Girl In The Picture - Horrifying Tale Of A Girl's Abduction, Abuse, Loss Of Identity And Murder

Crime documentaries aren¡¯t for the faint-hearted. To come to terms with some of the most harrowing cases can be spine-chilling for many, for others, it just leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

One such recently released documentary film is the topic of several discussions. Netflix¡¯s Girl In The Picture has managed to horrify and frighten audiences so much that it has become one of the most watched movies of recent times due to word-of-mouth.

official poster

Criminal minds always baffle officials and civilians alike. Revolving around a peculiar case in the 90s, we are introduced to a woman named Tonya Hughes who was found on the side of a road near the Oklahoma City highway . It was then revealed that she had been a victim of a hit-and-run accident. Anyone who is privy to crime docus can easily make out that this case is anything but this straightforward.

Soon after, she is rushed to the hospital, doctors find that she is covered with old bruises which indicate continuous physical abuse. Five days later, Hughes was pronounced dead. She was 20 years old at the time of her passing.

netflix

In the quest to discover her identity, the officials uncovered a web of mysteries, lies, deception and tragedies that surrounded her short life.

With each new revelation, the woman¡¯s story became more shocking and horrifying.

It is revealed that Tonya worked as a dancer at a strip club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was married to a man called Clarence Hughes. Her colleagues found it hard to digest that her husband was significantly older than her. Together the couple had a 2-year-old son Michael Anthony Hughes. Her friends and co-workers described her as a sweet, affectionate and hard-working girl who had a kind heart. It was her husband that ticked off everyone around her.

netflix

Through the course of the film, it is learned that her real name was Suzzane Marie Servakis and she lived her life under several aliases including names like Sharon Marshall and Tonya Dawn Tadlock.

As events start to unfold, it is learned that the woman named Tonya had been faking her identity and had different names in different states just like her husband/father Clarence who lived under the aliases like Trenton Davis, Warren Marshall, Preston Morgan, Kingfish Floyd and Brandon Cleo Williams. After investigations, it was found out that his real name was Franklin Floyd.

netflix

Joe Fitzpatrick, a special agent with the FBI, found that Clarence tried to collect Tonya's life insurance policy back in 1990 after her death and used a social security number that didn't match with his current name. The number he provided was for a man named Franklin Delano Floyd, which turned out to be Clarence's real name.

Floyd claimed to be Suzzane¡¯s husband and father but in reality he was her abductor.

When Suzzane was young, he kidnapped her from her real mother and abused her throughout. They had three babies together, out of which he put up two kids for adoption and kept the last one Michael Hughes to keep up the pretence of a family.

netflix

When Suzzanne worked at the strip club, her colleagues often wondered about the many bruises that they saw on her in the changing room. Some even questioned the age difference between her and her so-called husband. Post her death, Jenny Fisher, her childhood friend from summer camp revealed that the man who claimed to be her husband was her in fact her father.

Fisher then went on to reveal an incident which is probably the most horrifying one in the film. She said that Floyd raped Suzzane at gun point while she was in the room with them.

netflix

Jenny Fisher recounted a sleepover at Tonya's(Suzzane) house. She said that Tonya showed her lingerie collection to her and revealed that it was a gift from her ¡®father¡¯. When the two girls were changing in Tonya¡¯s room, he entered unannounced and pointed a gun at them. He followed it up with maniacal laughter and yelling.

"And I looked at Sharon and she . . . just laughed," Fisher said. "'Oh Daddy's just being silly.'"

Floyd then ordered Fisher to lie down on a sleeping bag and put a pillow over her head and she obliged out of fear. It was then that Floyd raped Tonya at gunpoint while Fisher listened, only a couple of feet away.

"We didn't talk after that. He got up and he left. And I . . . just laid there. The next morning she [Tonya] came over and gave me a big hug, and she said, 'Daddy's just like that.' She said, 'I'm OK. You're OK.Just let it go'", Fisher added.

Suzzane¡¯s friends blame her real mother for not making the effort to find her when she was abducted.

We are also introduced to Suzzane¡¯s daughter who finds out the truth about her birth mother and decides to give her a proper funeral.

netflix

Just when the whole mystery seems to have been resolved, we are introduced to Suzzane¡¯s real parents (who were separated at the time of her kidnapping). A frail old woman in a wheelchair reveals the abduction story. Her father voices his own helplessness and struggles that he faced at the time of the tragedy.

In another clip, her co-worker says that she cannot comprehend why Suzzane¡¯s mom didn¡¯t do anything to find her. Cut to the present, where Megan, Suzzane¡¯s daughter is seen talking about her own findings. She makes peace with all the trauma and abuse that her mother Suzzane underwent and how her decision to put her kids up for adoption was for their own best interests.

As for Floyd and Suzzane¡¯s son Michael, it is revealed that he kidnapped him from his foster parents while he was at school, murdered him and buried his body that very day.

netflix

Floyd finally confessed to FBI investigators that he murdered Michael.

"I shot him twice in the back of the head to make it real quick," Floyd told FBI agents Scott Lobb and Nate Furr.

Floyd also said he buried Michael near the Oklahoma-Texas border but 20 years later, neither the body nor its remains have been found by investigators.

Interestingly, many viewers are pointing out the contribution of the investigative journalist Matt Birbeck who helped crack the case in a big way.

netflix

Birkbeck is being hailed for raising awareness about the story, and for bringing closure to all those who were affected by the harrowing tale.

He wrote two books A Beautiful Child: A True Story of Hope, Horror, and an Enduring Human Spirit and Finding Sharon, which were released in 2004 and 2018, respectively. Birkbeck also features in the documentary and is listed as an executive producer.

As of today, Floyd is still alive and currently on death row.

Girl In The Picture can be streamed on Netflix.

(To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE)