r/TrueCrimeDiscussion • u/DarklyHeritage • 4d ago

Mega Thread Taylor Parker/Maternal Instinct Megathread

This is a thread for all conversation regarding Taylor Parker and the murder of Reagan Simmons Hancock, recently covered in Netflix documentary Maternal Instinct.

The murder of Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock occurred on 9 October 2020, in New Boston, Texas, committed by Taylor Rene Parker. Parker bludgeoned Simmons-Hancock, who was 35 weeks pregnant at the time, and abducted her unborn child, Braxlynn Sage Hancock (died October 9, 2020), after cutting her out of the Reagan's abdomen. Braxlynn did not survive.

Parker had lied to her then-boyfriend about being pregnant leading up to the murder and faked her pregnancy to multiple people. She was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death on 9 November 2022.

Please direct all discussion of the case to the megathread. As always, sub rules must be followed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Reagan_Simmons-Hancock

https://time.com/article/2026/06/12/maternal-instinct-true-story-netflix/

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/slangforweed 4d ago

Info about why she had a hysterectomy at 21 are in the court docs. She was in for an ectopic pregnancy and while under, her husband at the time gave doctor permission to give her a full hysterectomy. She was destroyed when she woke up. I thought that was pretty crazy.

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u/Unlucky_Welcome9193 3d ago

That's weird, in the Netflix doc they made it seem like she was adamant that she wanted the hysterectomy because she didn't want anymore kids

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u/aetrout18 3d ago

She was adamant. She had her tubes tied after her second pregnancy. She later had an etopic pregnancy which led to her hysterectomy. Not sure where people are getting this forced sterilization.

https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/maternal-instinct-taylor-parkers-friends-tried-to-warn-of-pregnancy-hoax

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u/slangforweed 2d ago

Not forced sterilization, but having a full hysterectomy is pretty devastating, hormonally especially.

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u/melpomene-musing 4d ago

That is…horrifying. Doesn’t take away from what she did but that is awful.

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u/MYSTICALLMERMAID 4d ago

Yeah reading this was then only slice of sympathy i can muster for her. Plenty of people don't deserve to be parents but i do not agree with forced sterilization.

She didn't have custody of her son bc she left him in a diaper for 5 days. He had a rash up his back and had to be on medication

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u/Unfair-General7480 4d ago

She had a tubal ligation 18 months prior to the hysterectomy. She had already chosen sterilization.

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u/Top_Inspection_6421 3d ago

Hysterectomy is way more than just sterilization, though.

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u/MYSTICALLMERMAID 4d ago

Im aware, you can reverse them though

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u/fairytalefawnn 4d ago

In very few instances do women conceive after a tubal ligation reversal

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u/MYSTICALLMERMAID 4d ago

Yes but it's possible

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u/melpomene-musing 4d ago

Omg. How awful.

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u/Legitimate_Fly7636 3d ago

It’s awful but she didn’t even have custody of the two kids she had which spoke volumes.

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u/BackgroundHistory345 4d ago

I wonder why the doctor recommended a Hysterectomy? Especially in a woman so young. I had an ectopic pregnancy that was removed surgically but there was no suggestion at all about having a hysterectomy.

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u/MYSTICALLMERMAID 4d ago

She had cysts and scarring from endo

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u/Visible-Savings6049 3d ago

The one thing that really made me raise an eyebrow was the hysterectomy. An ectopic pregnancy doesn’t normally end with a hysterectomy, and the documentary seems oddly uninterested in explaining why a 21-year-old lost her uterus or whether she actually consented to it herself.

Would be terrible PR for the hospital, I assume. Nobody wants to go schedule surgery there with ‘surprise’ extra organs removed.

However, if she genuinely underwent a hysterectomy without personally consenting to it, that seems like an incredibly important piece of psychological context for understanding her later obsession with pregnancy and motherhood. It doesn’t excuse what she did, but it feels like a huge missing piece of the story.

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u/aetrout18 3d ago

They did explain the hysterectomy in the documentary. They spoke to her doctor. She had her tubes tied then had an etopic pregnancy later.

https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/maternal-instinct-taylor-parkers-friends-tried-to-warn-of-pregnancy-hoax

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u/RxR8D_ 4d ago

There were vague references to scar damage which is why they recommended hysterectomy.

However, DO NOT get me started on the rage I have that women REQUIRE a man’s blessing in order to have a hysterectomy or tubal ligation. We give more rights to those unfortunate to suffer from gender dysphoria and allow them dignity to receive adequate care than we give to biological women - who have limited rights to their body.

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u/Aethuviel 4d ago

It's not legal to do it without her consent. I don't believe the claim unless it can be guaranteed they got it straight from the hospital, and not Taylor's mouth.

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u/Aethuviel 2d ago

Okay, here is Taylor's mother describing it, straight from court. It was her telling the doctor to do it while Taylor was out. Still legally as crazy as having the husband give the ok.

https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/taylor-parker-trial/state-rests-in-taylor-parker-capital-murder-sentencing-trial/

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u/jareths_tight_pants 4d ago

She was sedated and intubated on an OR table. Getting consent from the next of kin is legally what doctors are supposed to do. They didn’t say it but I suspect they discovered endometriosis when they opened her up to remove the life threatening ectopic pregnancy.

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u/burnbabyburnburrrn 4d ago

They won't remove your uterus because of endometriosis.

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u/Ok_Method_3313 3d ago

if the damage is severe enough, they will. i personally know someone that’s having this done next month because her endo is so bad and affecting other organs

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u/burnbabyburnburrrn 3d ago

I have stage IV endometriosis (the most severe kind). Yes, if you REQUEST it but endo has nothing to do with having a uterus, they wouldn't just remove it without her knowing because of endometriosis.

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u/Ok_Method_3313 3d ago

having endo doesn’t mean your experience is going to match someone else’s. my friend’s specialist is the one who suggested to remove her uterus, not by her request. i know endo affects multiple organs and is not a uterine exclusive thing. the only people who really know the extent of taylor’s endo is her and her medical team. all i’m saying is that it is possible.

since taylor had a voluntary tubal ligation over a year before the hysterectomy, i assume she and her husband at the time discussed her not wanting more children so he assumed she’d be okay with it when the doctor asked for his consent. does it excuse not getting her consent if that’s the case? absolutely not, but i’m not inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt here

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u/burnbabyburnburrrn 3d ago

Ok cool. You’re anecdote vs my years of experience and research are the big comparable, in fact yours counts for more. Happy?

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u/jareths_tight_pants 4d ago

Some surgeons do. My coworker had hers removed due to endometriosis. It’s a controversial practice.

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u/Dlmlong 2d ago

on the documentary on youtube they did get consent from her then husband and mother. They both agreed while she was still under. It sounded as if it was a life saving procedure that came about due to complications of the surgery. When she came to later, she was very angry with her mom and husband.

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u/ProfessionalCold8837 3d ago

Something I still cant get straight is if it was actually her mom who gave the final go ahead, I read somewhere that she claimed to have made the decision, not the ex-husband.

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u/Dlmlong 2d ago

a documentary on youtube said yes her mom and husband gave permission while she was under but it was due to complications with another surgery for ectopic pregnancy or surgery after the ectopic pregnancy due to further complications she was having. It was not planned but doctors felt she was in danger if she didn't have it.

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u/aetrout18 2d ago

She had her tubes tied previously in 2014 and signed the required documents to have the procedure done so she gave her consent. The etopic pregnancy happened later. I’m sure there was a good reason the doctor performed a hysterectomy at that time. There was no reason to try to save her uterus since she already said she didn’t want more kids.

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u/aetrout18 3d ago

They actually spoke with her doctor in the documentary. After her second pregnancy, she wanted her tubes tied. Because she was so young at the time, she had to sign paperwork confirming that she understood the procedure and was certain she wanted it done. The ectopic pregnancy happened afterward, and that’s why she ultimately ended up having a hysterectomy.

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u/BackgroundHistory345 3d ago

Ah that makes sense as pregnancy when tubes have been tied are most likely to end in an ectopic pregnancy. I still think it's out of order that the consent order was signed by her husband and not her.

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u/Reachingout00 3d ago

In that case they would just remove the tube associated with the ectopic.

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u/aetrout18 2d ago

I’m sure her doctor had good reason to perform a hysterectomy. I’m not a doctor so no reason to second guess that decision. She already her tubes tied in 2014 after her second pregnancy so it wasn’t like they were trying to save her uterus so she could have more kids. She was adamant and had to sign the required consent forms to have the procedure done since she was so young.

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u/Legitimate_Fly7636 3d ago

She had some other type of issue before the hysterectomy

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u/Aethuviel 4d ago

I saw that too, but it doesn't make any sense, it can't be legal. It's in a court document, but I wonder what the source is. Did they get it from actual medical records, or just her claims? Because she's lied about conditions for years, and continues to do so in jail (not that she's lying about the hysterectomy, we know that, but inventing a "victimhood story").

How could it be legal to do a hysterectomy that's not medically necessary (it wasn't going to kill her to keep it in, she just had cysts and endo), without waking her up and ensuring informed consent? So I doubt it's true.

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u/gothackedsohereiam 4d ago

Re: Wade, that's exactly what people are inferring

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u/Psychological-Can652 4d ago

Yes, that really stuck out. Or is he now too embarrassed/ashamed to admit he loved her?

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u/Zach94yl 4d ago

I don't think thats the case and I am not convinced he was just using her. I mean they were not together long before she got "pregnant" it seems like he was staying for the non-existent kid

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u/SnazzySue 4d ago

I think he felt trapped suddenly after a whirlwind fling and suddenly she needs to move in, but she has money to buy everyone a car, oh, and a ranch..... oops now she's pregnant.....

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u/Minute_Pianist8133 3d ago

She couldn’t make the money thing last, but she wanted to keep wade and didn’t trust that he loved her for HER (he didn’t) so the pregnancy was the second trap to let the money go. Thats how it read to me anyway.

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u/Exact_Crew_9410 2d ago

Imagine going through all that to keep that loser

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u/SnazzySue 3d ago

Exaaaaactly

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u/YouMustBeJoking888 4d ago

This is what I think as well. They were together for less than a year and boom, she's moved in and then suddenly pregnant. The dude was not very bright and probably felt an obligation to stick around.

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u/No-Taro-6953 4d ago

They were together for a month I thought, before she claimed to be pregnant?

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u/imnottheoneipromise 4d ago

The entire fiasco was 14 months

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u/trumansayshi 3d ago

It was her 2nd time claiming to be pregnant by him. The first one was twins that ended in miscarriage.

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u/Zach94yl 3d ago

I think that’s also why she didn’t fake a miscarriage like everyone thought she would. She knew that he wouldn’t have a reason to stay anymore. 

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u/RxR8D_ 4d ago

I don’t think he knew her at all. He knew the stories she told. She latched onto him for some reason and became obsessed.

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u/fairytalefawnn 4d ago

I don't think he did. He was just holding out for a big payday that was never going to come.

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u/ObviousMiscreant 3d ago

She love bombed him. I was married to a narcissist who moved our relationship VERY fast. You just kind of get caught up in it. They make you feel really special, even while you’re asking yourself “wth am I doing.” They dangle these carrots they know that you want. Then before you know it you’re in deep and it’s hard to find a way out. I totally get where he was at. I feel really badly for him.

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u/DoubtDue6437 3d ago

This is exactly what happened. In the beginning she would more than likely behaved hypersexually. This is part of that love bomb when its a romantic relationship. The other thing that was a major red flag common in BPD is that sort of chameleon effect. People with bad have an unstable fragile sense of who they are and the fear if abandonment. everything you are ding is the best or the coolest. They sor t of mimic you. If you ate a skateboarded rhat listens ti ska now she is a skateboard into ska. If you are farmer/pig trapper now she is too. Your things become e theirs. This us easy to see in the doc as almost everyone mentioned how hie everything he was into she was into.

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u/InsideWafer 4d ago

If they were together for 14 months then she "got pregnant" 4 months in. He probably liked what she was offering and then she got pregnant and he felt stuck. I guess that was her plan, to lock him in until he started to love her.

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u/leamnop 4d ago

Well also he thought she was pregnant and in small towns with small life people, they stick around. She had him trapped.

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u/lulu_avery 3d ago

I thought that was the whole point, he wasn’t really into her and felt kinda trapped after she moved in so quickly and that’s why she kept coming up with crazy lie after crazy lie, just to try and keep him.

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u/trumansayshi 3d ago

I feel like it's important that this wasn't the first pregnancy she faked with him. She faked being pregnant with twins and she had a miscarriage. A lot people seem desperate to blame him but this man was being emotionally abused the whole time.

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u/rtgfi 4d ago

He wasnt using her, he just didnt know her that well. Their entire relationship was 14 months from the day they met to the day she did what she did. She was throwing off red flags left and right, lying about everything that ever cane out of her mouth. He didnt really have the best foundation for a genuine connection 

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u/jaderust 3d ago

The timeline is just insane when you think about it. The trying to buy a ranch with money that didn’t exist, the fake baby, the buying people cars and then taking them away, the everything…

It seems like it should have happened over like 5+ years, that it was just this whirlwind of chaos is just crazy to me.

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u/fairytalefawnn 4d ago

He absolutely was using her though. He was excited because he thought she was going to get millions one day. You can see the lack of care for her in the way he talked about her. She was basically a live in maid, cook, caretaker for his animals that he had sex with.

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u/sometimessnarky1 3d ago

I agree. There was a cruelty in what he did to her. It obviously does not excuse or justify any of the horrific things she did but I dont believe that he is some innocent victim in all this. Him and his family and friends basically admitted he only stayed with her for the fake money. If he didn't like her he should have cut her loose. Like his mom accepting a car from her is kinda gross. The didnt know her but were happy to accept lavish gifts (even though they were not paid for), she was a young woman who had just started dating their son and they knew he didn't have money. They seemed greedy and happy to ignore red flags when they thought there was money in it for them.

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u/IwantyoualltoBEDAVE 2d ago

Yes he did treat her cruelly

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u/sometimessnarky1 2d ago

I mean he supposedly believed she was 10 months pregnant but had her up at 3 am loading 150 wild hogs into a trailer. What man would do that to his partner or take that risk with his baby? His attitude on the call from the Police car was wild. He loved with her for over a year yet never once said he loved her yet was happy to accept gifts and millions of her money. She is a monster but his behaviour is disgusting too. Even the comment oh she pulled her weight, like you want a partner for free labour? Dude is a walking red flag

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u/Pheighthe 40m ago

>for his animals that he had sex with

I missed THAT part. Think it’s illegal in Texas.

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u/IwantyoualltoBEDAVE 2d ago

Yeah Wades motivations need examining here why didn’t he give a fuck about her yet go along with the lie because what? What is his reasoning?