Where is Taylor Parker now? Inside disturbing Texas case featured in Netflix’s ‘Maternal Instinct’ doc
Netflix’s latest documentary ‘Maternal Instinct’ tells the story of a case that many people still struggle to comprehend years later. Released on June 12, the documentary revisits the horrifying crimes committed by Taylor Parker, a Texas woman whose deception about being pregnant eventually led to one of the most disturbing murder cases in recent memory. Photos from 2020 showed Parker smiling beside her boyfriend, Wade Griffin, while supposedly expecting their first child together. But she had previously undergone a hysterectomy and was unable to get pregnant. According to investigators, she never disclosed it to Griffin. She wore a prosthetic pregnancy belly and continued building a story that grew more complicated as time passed.
She convinced people around her that she was expecting, purchased baby-related items, and even persuaded a friend to organize a gender reveal event. To outsiders, everything appeared normal. But as the expected delivery date approached, some relatives of Griffin began questioning whether her timeline made sense. Those doubts only increased when the due date came and went without a baby. Eventually, Griffin confronted Parker about the pregnancy. Rather than admitting the truth, she chose to commit a heinous crime. The documentary traces how Parker became acquainted with Reagan Simmons-Hancock, a young Texas mother. Back in 2019, Simmons-Hancock was planning her wedding to Homer Hancock and needed a photographer. Parker, who was doing photography work on the side, was hired for the event.
The two women developed a friendship and remained in contact after the wedding ceremony ended. The following year, Simmons-Hancock became pregnant with her second child. Around the same time, Parker claimed she was expecting as well. As Simmons-Hancock’s due date drew closer, Parker continued presenting herself as another expectant mother preparing for childbirth. Shortly before Simmons-Hancock was scheduled to give birth, the two spent time together. Parker reportedly told her friend that she would be induced the following day. Instead, prosecutors said she returned to Simmons-Hancock’s home and carried out a horrifying attack. Authorities determined that Parker murdered the 21-year-old expectant mother and removed her unborn child. Investigators later revealed that Parker attempted to present the infant as her own baby.
But her plan quickly began to unravel. While driving, she called 911 after realizing the newborn was not breathing. When police stopped her vehicle, she allegedly insisted she had just delivered the child herself and begged officers to get her medical assistance. Authorities later testified that she even placed the baby’s umbilical cord inside her clothing in an apparent effort to support the story she was telling. Medical staff quickly recognized that Parker had not recently given birth. Doctors alerted authorities, and Parker was taken into custody shortly afterward. Neither Simmons-Hancock nor her unborn daughter survived. The baby girl was expected to be named Braxlynn.
In 2022, a Texas jury found Parker guilty of capital murder, as per Tudum. After hearing evidence presented during the trial, jurors sentenced her to death. Her legal team continued challenging the conviction in the years that followed. However, those efforts failed to overturn the verdict. In November 2025, an appellate court rejected her appeal. Another setback came in May 2026 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving the conviction and sentence intact. Today, Parker remains on Texas’ death row while awaiting execution. She is housed at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice records show that no execution date has been set for Parker at this time.
