a closet in the sprawling mansion. It took them four hours to coax the girl out to safety.
Both children were emaciated and malnourished, with their limbs wrapped in duct tape. The images showed lacerations on their ankles and wrists.
Franke tried to blame Hildebrandt for the abuse, but prosecutors pointed that she recorded a video for her “8 Passengers” YouTube channel in Hildebrandt’s basement the month before her son escaped and was, therefore, well aware of the conditions.
Then Franke admitted to starving the children, holding her son’s head underwater and hogtying him with handcuffs that cut into his skin and muscles. She forced the girl to do physical labor outside, barefoot, and once made her jump into a cactus.
The two women admitted they told the 12-year-old he was “evil” and that the abuse was an “act of love.”
According to KUTV, a motion for restitution was filed in January that requires Hildebrandt to put $100,000 into a bank account for the victims when the house is sold. She gets whatever money is left.
Also, the station said, the seller isn’t required to disclose the home’s history, but multiple media stories about it are taking care of that.
The real estate listing features clean, professional photos of the sprawling mansion, including the “safe room” where the children were frequently tortured. The photos are in stark contrast to the images released by the Washington County Attorney’s Office showing the children’s injuries and pantries stocked full of food the children weren’t allowed to eat.
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[Featured image: The safe room door/Washington County Attorney’s Office]
