The Gruesome True Story Behind Maternal Instinct

Wade Griffin’s mother believed Taylor Parker, his girlfriend who claimed to be pregnant, was likely not expecting a child.

During Parker’s 2022 murder trial, Connie Griffin testified that Wade refused to listen when she tried to share her worries.

Despite her reservations, Connie attended the gender reveal party to avoid upsetting the father-to-be. She explained to the court that he would have been devastated if she hadn’t been there, especially since he knew she’d been visiting his brother the previous week.

Parker pretended to be pregnant, and to maintain the deception, prosecutors claim she killed 21-year-old Reagan Simmons-Hancock on October 9, 2020. Simmons-Hancock was eight months pregnant, and Parker then removed the baby from her womb. Sadly, the premature infant, Braxlynn Sage Hancock, also did not survive.

The new Netflix documentary, Maternal Instinct, now available for streaming, explores the disturbing case that led to Parker being sentenced to death, making her one of seven women currently on death row in Texas.

“As unimaginable what she did,” Wade says in the doc, “I don’t even know how to explain it.”

Parker confessed to attacking Hancock and forcibly removing her unborn baby, but she entered a not guilty plea to charges of capital murder and kidnapping. The prosecution intends to pursue the death penalty, arguing the murder was planned, exceptionally cruel, and that Parker has not expressed any regret.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lieutenant Andrew Venable testified in court that Parker consistently lied—including making up a story about her mother blocking her access to a $6 million inheritance—from the beginning to the end of her relationship with Wade.

He explained that with each story, lie, or plan that came to light, more lies were needed to cover it up, especially as the original falsehoods began to fall apart and contradict each other.

Here is what to know about the haunting story that unfolds in Maternal Instinct:

I’ve seen so many relationships blossom unexpectedly, and Wade Griffin and Taylor Rene Parker’s was one of them. They actually met at a rodeo in the summer of 2019 – a classic setting, right? – and things moved fast. By October of that same year, they were already living together, clearly serious about building a life together.

You know, when I first heard about her, people always said she had this incredible presence – she just lit up any space she entered. It was really something. And honestly, a lot of women aren’t drawn to the rural lifestyle, but she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and truly embraced farm life. She wasn’t one to shy away from hard work, that’s for sure!

You know, I was chatting with my friend Codey Ott about this person, and he really hit the nail on the head. He said she just had this incredible energy – the kind of person you instantly want to be around. It’s that magnetic quality, that genuine warmth, that makes all the difference, doesn’t it? He truly thought she was fantastic, and I couldn’t agree more.

Parker met Griffin while working at a recruitment firm. Court documents and the 2022 murder trial revealed she claimed to be expecting a $6 million inheritance, but it was contingent on resolving a family dispute.

Jessica Brookes revealed in the documentary that she initially felt let down when her daughter, Reagan Simmons, became pregnant at 17.

According to him, his stepfather, Marcus Brookes, was very angry, believing it could create significant difficulties in building a future.

He explained that when their granddaughter, Kynlee, arrived, it felt like his daughter was naturally meant to be a mother – it was simply her calling.

Jessica asked Parker to photograph Reagan and Homer Hancock’s engagement photos when Reagan got engaged to her boyfriend, Homer. Parker also photographed their wedding on September 21, 2019.

When Reagan announced in May 2020 that she was pregnant with her second child, Jessica said they were thrilled for her and Homer.

Jessica stated in court that she wasn’t aware of her daughter spending much time with Parker until Parker learned Reagan was pregnant with a baby girl.

According to a statement in the document, Parker told her friend Angela Pate in January 2020 that she believed she was pregnant. Angela suggested Parker wait until she was certain before telling Griffin.

“One evening,” Griffin said, “she hits me with, ‘Pretty sure I’m pregnant.'”

Parker claimed he didn’t realize she was pregnant and that she made all subsequent decisions on her own.

He also didn’t know until after Parker was arrested that she couldn’t get pregnant.

Dr. Christopher Mason, a physician with Northeast Texas Women’s Health who both testified in court and appeared in the documentary Maternal Instinct, stated that he performed a tubal ligation on the patient in 2014. This procedure was done to prevent future pregnancies after she already had two children.

Although the initial issue was corrected, Mason’s symptoms came back with bleeding a year and a half later. Doctors discovered a cyst on her right ovary and suspected an ectopic pregnancy in her left fallopian tube.

My doctor and I decided a hysterectomy was the best course of action for me. That means my uterus will be removed, and unfortunately, it also means I won’t be able to carry a pregnancy in the future. It was a tough realization, but we both felt it was the right decision for my overall health.

Parker pretended to be pregnant, complete with a fake baby bump. She then went all-in on the act, posting about her ‘pregnancy’ on Facebook, buying baby items, and even having a gender reveal party.

Angela mentioned in the document that Parker shared a medical report with her indicating she’s expecting a baby girl. She then sent that email to Codey’s wife, Stephanie Ott.

Okay, so I was meticulously going over everything, and I spotted it – the report was dated November 4th, 2016! It just felt…off, so I remembered what she’d written in the document about calling Parker, and I was dying to know what happened. Apparently, Parker said she was going to check with her doctor, and then she got back to me with the most incredible news! The lab had messed up and misprinted a ton of reports that day, but the gender reveal? That was absolutely, positively real! I seriously could have cried with relief.

From that day on, Stephanie said, “I knew something was off.”

According to Melissa Mason, a manager at Northeast Texas Women’s Health, staff members noticed Parker’s posts on social media and found them puzzling. However, they couldn’t discuss the situation due to privacy regulations, as she explained in the Netflix documentary.

When Parker’s expected delivery date in September passed, the clinic became very concerned. The manager explained that they initially believed, at most, she would attempt to take a baby that wasn’t hers.

It’s heartbreaking to share that Reagan, a 21-year-old woman, was tragically killed in her New Boston, Texas home on October 9th. What makes this even more devastating is that she was nearly 35 weeks pregnant, and was actually scheduled to be induced that very day, according to statements given to authorities. As someone who focuses on well-being and supporting mothers, this news is particularly upsetting.

Homer Reagan testified that Parker visited their home the night before his wife’s death, describing their relationship as a casual friendship. He recalled hearing them discuss Parker’s help with decorating the baby’s nursery before going to bed.

The next morning, he went to work early. He texted Reagan, but her responses seemed strange, and his “I love you” message sent at 8:33 a.m. didn’t get a reply.

Reagan’s mother explained that after Homer called worried about her, she went to Reagan’s house and found her lying face down in the living room, covered in blood. When paramedics arrived and turned her over, they discovered a cut on her abdomen.

According to an affidavit obtained by KTAL News, Parker admitted to Texas Ranger Joshua Mason that she used a scalpel to remove Reagan’s unborn baby, a girl named Braxlynn Sage Hancock, from her womb.

An autopsy determined Reagan had been beaten, strangled and stabbed repeatedly.

Parker was pulled over by a Texas state trooper at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 9.

Let me tell you, witnessing that bodycam footage was incredibly intense. As the trooper walked up to the car, she immediately dialed 911 and told the dispatcher she was going into labor – she actually said, ‘I started having my baby!’ It was a truly urgent situation, and she knew she needed an ambulance right away.

The officer’s body camera recorded the newborn baby in the mother’s lap. He saw that the umbilical cord was still connected and that the mother, Parker, was attempting to revive the baby.

Doctors at the hospital, after confirming Braxlynn’s death, realized Parker hadn’t simply given birth – something more had happened.

Oh my gosh, it’s just… unbelievable! So, she told Agent Dansby, right on his body cam, that the baby was hers! She really tried to play it off! But then, she cracked! She admitted she wasn’t even pregnant! She just… took the baby! Apparently, there was a fight with the mom, Hancock, and then she was arrested at the hospital. I’ve watched the footage like a million times, and it’s just… shocking. I can’t believe she would do something like that!

Parker confessed to a violent fight with Reagan, claiming he harmed her and their unborn child, but entered a plea of not guilty to charges of capital murder and kidnapping.

The trial lasted almost two months, with over 140 people providing testimony over 26 days, starting in September 2022. Parker’s lawyer, Jeff Harrelson, didn’t present any witnesses until the sentencing phase.

During his closing arguments on October 3rd, the lawyer asked the jury to find Parker guilty of murder, but not capital murder, explaining that they should base their decision strictly on the law, even if they disagreed with it.

Regarding the second charge, Harrelson explained that you can’t kidnap someone if they were never born or weren’t alive to begin with.

As a voice for justice and understanding, I want to share the powerful words of Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kelley Crisp during the trial. She stated, with heartbreaking clarity, that the baby was essentially delivered by Taylor Parker’s actions – the moment of birth was directly caused by her. Crisp emphasized that Parker didn’t have the right to make that decision, yet she did, determining both when the baby entered the world and, tragically, when Reagan’s life would end. It’s a chilling reminder of the gravity of the situation and the profound loss involved.

It took the jury less than an hour to find Parker guilty of capital murder, and she received a death sentence on November 9th.

Judge John Tidwell didn’t say anything else during the sentencing, simply ordering deputies to take the defendant to death row.

At 33 years old, Parker is now one of seven women on death row in Texas. She is incarcerated at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit, a maximum-security prison in Gatesville.

None of the women have received an execution date.

In 2025, Parker lost her appeal to have her kidnapping conviction reversed. The Supreme Court also declined to review her death penalty case in May.

Griffin returned to hog trapping and tending to his farm.

He admitted in the document that he wasn’t sure what the underlying reason was, but he suspected she’d always hoped he would tell her he loved her—something he never managed to do.

Connie mentioned that some locals avoid her son. However, the documentary shows he was able to rebuild relationships with old friends, even after they questioned him about Parker.

2026-06-12 13:18

Read More