Taylor Parker spent months convincing those around her that she was expecting a child. The deception ended in one of Texas' most disturbing murder cases, a crime that left a young mother and her unborn daughter dead and ultimately placed Parker on death row.
Renewed attention has followed the release of Netflix's true crime documentary 'Maternal Instinct,' which revisits the 2020 killing of Reagan Simmons-Hancock and examines the elaborate web of lies that preceded it. Nearly six years after the murder, Parker remains imprisoned in Texas after exhausting another major avenue of appeal.
The Deception Behind the Crime
In 2020, Parker was living in New Boston, Texas, with her boyfriend Wade Griffin. Although she had previously undergone a hysterectomy and could no longer have children, she told Griffin she was pregnant and due to give birth in September that year.
Parker bought baby clothes, wore a fake pregnancy belly and even persuaded a friend to organise a gender reveal party. As the supposed due date approached, however, questions began to emerge. Griffin's family grew suspicious when the timeline no longer made sense. When Griffin confronted Parker, the deception was at risk of collapsing.
Instead of admitting the truth, prosecutors said, Parker turned to violence.
A Friendship That Ended in Tragedy
Parker had first met Reagan Simmons-Hancock in 2019 after being hired to photograph her wedding to Homer Hancock. According to family members featured in 'Maternal Instinct,' the pair quickly formed a friendship.
'It didn't feel like she was just some random stranger none of us had ever met,' Simmons-Hancock's sister Emily Shirey says in the documentary. 'Almost felt like she was a bridesmaid at one point, because she was in all of our selfies.'
The friendship continued after the wedding. When Simmons-Hancock became pregnant with her second child, Parker claimed she was also expecting.
Shortly before Simmons-Hancock was due to give birth, the two spent time together. Parker reportedly told her friend she was scheduled to be induced the following day.
Jessica Brookes, Simmons-Hancock's mother, later recalled her daughter's concern for Parker.
'Reagan felt like Taylor was probably overwhelmed with everything,' Brookes says in the documentary, 'and she was trying to be that one person there for her when nobody else was.'
The following day, Parker returned to Simmons-Hancock's home. Prosecutors said she killed the 21-year-old mother and removed her unborn baby. Simmons-Hancock's young daughter was inside the house at the time. Parker then attempted to present the baby as her own.
After the infant stopped breathing, she called emergency services from her vehicle. When police stopped her, Parker claimed she had just given birth and begged to be taken to hospital. Investigators later revealed she had placed the baby's umbilical cord inside her clothing to support the story.
Medical staff quickly determined she had not recently delivered a child. Parker was arrested soon afterwards. Neither Simmons-Hancock nor her unborn daughter, who was to be named Braxlynn, survived.
Conviction and Life on Death Row
OB/GYN Dr Christopher Mason, who testified for the prosecution, described the physical suffering Simmons-Hancock would likely have endured.
'It had to be extremely painful,' Mason said. 'I would not know how anybody could ever do that.'
In 2022, a Texas jury convicted Parker of capital murder and sentenced her to death.
Her legal challenges have so far failed. In November 2025, an appeal was rejected. Six months later, in May 2026, the US Supreme Court declined to review her case, leaving her conviction and sentence intact.
Parker is currently held at the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas, where female death row inmates are housed while awaiting execution.
What Parker Has Said Since Her Conviction
Although Parker largely remained out of public view following her conviction, she spoke with journalist Lawrence Wright for a 2025 New Yorker article.
During the interview, she described struggling to accept the reality of the allegations against her. 'I told myself, "You didn't do what they said. It's lies,"' she said. 'My realization came when I had to face the autopsy photos.'
Parker also reflected on her future, suggesting she no longer expected to leave prison. 'It's the hardest thing to admit, but I do not believe in going home for myself. My place is here,' she told Wright. 'I stand firm on the belief you do not deserve to have something you took from another. That's part of the acknowledgment and acceptance process on the road to redemption.'
At the time of the interview, Parker was the youngest woman on Texas death row. She said fellow inmates referred to her as 'the baby' because she was roughly the same age as many of their children.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, no execution date has been scheduled. Parker remains one of seven women currently sentenced to death in Texas.
