See the picture above of a father and his daughter? Well, she’s not his daughter, but his wife. Kidnapped and sexually abused at an early age, raised as a daughter; later married and together raised a baby boy, whose whereabouts are unknown to this day.
Confused, but fascinated? Keep on reading.
Franklin Delano Floyd
In 1962, when Floyd was 19 years old, he was convicted of abducting and sexually molesting a 4-year-old girl in Georgia. Despite receiving a lengthy prison sentence, within one year he escaped from the state prison and robbed a bank the following day, but was arrested again. After serving 10 years in prison, he was released on parole, but after just one month of freedom he was charged for assaulting a woman. Floyd fled the area while on parole and became a fugitive for 17 years, scheming sick and twisted plans. Using various aliases, he was able to elude the authorities at every turn.
Sharon Marshall / Suzanne Marie Sevakis
In 1974, using one of his many aliases, Floyd met a divorced woman with 3 daughters and a son. One of the daughters was Suzanne Marie Sevakis, who later became known as Sharon Marshall (to avoid confusion, I will use her new name Sharon from now on). The new couple married in 1974, but when his new wife Sandra Chipman was jailed for writing bad checks, Floyd kidnapped Sharon and fled to Oklahoma City, where he posed as Sharon’s father. When Sandra Chipman was released, she was able to locate two of the daughters, but Sharon and the baby boy were never found. The boy’s fate is unknown.
Authorities believe the sexual abuse of Sharon started very early, around the age of four. Unfortunately, a missing person report was never filed by Sandra Chipman and Sharon was never listed in any missing persons or DNA database.
On the right: Sharon Marshall in her 1986 Forest Park High School yearbook.
Sharon was working in a club as an exotic dancer. One of her co-workers, Cheryl Ann Commesso, had a heated argument outside the club with Floyd, who accused Cheryl of reporting Sharon for misstating her income. No one heard from Cheryl ever again. Both Floyd and Sharon were named persons of interest and fled to Oklahoma after burning down their trailer home. Cheryl's skeletal remains were found by a landscaper in 1995.
Authorities began investigating Floyd in 1990 when his wife, Sharon, was found dead in a suspicious hit-and-run accident. Following the suspicious death of his wife Sharon, Floyd put their 2-year-old son, Michael Hughes, into foster care and fled the state. Little Michael was described as having limited muscle control, being non-verbal, and often presented hysterical behavior. As part of the adoption process his DNA was compared to Floyd's, but the results made the case even more bizarre – Floyd was not the biological father. When Floyd attempted to regain the custody of Michael, based on his criminal record and having no biological relation to the boy, his request was obviously denied. Floyd, who had kidnapped and killed several times before, walked into the school and forced the principal, at gunpoint, to bring him to Michael.
There is no consensus about what happened with the boy. When Floyd was arrested two months after the abduction, Michael was not with him and has not been seen since. Floyd has refused to disclose Michael's location, giving vague answers such as "He is outside the U.S." or "In Atlanta, Georgia". Most likely the boy is dead.
Floyd was convicted and is currently on death row. Despite suffering from a number of mental disorders, according to psychiatrists, the man himself believes that he is competent.
