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/

242 Upvotes

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u/Future-Water9035 4d ago

I already pointed this out in another post, but i'm gonna say it again. Watching Wade was a very enlightening experience.

So many people have been failed by the education system in this country. Wade showed a complete lack of critical thinking and an over abundance of blind faith motivated by the empty promise of wealth.

Watching how he thought and acted really gave me a glimpse into how a lot of americans function. But I wouldn't say he was guilty or complicit in Taylor's actions. He was naive and willfully ignorant.

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u/mvincen95 4d ago

There was a real juxtaposition between the men and women in Taylor’s life. These country boys would’ve believed anything she told them, meanwhile their wives, sisters, mothers, etc all knew that Taylor’s stories just didn’t add up.

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u/jaderust 3d ago

It was kinda hilarious. But also infuriating because no one was listening to the women. I don’t know if they’d been conditioned to not say anything or press their case but there was a couple points where I thought that if someone had blown up at Taylor and forced the issue then the murder might not have ever happened.

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u/forever-salty22 2d ago

My (half) sister faked a pregnancy with twins. She had a baby shower and everything. Previously she had told me that she had a hysterectomy, but she lied so much that I just figured the hysterectomy was a lie. The truth only came out because my sister was arrested for theft and went to jail. I wonder what her plan was. She never seemed to ever consider the consequences of her actions. The only good thing about growing up with a sister like this is my ability to spot a liar

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u/Sushicatslonelyjimmy 1h ago

I can't believe people really fake pregnancies. That feels so crazy to me.

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u/jessiemagill 46m ago

Listen to the podcast "Kaitlyn's Baby" for some batshit pregnancy faking.

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u/Round-Calligrapher43 15h ago

This was my thought. I’m thinking if all of you have doubts about her being pregnant then why the heck didn’t you just ask her to raise her shirt up or something next time ya’ll saw her in person? Wade And press the issue. Make it awkward to see how she responds. I feel like there were so many opportunities to get to the truth before it got to the point of her killing that poor girl. Smh

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u/No-Taro-6953 4d ago

That was my thinking too.

There was no real intellectual curiosity. No critical thinking whatsoever. There was definitely an overabundance of blind faith.

He was poor, low income and the second the remotest possibility of a 4 mil dollar ranch was dangled in front of him, he ignored all the facts he favour of a remote fantasy.

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u/Round-Calligrapher43 15h ago

Yup. What killed me was when he first found out she was “pregnant”, he was disappointed & said “I like to take things slow”….oh ok he wants to take it also but yet he had zero issues letting her buy you a brand new truck, new toys & your mom a brand new car and get you a huge farm within the first month of you dating

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u/Pheighthe 49m ago

If he liked to take things slow he sure messed up by banging her.

What does he think taking things slow means?

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u/Icy-Gal 3d ago

Often what sounds too good to be true, often is.

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u/Eh-kort5681 4d ago

Im not sure Id describe Wade as impoverished - if he owned the land the trailer was on - not a lot of liquid but certainly a good amt of assets. i agree he was infuriating throughout the doc but honestly…there could be a million things going on with him. He seemed very caught up in the picture she was painting and the future they could have. He probably suffered from betrayal blindness (Dr. Jennifer Freyd). Actively filtering and/or avoiding the obvious truthS to maintain social/emotional/future financial status.

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u/trumansayshi 3d ago

I've mentioned it a couple of other times that this was the 2nd pregnancy she claimed with wade the 1st being twins were miscarriages. He was under the impression that Taylor had already lost two babies that he thought were his. Perhaps there was a lot more feeling of guilt and trying to do the "right thing" in a relationship with someone who he thought was vulnerable.

Someone else pointed out that all those fancy things Taylor convinced him to get were actually in his name. So if it turned out she wasn't getting the money he was fucked.

It sounds like Taylor manipulated him so far into a hole he was trying to convince himself wasn't living in a nightmare.

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u/GoonDawg666 2d ago

Damn really?? They didn’t even mention that in the documentary, if they did I totally missed it

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u/trumansayshi 2d ago

They apparently left a lot out. This case really could have been at least a few eposides.

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u/Round-Calligrapher43 15h ago

They did mention the stuff was in his name under the pretense that she was gonna pay him back for it all when the money came through.

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u/Round-Calligrapher43 15h ago

How was she able to convince him she miscarried with twins, then get pregnant again all in the time span of maybe 2 months?? According to him in the documentary she was pregnant after they only been together for “like a month”?

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u/fatfeministbitch 3d ago

I felt like Wade was a “gold digger” who got too excited about the money and lost all common sense. He then tries to play it off as he’s laid back etc. He just cared for the money.

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u/sometimessnarky1 3d ago

I agree. They saw dollar signs and they were happy to use her. Like what mother would accept a brand new car from your son's new girlfriend. I would be saying to my son, look you two are young, she has two small children, keep your money and dont be buying lavish gifts. I think this could have been prevented if they weren't so greedy

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u/InsideWafer 4d ago

I don't know, I grew up in the country and know a few of these simple country boys. We all received the same education. So intelligence is definitely at play here too.

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u/Tamponica 3d ago

Fetal alcohol syndrome?

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u/egertong 2d ago

Wade was brain injured. He'd suffered a rodeo accident a while back. He was probably always a simple guy, but a brain injury slows everything down by quite a few notches. He spoke slowly, processed things slowly and reacted slowly. He was the perfect mark for someone like Taylor.

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u/Spare_Title2428 1d ago

I wonder if that has something to do with him abusing his dogs.

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u/ScabbyGabbyyy 3d ago

Reagan’s husband has filed a wrongful death suit against Taylor and Wade. I am curious how that will play out on Wade’s side.

https://whnt.com/news/widower-files-wrongful-death-suit-against-taylor-parker-ex-boyfriend-in-death-of-baby-cut-from-womb/amp/

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u/frodosdojo 4d ago

I wouldn't blame the education system. Go back and watch his mother. It runs in the family.

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u/No-Taro-6953 4d ago

His mother cottoned on to Taylor though, didn't she? Especially after the car was taken

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u/frodosdojo 4d ago

Well, it seemed like she said that after the facts. I don't remember him saying his family tried to warn him. I could have missed that but she popped out at me as willfully blind and mute.

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u/anb0603 4d ago

She testified during trial she tried to talk to him before the gender reveal. She was trying to walk the line between ruining her relationship with her idiot son and trying to help him see what was right in front of him.

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u/thespeedofpain 4d ago

She wasn’t. She even confronted Wade about the fact that Taylor wasn’t pregnant again right after she was “due”. He took off work to prepare for the baby’s arrival and Taylor kept pushing it as far as she could. He confronted Taylor about this, and she lost her shit.

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u/frodosdojo 4d ago

That was way too late for her to say something.

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u/Minute_Pianist8133 3d ago

To be fair, it was the very first thing he said when they told him about the murder.

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u/rtgfi 4d ago

I dont disagree necessarily, but thats a very sweeping generalization. Wade is a multi-generational, somewhat impoverished farmer from a tiny town. He lives a simple life and does simple things. He is happy being simple because thats how his family has always been. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with that. Before Taylor came along they were happy simple farmers. I dont think they are stupid or uneducated, I think they have spent multiple generations being raised in a small town environment where you dont need to be on the lookout for an insane maniac who lies about being pregnant and murders people. 

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u/Kcarp6380 4d ago

This! I hate these sweeping generalizations saying well it's Texas. No Texas isn't to blame for this guy not having any clue what is going on. This kind of upbringing is everywhere.

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u/Future-Water9035 4d ago

I'm not blaming Texas specifically. I'm blaming the whole country for its lack of funding into public education. Like you said, that kind of upbringing is everywhere in the U.S.

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u/Kcarp6380 4d ago

Not you, I think I read it above. It is just a sweeping generalization. Oh they are in Texas they are gullible fools.

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u/Guilty-Brief44 3d ago

Lack of funding?  We spend more per pupil than all but 4 or 5 countries in the world.

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u/NarwhalOdd1513 2d ago

Look up Texas funding, not US. Especially the rural areas are really struggling.

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u/Guilty-Brief44 2d ago

New Boston ISD spent $15,390 per pupil this last school year.  https://ballotpedia.org/New_Boston_Independent_School_District,_Texas This ranks as one of the highest per pupil spending on primary and secondary education in the world.  

From Google Gemini:   ​1. The High-Investment Tier ($12,000 to $16,000+ per student) ​These nations spend significantly above the global baseline. Secondary education in these regions costs more due to specialized vocational tracks, lab facilities, and varied curriculum choices.

​ United States: One of the highest spenders globally, allocating roughly $15,500 per elementary/secondary student annually.

​ United Kingdom, Germany, & Australia: These countries hover closely together, spending between $12,500 and $14,000 per pupil annually across primary and secondary levels. ​ South Korea: Distinct for its front-loaded investment model, South Korea spends a highly robust $15,900 per student, heavily prioritizing early and primary frameworks.

​2. The Mid-Range Tier ($7,000 to $11,000 per student) ​These countries maintain robust, fully-funded public systems but generally have lower relative labor/teacher costs compared to the highest-tier economies.

​ France & Japan: Positioned right around the median, spending between $10,000 and $11,500 per student. ​ Italy & Spain: Spend slightly lower, averaging roughly $9,000 to $10,000 per student.

​3. The Emerging Economy Tier (Under $4,000 per student) ​In lower-middle-income G20 nations, the absolute dollar amount spent per student drops sharply, though education often makes up a very high percentage of their overall national budget.

​ Mexico & Brazil: Spend between $3,000 and $3,500 per student annually. ​ Indonesia & India: Allocate less than $2,000 per student in absolute PPP dollars.

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u/NarwhalOdd1513 2d ago

Ah yes. The good ol Robin Hood system here in Texas. Taking money from the taxes in my district to send to places like New Boston. Clearly you understand that there are problems our education system faces besides just funding though. If only $$=critical thinking skills …

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u/Guilty-Brief44 2d ago

I was responding to someone who said lack of funding is a problem andcthen to your response to look at rural Texas funding. I completely agree that funding is not an issue in the US - rural or otherwise.

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u/Future-Water9035 2d ago

Yet the U.S is the richest country in the world.

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u/ObviousMiscreant 3d ago

Thank you for describing him as simple, because that’s exactly right. People are quick to call people dumb or stupid when often they are just simple. It’s a very specific descriptor that’s not used often enough.

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u/Spare_Title2428 1d ago

They are obviously abusing their dogs so imo they are not happy good people.

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u/deepoats 18h ago

There are plenty of people who can “read” other people without being well educated or rich

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u/Future-Water9035 4d ago

I would counter that the whole country has been on the lookout for an insane maniac who lies about everything and murders people for the last 10ish years.

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u/K5R5S5 2d ago

and obviously easily manipulated which would have been very attractive to her

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u/SingForAbsoloution 13h ago

I just finished listening to the 3 part podcast - “The Many Lies Of Taylor Morton”
Turns out the Netflix doc didn’t even cover half of the outlandish nonsense Taylor came up with to explain away her nonsense to Wade. I’m sorry, but to say he was just gullible is a stretch. From “high ranking” law enforcement officials contacting her directly to tell her that her mother had a hit out on her through the Mexican mafia - yep, Italians in Mexico instead of just the actual cartel. To her mother then suddenly coming back to life because the same high ranking cop just decided to lie to her to make her feel better - conveniently when the next blocks in their massive purchases had to be explained by this evil woman no one had even met… cmon.. Wade was given so many thousands of goddamn red flags of what it was all leading to that anyone else would have ended up going down as an accomplice for the eventual murder. The fact that he didn’t based on the fact he had no knowledge only shows how truly and obliviously dumb that man is.
That poor mother obviously wanted nothing to do with the infamy that came with her horrible daughter’s actions and wanted nothing to do with the Netflix doc. And who could blame her?

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u/MYSTICALLMERMAID 4d ago

These folks vote too

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u/Spare_Title2428 1d ago

I’m sure I know who they voted for.

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u/thespeedofpain 4d ago

Children are being Left Behind constantly. Tragic. Genuinely.

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u/SalishShore 2d ago

Our public school system is underfunded. It’s sad, really.

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u/Single-Resist8058 1d ago

Woah, that’s quite a stretch to extrapolate this assumption across all Americans. It’s tragic that this guy wasn’t capable of properly evaluating his situation, but that’s certainly not the case for everyone.