Taylor Parker To Be Executed For Removing Baby From Mother's Womb: Inside Netflix's 'Maternal Instinct'

Taylor Parker remains on Texas death row after the US Supreme Court declined to hear her final appeal, leaving her one step closer to execution for the murder of a pregnant woman whose unborn baby she tried to claim as her own. No date has been set.

Parker, 33, is imprisoned at the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas, where she remains under a death sentence imposed in 2022. No execution date has been set.

The case has returned to the spotlight following the release of Netflix's 'Maternal Instinct,' which revisits a crime that stunned the United States and led to one of the state's rare death sentences for a female offender. Released on 12 June, the documentary revisits the case through interviews with investigators, prosecutors and members of Simmons-Hancock's family. The Netflix show examines how Parker sustained her fake pregnancy for months before carrying out the attack that ultimately led to her conviction and death sentence.

Parker's legal prospects narrowed significantly in May when the US Supreme Court declined to review her case, effectively ending her main avenues of appeal. The ruling has renewed attention on a case that prosecutors described as one of the most disturbing crimes in recent Texas history.

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.

Prosecutors said the deception culminated in a carefully planned attack.

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.

Hospital Staff Exposed The Deception

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.

The evidence gathered in the hours that followed would later form the backbone of a trial that featured testimony from more than 140 witnesses.

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.'

One Of Only Seven Women On Texas Death Row

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.'

A Texas jury convicted Parker of capital murder in October 2022. One month later, she was sentenced to death after prosecutors argued she represented a continuing danger to society.

Today, Parker is one of only seven women on Texas death row and remains among the youngest inmates awaiting execution in the state. She said fellow inmates referred to her as 'the baby' because she was roughly the same age as many of their children.