Netflix’s Girl in the Picture has exposed the crimes of Franklin Delano Floyd, including his abduction, grooming, marriage, and potential murder of Suzanne Marie Sevakis, aka Sharon Marshall. Delano awaits execution in a Florida prison for the murder of Sharon’s friend, Cheryl Commesso.
Floyd was convicted of Cheryl’s murder while imprisoned for the kidnapping of Michael Anthony Hughes, Sharon’s son. Delano forced the head of Michael’s school to help him abduct Michael.
Anthony disappeared after the abduction, with people speculating that Floyd placed him in the foster system as he’d done before. Frank Delano later admitted to killing Michael and revealed where he buried the body, but authorities didn’t find it.
Gregory Higgs testified in court as Michael’s biological father
Suzanne and Gregory started dating after she and Delano moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in the late 1980s. Sevakis got pregnant, giving birth to Michael Anthony Hughes after leaving Phoenix for Tampa, Florida.
Delano claimed he knew about the child’s parentage and only married Suzanne to give the boy a father figure. He alleged the couple didn’t consummate their union.
After Suzanne died, Delano informed Higgs about his son and the death. Frank also asked Gregory whether he wanted to raise Michael; Higgs agreed, but Delano didn’t deliver the child.
Instead, he placed Michael in the foster system, which assigned him to Earnest and Merle Bean. Michael initially struggled to adapt to the household but gradually warmed up to life with the Beans.
Floyd tried to regain the boy’s custody, but authorities blocked his request due to his criminal record and lack of biological connection to Michael. Delano responded by kidnapping Michael and killing him.
Gregory Higgs testified in court as Michael’s biological father. However, some attribute Michael’s parentage to someone else.
Some speculate that Kevin Brown is Michael’s father
Suzanne was dating a man named Kevin Brown at the time of her death. She’d planned to flee from Delano with Brown.
Some netizens opine that Brown was Michael’s biological father despite lacking concrete proof of his connection to the child.
Suzanne had a daughter in secret, leaving her to a wealthy Texas couple
Suzanne’s tragic story had a silver lining: the daughter she secretly gave birth to in 1989 in New Orleans.
Marie didn’t inform Delano about the child and left her to a wealthy couple in Texas. In 2014, journalist Matt Birkbeck wrote Suzanne’s daughter has grown up and expressed a desire to meet Suzanne’s family.