The girl who has no name - The Suzanne Sevakis "hit and run"

In April 1990, a young woman known as Tonya Hughes was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Oklahoma City. She died five days later, leaving behind a young son named Michael and a man claiming to be her husband, Clarence Hughes. But when investigators began looking into the family, neither identity held up.

Clarence was actually Franklin Delano Floyd, a federal fugitive who had spent years moving under false names. He was not Michael’s biological father. After Tonya’s death, Michael entered state care, and Floyd later kidnapped the six-year-old from school. The boy disappeared, adding another mystery to a case already built around hidden identities.

Investigators eventually learned that Tonya had previously lived as Sharon Marshall, with Floyd presenting himself as her father before later presenting himself as her husband. A renewed FBI investigation finally traced her history back to Suzanne Marie Sevakis, a child Floyd had taken decades earlier after marrying her mother under yet another alias. DNA and court records confirmed that Tonya, Sharon, and Suzanne were the same person.

Floyd later admitted killing Michael, whose remains have never been recovered. Suzanne’s own death remains unresolved. Floyd was never convicted of killing her and refused to explain what happened on the night she was struck by the vehicle.

In this episode, Feb tells John how a suspicious hit-and-run opened a decades-long investigation into kidnapping, false identities, coercive control, and murder. They discuss how completely one person can control another person’s identity, why Floyd kept changing both of their names, and why Suzanne’s death remains the one part of the story he would not explain.

Listener discretion is advised. This episode discusses child abduction, coercive control, murder, and violence against a child.