Girl in the Picture

What's it about?

Girl in the Picture is a documentary about a 20-year-old Oklahoma woman who died of her injuries in 1990 after being found on the side of a road.

When a woman’s work colleagues contact her parents they claim she died in infancy. The FBI become involved when a much older man who claims to be woman’s husband abducts their two-year-old son after he is placed in foster care.

The documentary uses first-hand interviews, archival footage, historical photos and re-enactments to focus on the tragic life and death of the mysterious young woman and the marathon effort that went into discovering her true identity.

The facts

• Netflix true crime documentary
• Runtime: 101 minutes
• Directed by Skye Borgman

Why did it get this rating?

This documentary was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Sexual violence themes and content that may disturb

The documentary deals with real life crimes such as abduction, violent assault, murder, rape and child sexual abuse from the perspective of the FBI, local police and a journalist investigating the woman’s death and her son’s abduction. In addition to first-hand accounts from those involved, there is archival footage and re-enactments.

Rape, sexual abuse and violence is discussed. Disturbing detail is kept to a minimum except in one instance where a witness describes a teenager being raped at gunpoint by a man claiming to be her father.

Offensive language

There are a few uses of highly offensive language including a clip where a man convicted of serious crimes shouts abuse at reporters as he is led away in handcuffs.

Sex

One of the main contributors is a dancer who worked at a strip club in 1990s. She describes the work at the club. There are some archival clips of women dancing on stage. There are fleeting glimpses of breast nudity during one montage.

Violence

There are descriptions of injuries caused by intentional violence. These descriptions are not detailed.

Support

If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor
• Lifeline