Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised
In 1990, a passerby discovered Tonya Hughes almost dead on a road in Oklahoma City. Reports suggest that the passerby had taken her to a nearby hospital. However, she succumbed to her injuries and died shortly after. Netflix documentary ‘Girl In The Picture‘ starts with the untimely death of Tonya and unveils what happened to her. However, as the documentary series moves forward, viewers learn about a bigger conspiracy and how a man named Franklin Delano Floyd was connected to it.
The documentary also revealed that a man named Clarence Hughes came to the hospital and claimed that Tonya Hughes was his wife. He also mentioned that Clarence and Tonya had a two-year-old son together. After the accident, Tonya slipped into a coma and died shortly after. Subsequently, the documentary also revealed that Clarence gave Michael to the state welfare after his wife’s death. Later in the documentary, it is revealed that Clarence Hughes was not the man’s real name.
Moreover, he filed for custody and took a blood test. The blood test revealed that Michael had no biological relation with Clarence. His real name was Franklin Delano Floyd, and he was a convicted criminal. The series also claimed that Floyd had been on the run since 1973. The authorities captured Floyd and sent him to prison for three years. As a result, Clarence kidnapped Michael from his school. The authorities initiated a search operation. Two months later, the authorities arrested Floyd. However, they couldn’t find Michael.
The authorities discovered evidence connecting Floyd to another murder that took place in 1989. The court found him guilty of the murder and sentenced him to death in 2002. As per the Tampa Bay Times, Franklin Delano Floyd died in prison in January 2023 due to natural causes.
Sharon Marshall’s abduction case explored
As mentioned above, Franklin Delano Floyd told the authorities that Tonya Hughes was his wife. At the time, he told everyone that his name was Clarence Hughes. However, soon everyone got to know about his real identity. Meanwhile, the documentary also noted that Tonya was not her real name. He kidnapped the girl in the 1970s and raised her as his daughter. The documentary suggested that he changed the victim’s name multiple times and grew up as Sharon Marshall before changing her name to Tonya Hughes.
After completing high school, she gave birth to their son, Michael. She didn’t take part in further studies. As per the documentary, Franklin Delano Floyd married Sharon and claimed he was Michael’s father. After Tonya died in 1990, the media started sharing photos of her to have more information. The documentary noted that the victim’s high-school friends identified her as Sharon Marshall and not Tonya Hughes. In reality, Sharon Marshall was not her real name as well. On the other hand, they also alleged that the man claiming to be her husband was actually her father, and his name was Warren Marshall.
Floyd admitted to killing Michael in 2014
Subsequently, the authorities kept on searching for Michael. Sadly, they could never find him. During the search, the investigators discovered several disturbing images of nude children. One of the photos included a young woman who had been beaten and bound, per The Sun. The authorities identified the girl and discovered her remains in March 1995 in Florida’s Pinellas County. The outlet also mentioned that the killer shot her twice in the head. The court sentenced Franklin Delano Floyd to death for the murder in 2002.
In 2014, Franklin Delano Floyd finally admitted to the FBI that he killed Michael. Floyd admitted that he killed the little boy the same day he abducted him, according to The Oklahoman.
