Content note: this article contains references to sexual abuse that readers may find upsetting

In the world of true crime documentaries on Netflix, there are some that remain etched deeply into our minds.

One of the standout documentaries of recent years is Abducted In Plain Sight, a 2017 film that garnered massive attention, not least because of its truly confusing subject matter. It explored the case of 12-year-old Jan Broberg, who was kidnapped by a trusted neighbour and close friend of the family’s, Robert Berchtold. The story is already sinister and disgusting but it notches up tenfold once we learn that Berchtold abducted Jan not once, but twice.

At the time of its release on Netflix, viewers were quick to express their dismay over the subject matter and the involvement of Jan’s parents. Whatever your thoughts around the case, there’s no denying that the documentary secured its place in the canon of addictive true crime content. 

Well now, the same director of that film, Skye Borgman, has lent her talents to new Netflix docufilm, Girl In The Picture.

Girl In The Picture explores an equally jaw-dropping true crime story that spans 30 years. The premise sounds relatively simple but, if you’ve watched it, you’ll know that this case is anything but.

The documentary centres on a woman who goes by the name of Sharon Marshall and aims to find out who she really was, and why her real identity was unknown to everyone – including herself. The story is full of so many twists that Netflix have even graced us with a companion podcast which features information and interviews not seen in the film.

While Netflix has become synonymous as the platform to go to for truly wild documentaries, Girl In The Picture has left viewers completely shocked and confused. It’s already being hailed as one of the most chilling true crime documentaries on Netflix.

While the documentary is an unmissable one, it has left a considerable impact on viewers.

The docufilm deals with Sharon’s poignant story but its exploration of child abuse, kidnap and manipulation have left many outlining what kind of aftercare precautions other viewers should take.

Like Sharon’s story, the documentary is so layered, you’ll be left rewinding moments and reeling from revelation after revelation. 

And you’ll definitely be left thinking one thing throughout watching Girl In The Picture.

There may have been plot twists aplenty but many viewers were left thinking about Sharon and how so many people around her “failed” her.

And there’s no doubt that this documentary will go down in Netflix history as one of the most jaw-dropping.

The Netflix documentary is actually based on the international bestseller A Beautiful Child and its follow-up book Finding Sharon, which were written by award-winning investigative journalist Matt Birkbeck, who is also featured in Girl In The Picture. The synopsis for A Beautiful Child reads: “Sharon Marshall was a brilliant and beautiful student whose future was filled with promise – until her murderous, fugitive father drew her into a lifetime of deception that became one of the most baffling cases in the annals of American true crime.

“A student at Forest Park High School near Atlanta, Georgia, popular blonde-haired Sharon Marshall was at the top of her class. Serving as a Lt. Colonel in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, she earned a full scholarship to Georgia Tech University to study aerospace engineering. She was the ultimate girl next door, sweet, generous and well-adjusted. But Sharon had disturbing secrets so shocking and unique, they took more than a decade to unravel.

“This is the horrifying true story of a mysterious young woman caught in the violent web of the murderous fugitive she called her father—and a heartrending testament to the profound courage and perseverance of one woman trapped in the grip of extreme evil.”

The books brought the case of Sharon and her father to light and now, with the help of this new Netflix documentary, many more people know the tale of fake identities, kidnap and murder.

If you’re yet to watch the docufilm yourself, perhaps the chilling trailer will convince you to move it to the top of your watchlist. In it, we see old images of Sharon and her father Franklin Floyd but they hold a sinister secret. As Birkbeck himself states: “The only person that knew her real identity was her father.” 

Floyd was a fugitive for almost two decades and was “an expert in concealing his identity”, as the trailer outlines. Sharon’s dreams of going to college to be an aerospace engineer were halted by Floyd’s insistence that she could not go due to an unexpected pregnancy. Instead, “he took her around strip clubs to make a living for him”, one investigator reveals.

“This is more than just a crime story – who is this girl?”

If you google Floyd’s name, you’ll quickly discover that Floyd was hiding Sharon’s own identity from herself because he was harbouring a deadly secret. Sometimes even the best horror films don’t elicit as many chills down our spines as a true crime case – and this is definitely one of them.

Girl In The Picture is available to stream on Netflix now. 

Images: Netflix