Fans Are Praising Unsung Hero Of Horrifying New Netflix True Crime Documentary

The discovery of the conspiracy that makes up Girl In The Picture began in 1990, when three men spotted a blue high heel in the middle of the road and nearby found a young woman lying facedown on the ground.

The woman was identified as Tonya Hughes, but was later found to have gone by other names, including Sharon Marshall.

Birkbeck wrote about Marshall's story in two books, titled A Beautiful Child and Finding Sharon, and has been credited with raising awareness of the events and bringing closure to those who were impacted.

One Twitter user flagged Birkbeck's work in response to a review of Girl In The Picture, writing: "You don’t mention the film is based on two incredible books, A Beautiful Child and Finding Sharon, and the relentless work of the author, Matt Birkbeck.

"I read the first book years ago and am still haunted."

Another stressed it was the journalist who 'refused to let decades-long questions go unanswered', writing: "He was the glue that eventually stuck each piece of this mess together to give Sharon her name back & some semblance of closure to those who loved her."

Marshall is honoured in the film as an ambitious student who had been accepted into Georgia Tech university and dreamed of being an aerospace engineer, with friends remembering her apparent father to be a strange man who at times seemed inappropriate with his daughter - or at least the woman he claimed to be his daughter.

Girl in the Picture is streaming on Netflix now.