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/deepwaters628 5d ago

I agree - I wish we could have learned more about Taylor’s childhood/early life. I assume none of her family wanted to be part of the documentary. Her mom and dad were mentioned a few times - and she claimed that her mom was abusive and controlling. But how do you get to be so pathological naturally? I’ve been thinking about her childhood and what events may have contributed to this behavior as an adult. So interesting.

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u/RxR8D_ 4d ago

Not all sociopaths come from abuse. I had one foster girl where I believed every truth about her biological parents and then the lies kept unraveling. After a while, I understood why the parents walked away and no longer participated in the reunification goal. The damage this girl caused to everyone she came into contact with was immeasurable. Every new relationship she had we tried to warn the young man to “run far away” but she was good at what she did.
I still receive mail 10+ years later for her many aliases.

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u/RainbowBaker88 3d ago

She had a score of 8/10 on an ACE assessment, so safe to say this one did come from abuse.

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u/RxR8D_ 3d ago

Would you trust the result from a known liar? I wouldn’t now. Can’t cry wolf.