This story is absolutely terrifying and the fact that the woman involved in the centre of it never got to see peace is horrific, knowing that she died not knowing anything different but the life that her kidnapper gave her is horrifying and you can’t even begin to imagine what she went through.

Suzanne Sevakis was a young girl who lived with her two younger sisters and her mother when a new man came into her life, the man being Franklin Delano Floyd. At some point her mother is sent to jail for writing a bad cheque and in that time Franklin is able to put her two younger siblings into the foster system and take Suzanne for his own. At the beginning of her life he pretends to be her father all the way through high school giving her the alias Sharon, until finally when she is 18 deciding to change their aliases again, Suzanne now becoming Tonya, and making her his wife.

During the documentary we find out that Suzanne had at least three children by Franklin, one who is still alive today, one that wasn’t found and another called Michael who, when Suzanne unfortunately dies due to being hit by a car when she was just 20, Michael is taken by Franklin and sends the police on a manhunt to find him only to find out that Franklin killed Michael a few days into the manhunt and his body has never been found.

This is an absolutely terrifying tale of how someone could be so indoctrinated and coerced by their kidnapper to keep up this life for over 16 years. The fact that Suzanne was able to go to normal school and be around her friends with none of them knowing who she really was is gut wrenching and the fact that her mother seemed to, at least in the documentary that we watch, not put too much effort into being able to find her is horrifying too because Suzanne’s life could’ve been saved if people just tried harder, especially as the facts of Suzanne and Franklin’s past didn’t match up, including the fact that Franklin would’ve been in jail when Suzanne was born.

The fact that this man was able to get away with this for so many years is terrifying and really makes you wonder about the people around you and whether the families you see out and about really are the families that they say they are or have a dark secret within them too. I think it’s absolutely disgusting that Suzanne never got a chance to live out a normal life away from her kidnapper and the fact that her son didn’t either, a son that she devoted her time and love towards and away from this horrible man was heartbreaking. Also the fact that after Suzanne died Michael was meant to be adopted by a lovely couple but was killed before this could ever happened shows that there was hope, there was a chance that while Suzanne didn’t get that, her son could of and unfortunately didn’t.

This is a harrowing documentary that really shakes you to the core, to think of all that Suzanne went through at the hands of a man pretending to be her father and then becoming her husband is terrifying, and the fact that for so long she had so many friends around her that never knew the truth, I can’t imagine what she must’ve gone through. For her life to be cut so short so quickly is disgusting, this man deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life but I don’t think he will ever really pay for what he did to that poor girl and her son, it’s a miracle that her other two children were able to get out of this scenario. Knowing that we get to meet her daughter and see that she now has a son who is also called Michael after her brother is absolutely wonderful, and to know that while all these terrible things happened in the past some good could come out of it just because her mother Suzanne was strong enough to let her go and not let her deal with the ramifications of Franklin too is such a bittersweet ending.

What do you think of Girl in the Picture?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding