Texas Death-Row Inmate Taylor Parker at Center of Netflix True-Crime Documentary on 2020 Pregnancy Hoax Killing

Taylor Parker, 33, sits on Texas death row following her 2022 capital murder conviction for the killing of Reagan Simmons-Hancock, 21, and the abduction of Simmons-Hancock's unborn daughter — a crime rooted in a 10-month fabricated pregnancy that deceived friends, family, and Parker's own boyfriend. Netflix's new documentary "Maternal Instinct," directed by Jessica Dimmock and executive produced by Liz Garbus, chronicles the case in full.

A Manufactured Friendship, a Manufactured Pregnancy

Parker met Simmons-Hancock when the Arkansas native sought an affordable wedding photographer. The two bonded quickly, and the relationship deepened when Simmons-Hancock announced she was pregnant with her second child. Parker claimed she was expecting her third — a lie she sustained for 10 months using a silicone baby bump, fabricated ultrasound images, staged prenatal appointments, social-media documentation, a gender-reveal party, maternity photos, and a prepared nursery. Few people knew Parker had undergone a hysterectomy years earlier and could not carry a child.

Parker's boyfriend, Wade Griffin, was among those deceived. When pandemic restrictions were cited as the reason he could not accompany her to appointments, he accepted the explanation. Dimmock told Fox News Digital that Griffin has since grappled publicly with his failure to act on warnings from his own family that Parker could not be pregnant.

October 9, 2020: The Crime

On the morning of Oct. 9, 2020, Simmons-Hancock was found dead inside her home during the final weeks of her pregnancy. Authorities determined she had suffered more than 100 sharp-force injuries and a skull fracture caused by a hammer. A scalpel was used to remove her unborn daughter, later identified as Braxlynn Sage. Simmons-Hancock's 3-year-old daughter was present in the home but was not physically harmed.

Later that same day, police stopped Parker for erratic driving. She told officers she had just delivered a baby on the roadside. Emergency responders transported Parker and the infant to a hospital, where the baby was pronounced dead on arrival. Medical staff found no signs of recent childbirth on Parker and confirmed she lacked a uterus. DNA testing established that the infant was Simmons-Hancock's daughter, Braxlynn Sage. Parker was arrested.

Conviction and the Documentary's Framing

Parker's defense team argued during trial that the infant was never alive, a position that would have reduced the capital murder charge to murder by removing the kidnapping element. Prosecutors countered with testimony from multiple medical professionals who said the baby had a heartbeat at birth. Parker was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to death.

Dimmock, speaking to Fox News Digital, described Parker as a compulsive manipulator who was "flailing and desperate" over fears of losing Griffin and who lacked any coherent plan beyond obtaining an infant. Dimmock noted that Parker had explored adoption, forged home birth certificates, and surveilled pregnant women outside obstetric offices before the attack on Simmons-Hancock. The director said Simmons-Hancock's family, still processing the loss, credited a strong faith community as part of their support network.