5 Chilling Facts About Franklin Delano Floyd: The True Story Behind 'Girl In The Picture' And His Death

The case of Franklin Delano Floyd is one of the most complex and disturbing true crime sagas in modern American history, a maze of stolen identities, abduction, rape, and murder that spanned decades. As of December 22, 2025, the most significant and conclusive update to his decades-long criminal career is his death in January 2023 while he was on death row in Florida, finally closing the chapter on the life of a man who terrorized multiple families and victims under a series of chilling aliases. His heinous actions, particularly the manipulation and abuse of Suzanne Sevakis—also known as Sharon Marshall and Tonya Hughes—came back into the public eye with the 2022 Netflix documentary, *'Girl in the Picture,'* which sought to unravel the true identity of his victims and the full scope of his crimes. This deep dive examines the life, crimes, and ultimate fate of Franklin Delano Floyd, providing a complete biographical profile and the most current information regarding his case and victims, including the still-missing Michael Hughes. His story is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of a career criminal who operated with impunity for far too long.

Complete Biographical Profile: Franklin Delano Floyd

Franklin Delano Floyd was a career criminal whose life was marked by violence, aliases, and a complete disregard for the law, culminating in convictions for kidnapping and murder.

• Full Name: Franklin Delano Floyd
• Date of Birth: June 17, 1943
• Date of Death: January 23, 2023
• Place of Death: Florida State Prison, Starke, Florida
• Cause of Death: Natural causes
• Aliases Used: Clarence Hughes, Warren Marshall, Brandon Williams, Frank Johnson, and many others.
• Notorious Crimes: Kidnapping of Suzanne Sevakis (1975), Kidnapping of Michael Hughes (1990), Murder of Cheryl Commesso (1989).
• Convictions: Murder, Kidnapping, Rape, Bank Robbery.
• Sentence: Death sentence (Florida) and a 55-year federal sentence.
• Known Victims: Suzanne Marie Sevakis (Sharon Marshall/Tonya Hughes), Cheryl Ann Commesso, and the still-missing Michael Anthony Hughes.

The Web of Lies: Kidnapping and the Identity of Suzanne Sevakis

Floyd's most infamous and complex crime began in 1975 when he kidnapped a young girl named Suzanne Marie Sevakis. Suzanne was the daughter of Sandra Brandenburg, a woman Floyd had briefly married. When Floyd was briefly incarcerated, he took Suzanne and her siblings from a foster home and never returned them. While he eventually returned the other children, he kept Suzanne, raising her under a series of false names, most notably 'Sharon Marshall.' The abuse Suzanne endured was horrific. Floyd groomed her to believe he was her father, controlling every aspect of her life and isolating her from her true family. As she grew up, the relationship became incestuous and abusive. In a shocking escalation of his manipulation, Floyd forced Suzanne, under the identity of Tonya Hughes, to marry him in 1989. She was living under the pretense of being a young, single mother. It was during this time that she gave birth to a son, Michael Anthony Hughes. The truth about Suzanne's identity remained a mystery for decades, with investigators struggling to connect the pieces of her life as Sharon Marshall and Tonya Hughes. It wasn't until years later that DNA evidence and meticulous detective work, highlighted in the *'Girl in the Picture'* documentary, finally confirmed her identity as Suzanne Marie Sevakis.

The Unsolved Disappearance of Michael Hughes

The tragedy surrounding Suzanne Sevakis did not end with her death. In 1990, Suzanne, then known as Tonya Hughes, died in a suspicious hit-and-run accident in Oklahoma. Investigators now believe Floyd was responsible for her death. Following Suzanne's death, Floyd briefly placed her son, Michael Anthony Hughes, in foster care. However, just two months later, in September 1990, Floyd—using the alias Clarence Hughes—abducted Michael at gunpoint from his elementary school in Choctaw, Oklahoma. Michael was only six years old at the time. Floyd was eventually captured in 1994, but Michael Hughes was not with him. Despite intense interrogation and investigation, Michael's fate remains one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the entire case. Floyd eventually confessed to a limited number of crimes, but he never revealed what he did with Michael. The disappearance of Michael Hughes is a case that remains open, with missing-persons investigators continuing to look for any clues. The hope, even now, is to provide closure to Michael's family, including his grandmother, Sandra Brandenburg, who has spent decades searching for her grandchildren.

Cheryl Commesso and the Path to Death Row

While the case of Suzanne Sevakis and Michael Hughes is the most publicized, Franklin Delano Floyd was ultimately sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of Cheryl Ann Commesso. Commesso was an 18-year-old woman working as an exotic dancer in Florida. Floyd abducted Cheryl Commesso in April 1989. Her body was not discovered until 1995, in a wooded area in Florida, six years after her disappearance. Floyd was eventually linked to her murder. The evidence against Floyd in the Commesso case was compelling. In 2002, he was convicted of her murder and also the kidnapping of Michael Hughes, receiving the death sentence in Florida. This conviction solidified his fate and placed him on death row, where he would spend the rest of his life.

The Final Chapter: Franklin Delano Floyd's Death

For decades, the victims' families and the public waited for justice to be fully served. The ultimate update came in January 2023, when Franklin Delano Floyd died of natural causes while incarcerated at Florida State Prison. He was 79 years old. His death, while offering a form of conclusion to his long and violent life, also meant that any remaining secrets he held about the whereabouts of Michael Hughes died with him. This has left a permanent, agonizing question mark for Michael's surviving family members. The legacy of Franklin Delano Floyd is not one of a man, but of a monster who was able to operate for too long within a system of stolen identities. His story serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of cold case investigation, the power of DNA technology in solving decades-old mysteries, and the devastating, long-term impact on the families of victims like Suzanne Sevakis and Cheryl Commesso. While Floyd is gone, the search for Michael Hughes continues, and the true crime community remains dedicated to ensuring that the names of his victims are never forgotten.

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