Introduction: The Enigma of Franklin Delano Floyd
Franklin Delano Floyd. The name itself conjures a chilling narrative of crime and profound deception, a dark chapter etched into American criminal history. His life wasn’t merely a series of offenses; it was a meticulously woven tapestry of kidnapping, murder, and an unyielding quest for control over his victims. Floyd’s notoriety stems not just from the sheer brutality of his actions, but from the elaborate web of lies and fabricated identities he painstakingly constructed to elude the grasp of justice.
Born in 1943, Floyd’s early years offered little hint of the monstrous path he would ultimately forge. Yet, as time unfolded, he transformed into a cunning, ruthless predator whose deeds would shatter countless lives and leave a haunting trail of unanswered questions for decades. The story of Franklin Delano Floyd stands as a stark, unsettling reminder of the deepest human depravity and the relentless, often agonizing, pursuit of truth and closure.
Early Life and the Genesis of a Criminal
Franklin Delano Floyd entered the world on June 17, 1943, in Barnesville, Georgia, the youngest of five children. His childhood was anything but stable, marked by significant hardship. His father, a cotton mill worker and alcoholic, passed away when Floyd was just a year old. His mother, Della Floyd, grappled with the immense challenge of supporting her children, a struggle that eventually led to Franklin and his siblings being placed in the care of the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home in Hapeville.
It was within the confines of this Children’s Home that Floyd reportedly endured bullying and sexual assault. These traumatic experiences may well have contributed to the psychological issues and criminal inclinations that would later define him. He also faced harsh punishments from the staff. In 1959, at the tender age of 16, Floyd fled the Children’s Home. This escape marked the true beginning of a life characterized by a profound disregard for the law and a disturbing pattern of escalating criminal behavior. His initial forays into crime included robbery and other minor offenses, setting a dangerous precedent for the decades of depravity that lay ahead.
The Abduction of Suzanne Sevakis (Sharon Marshall)
Among the most profoundly disturbing chapters in Franklin Delano Floyd’s criminal chronicle is the abduction of Suzanne Marie Sevakis. In 1975, during a brief marriage to Sevakis’s mother, Floyd vanished with Suzanne and her siblings after her mother was incarcerated for a minor infraction. He then proceeded to raise Suzanne as his own daughter, bestowing upon her a series of false identities, most notably Sharon Marshall and Tonya Hughes.
Under Floyd’s suffocating control, Suzanne was condemned to a life of relentless deception and exploitation. He moved constantly, adopting new aliases with chilling regularity to evade detection. In a truly horrifying act, he later coerced Suzanne into marrying him—a perverse union that solidified his absolute dominion over her existence. Suzanne, known to many as Sharon Marshall, was tragically found dead in 1990, in what was initially dismissed as a hit-and-run accident. It would take decades for her true identity to be painstakingly uncovered, a stark testament to the elaborate, insidious schemes of concealment Floyd had perfected.
The Murder of Cheryl Commesso
Franklin Delano Floyd’s insidious trail of violence tragically extended to the murder of Cheryl Ann Commesso. Commesso, an exotic dancer, was last seen alive in 1989. Her skeletal remains were later discovered in 1995, discarded on the side of Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The subsequent investigation into her untimely death inexorably led back to Floyd.
Floyd’s chilling connection to Commesso was ultimately unveiled through a cache of deeply disturbing photographs. These images, found inexplicably tied to the chassis of a truck he once owned, depicted a bound and visibly beaten woman—a woman later positively identified as Commesso. Crucially, Floyd’s own hands were discernible in some of these horrifying frames. This pivotal evidence, combined with other meticulous investigative findings, culminated in Floyd’s indictment and subsequent conviction for Commesso’s murder in 2002. For this heinous crime, he was justly sentenced to death.
The Kidnapping and Murder of Michael Hughes
The tragic and deeply disturbing fate of Michael Anthony Hughes represents yet another grim chapter in Franklin Delano Floyd’s criminal saga. Michael was the son of Suzanne Sevakis (Sharon Marshall). Following Suzanne’s death, Floyd, who had falsely claimed paternity, briefly placed Michael with Oklahoma state welfare officials before abruptly vanishing.
In 1994, Floyd executed a brazen act, kidnapping six-year-old Michael directly from his elementary school in Oklahoma. He also briefly abducted the school principal at gunpoint, only to release him later. When authorities finally apprehended Floyd two months later in Kentucky, Michael was conspicuously absent, and Floyd adamantly refused to disclose the boy’s whereabouts. Years later, during a chilling interview with FBI agents, Floyd confessed to the unthinkable: he had murdered Michael on the very day he kidnapped him, claiming the child was being unruly. He chillingly stated he shot Michael twice in the back of the head. Despite exhaustive and prolonged searches, Michael Hughes’s remains have, to this day, never been recovered.
The Unraveling: Investigations and Convictions
The intricate and deeply interconnected nature of Franklin Delano Floyd’s crimes presented formidable challenges to investigators, spanning decades and involving a multitude of law enforcement agencies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ultimately played a pivotal role in meticulously piecing together this complex puzzle, particularly in definitively identifying Suzanne Sevakis and forging crucial links between Floyd and the various disappearances and murders. Special Agent Scott Lobb, among other dedicated professionals, committed years to painstakingly unraveling Floyd’s elaborate deceptions.
Floyd was already serving multiple life sentences for a litany of prior offenses, including bank robbery and kidnapping, when he was finally brought to justice for the brutal murders of Cheryl Commesso and Michael Hughes. His legal proceedings were frequently complicated by his erratic behavior and persistent claims of mental incompetence—tactics largely viewed by prosecutors as cynical attempts to delay the inevitable hand of justice. The release of the Netflix documentary “Girl in the Picture” in 2022 cast a renewed, intense public spotlight on Floyd’s horrific crimes and the profound, enduring impact they had on his victims and their grieving families.
Death and Legacy
Franklin Delano Floyd’s reign of terror concluded on January 23, 2023, when he died at the age of 79 while incarcerated on death row in Florida. His passing, attributed to natural causes, marked a quiet, almost anticlimactic end to a life that had been anything but. For decades, Floyd had embodied a chilling source of terror and profound anguish for countless individuals, leaving behind an indelible legacy of unspeakable cruelty and devastating loss.
His crimes, particularly the prolonged abuse and calculated deception of Suzanne Sevakis, and the cold-blooded murder of young Michael Hughes, continue to reverberate through time. The harrowing stories of his victims, painstakingly brought to light through diligent investigative work and widespread media attention, serve as a stark, perpetual reminder of the critical importance of vigilance and the unwavering pursuit of justice, regardless of how many years may pass. Franklin Delano Floyd’s name will forever be etched into the dark annals of criminal history, a grim symbol of humanity’s most disturbing depths.
