Woman convicted of killing a woman to take her unborn baby

2022-10-04

Texas womb raider, 29, is convicted of ‘murdering pregnant friend, 21, by cutting out her fetus with a scalpel – then telling her boyfriend it was her own’

Taylor Parker, 29, has been convicted of the murder of her pregnant friend Regan Simmons-Hancock, stabbing her 100 times in an attempt to steal her unborn baby
The baby – a girl called Braxlynn Sage – was cut from the womb with a scalpel, and died shortly afterward
Regan, 21, was killed in October 2020 after Parker spent 10 months faking her pregnancy online and to those closest to her
Authorities claim that Parker was desperate to give her then-boyfriend Wade Griffin a child, and did not tell him she had a hysterectomy
Parker faces the death penalty having been convicted of capital murder over the slaying of Regan with the punishment phase scheduled to begin October 12

A Texas woman was convicted of capital murder Monday for killing a pregnant woman to take her unborn baby.

A Bowie County jury in northeast Texas deliberated for about an hour before finding Taylor Rene Parker, 29, guilty of the October 2020 murder of Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock, 21, and the abduction of the daughter cut from her womb who later died.

The verdict of a jury of six men and six women came after three weeks of sometimes grisly testimony.

Parker’s attorneys argued that the baby was never alive and moved to dismiss a kidnapping charge, which would have lowered the capital murder charge to murder.

Taylor Parker, 29, (pictured) has been found guilty of murdering her friend Regan Simmons-Hancock and her unborn child in October 2020. She could now face the death penalty or life in prison without parole when she is sentenced on October 12

Parker, a mother-of-two, underwent a hysterectomy so was unable to have any more children but went on to fake that she had conceived over fears Griffin would break up with her

‘That’s why in opening statements we spent so much time on definitions. You can’t kidnap a person who has not been born alive,’ said Jeff Harrelson in his final argument to the jury.

Prosecutors said, however, that several medical professionals testified the infant had a heartbeat when born. They also recounted Parker’s actions leading to the day Simmons-Hancock was killed.

‘We have methodically laid out what she (Parker) did, why she did it, all the moving parts, and all the collateral damage. The best evidence the state of Texas has that baby was born alive is that Taylor Parker said it wasn’t,’ said prosecutor Kelley Crisp.

Fellow prosecutor Lauren Richards recounted all of the masquerades Parker performed for different people, including the pregnancy she faked leading up to the killing.

Regan Simmons-Hancock, 21, was killed by Parker after befriending her because she was pregnant

Parker cut out Regans baby, called Braxlynn Sage, after killing her mother by stabbing her with a scalpel and crushing her skull with a hammer

Authorities told how Parker was so terrified of losing her boyfriend Wade Griffin that she faked a pregnancy for nearly 10 months.

She was already a mom of two, but had undergone hysterectomy surgery, meaning she was unable to have further children.

She faked ultrasounds as well as having a gender reveal party and posting on social media about her false pregnancy while searching for a victim.

‘In the past two weeks, the evidence has never been more clear,’ Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards told the jury. ‘She’s a liar, a manipulator, and now she’s gonna be held accountable for it.’

She reminded the jury of how Reagan was beaten in the head at least five times with such force that the blows compressed her skull into her brain.

She stabbed and cut Regan, who was 34 weeks pregnant with Braxlynn Sage, more than 100 times.

‘The pain Reagan must have felt when Taylor started cutting her abdomen, hip to hip … indescribable,’ Richards said.

‘When Taylor had the baby and Reagan was still alive, that’s when Taylor started slashing and cutting. She can’t leave her alive. It was no quick death. She just kept cutting her. I guess Reagan would not die fast enough for Taylor to get out of there and get on with her plans.’

Reagan’s mother had called 911 just minutes before Parker was pulled over after finding her daughter on the ground with a ‘large abundance’ of blood

Parker then left Regan, who she had been friends with, to die in front of her three-year-old daughter.

She drove alone with the baby in her lap and put the placenta in her own trousers to make it appear as though she had given birth as the umbilical cord was still attached.

Parker was stopped by a state trooper at around 9.37am and could be seen performing CPR on the infant before being transported to a hospital.

Reagan’s mother had called 911 just minutes before Parker was pulled over after finding her daughter on the ground with a ‘large abundance’ of blood.

It covered the floor, furniture, walls, appliances and other items in the home, with emergency services seeing a large cut across Regan’s abdomen.

Parker left Regan, whom she was friends with, to die in front of her three-year-old daughter

Wade Griffin, left, Parker’s then-boyfriend believed that she was pregnant and having his child. He told officers that he had been planning to meet Parker at hospital to be induced on the day of the murder

Authorities explained how Parker was desperate to give her then-boyfriend Wade Griffin a child, but had not told him she had a hysterectomy

When she was interviewed by officers, Parker admitted that she had not given birth to the infant and said she had assaulted Reagan before abducting the child.

Parker told her then-boyfriend Wade Griffin she had been due to be induced to have their child on the day of the murder.

Griffin told officers that he was scheduled to meet her at the hospital for the birth of their child around lunch time.

Witnesses also claimed that Parker had offered $100,000 for a surrogate mother after lying to Griffin about her pregnancy.

The punishment phase has been scheduled to begin October 12.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, although jurors may opt for a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.

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