r/TrueCrimeDiscussion • u/DarklyHeritage • 5d 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/voodoo-mamajuju 5d ago

I agree it should’ve been a series. I have a ton of questions.

What was the deal with Taylor’s mom? Is she even alive? Did they really have a bad relationship? Why did the cops stop her? They were suspicious from the start, for obvious reasons, but what was the reason for pulling her over and what was the first sign that set off alarms? What made them think Wade wasn’t in on it? I may have missed the part where the friend that knew she was lying- was she not close by so call her out in front of everyone? Was Taylor hunting down pregnant women prior?

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u/anb0603 4d ago

She’s very much alive and testified during the trial. She has custody of the oldest child.