A woman behind one of America’s most shocking crimes is heard in newly released phone calls complaining about her treatment behind bars and dismissing the brutal murder of her pregnant friend as just ‘one horrible thing.’
Taylor Parker, now 33, became the youngest female inmate on death row in Texas after she brutally killed 21-year-old Reagan Simmons-Hancock and stole her unborn baby in a sadistic plot to fake a pregnancy.
In a desperate effort to cover up her lies, Parker went to Simmons-Hancock’s home in New Boston on October 9, 2020, and stabbed the pregnant woman more than 100 times, crushed her skull with a hammer and removed her baby with a scalpel.
Parker then fled with the newborn, who later died, and left Simmons-Hancock to die in front of her three-year-old daughter. She was then later arrested while driving the dead baby to a hospital 50 miles away in Oklahoma.
Years after her crimes horrified the nation, the story has been thrown back into the spotlight after being retold in the Netflix documentary, Maternal Instinct.
Now, newly release phone records show how Parker regularly phoned her mother, Shona Prior, while behind bars in Bowie County Jail before her trial.
And the disturbing calls revealed that the convicted killer seemingly had little remorse for her gruesome actions.
On the phone to her mother, Parker described the murder as ‘one horrible thing,’ according to recordings from 2021 and 2022 obtained by the US Sun.
Taylor Parker, now 33, became the youngest female inmate on death row in Texas after she brutally killed 21-year-old Reagan Simmons-Hancock and stole her unborn baby
Parker, seen in her staged maternity photos, was held in Bowie County Jail and was found to have regularly phoned her mother, Shona Prior, with seemingly little remorse for her horrifying actions
Reagan pictured with her husband Homer and their three-year-old daughter Kynlee
At one point, her mother point blank asks if there was something psychologically wrong with her, according to the Sun.
‘Mom, they would charge me with s***ing on a fly right now if they could, literally, that’s what it comes down to,’ Parker was heard responding.
‘I mean, there’s another girl that’s here, and they literally just threw some bogus bulls*** on her just because they could, just because it makes them look better.
‘I mean, it’s like [you do] one horrible thing, they’ll do anything and whatever. I mean, that’s just what it comes down to. They don’t give a s***.’
Her mother fires back: ‘Well, Taylor, you know, I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think you’re thinking about that like you should be thinking about that.
‘I mean it’s not just you do one horrible thing and they try to throw the book at you.’
Prior then goes on to tell Parker she needed to ask her attorney when she would be able to give her a psychiatric evaluation ‘because something is not right there.’
Parker fell silent before telling her mother that she discovered she would be due for a bond reduction because she had been behind bars for 90 days, the Sun reported.
In another call, Taylor asks about being able to wear makeup at court.
‘Did you say anything to her about makeup? Because she doesn’t think that makeup is going to be an option for you,’ her mother said.
Parker told Prior that someone on her legal team was ‘taking care of it.’
Her mom continues on to say: ‘So, the thing about it is if they try to discriminate you as a person, that will work in your favor in the long run because they’re not giving you a fair chance.’
‘You know, they’re wanting you to look like a homeless criminal,’ the mom added.
‘They’re not wanting you to look like a human because that would be beneficial to you and detrimental to them.’
Parker agreed with her mother before going on to complain about the court proceedings, according to the Sun.
Another call revealed Parker’s emotional response to discussing her two other children. She was upset that her ex-husband wouldn’t let her speak to her son.
Since Parker was handed the death penalty, her horrific crimes have regained notoriety in the public eye after the true crime story was fashioned into a Netflix documentary, Maternal Instinct
Prior had been the full-time guardian for Parker’s daughter, while Parker’s son was put in the care of her ex-husband.
‘Mom, that really upsets me,’ Parker tearfully said, noting how she had to fight to be able to speak with her son on the phone.
‘I’m sure it does,’ Prior bit back. ‘But you know what? I hate to say this, but if you’d have been thinking about the children that you had on earth, you might not be in the situation you’re in.’
‘But, I mean, that’s what’s done is done. And you have to go forward and deal with the consequences as best you can. You’re not the only one dealing with them. We’re all dealing with them.’
Parker was also heard whining that the lights in her cell were kept on 24 hours a day, an issue her mother, however, defended her on.
‘I don’t understand. You have already been diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines, all right?’ the mom was heard saying.
‘If those f***ing lights trigger a migraine episode, the damn jail is going to have more problems than they have right now with you.
‘I mean, they cannot facilitate you. And maybe, just maybe, you should hold your eyes open just as long as you can so it will trigger another episode. But I’m just saying it’s a matter of time before that comes back. And they can’t… they’re not equipped to facilitate an individual in that kind of condition, the condition that you used to be in.’
The pair met when Parker was hired as Simmons-Hancock’s engagement party and wedding photographer. Over time, the two women grew close, with Simmons-Hancock believing they were both expecting baby girls
Parker goes on to say that she spoke to a psychiatrist who gave her a sleep aid, which was also to help her ‘night terrors’ and ‘depression.’
‘She said I probably talk to her every three weeks,’ Parker said.
The phone calls were laid out in court by the prosecution, who said their contents proved Parker’s lack of remorse, troubling state of mind and manipulative behavior.
As time goes on, Parker appears to show some apology for her actions – but only after her mother stresses the difficulty of balancing court responsibilities and looking after Parker’s daughter.
‘I’m sorry,’ Parker was heard saying through tears.
‘I know you did not think about the consequences of your actions. I know that,’ Prior tells her daughter.
In other calls Parker was heard complaining that she was strip-searched and her cell ‘ransacked’ over a Facebook rumor.
‘That was a bogus lie just for them to tear up my stuff, and there should be repercussions for it,’ Parker told Prior.
An autopsy later revealed that Simmons-Hancock suffered 113 sharp force injuries, including 15 stab wounds and 98 incised wounds, as well as 39 blunt force injuries
Parker’s legal team argued that the calls proved her attempts to maintain family ties in an attempt to evidence human emotion and motivations.
However, the prosecution argued that a ‘normal person’ would be overcome with guilt or grief over murdering their friend and stealing their child.
Parker’s phone calls, according to prosecutors, only evidenced self-pity, anger and superficial complaints about her life behind bars, the Sun reported.
Since Parker was handed the death penalty, her horrific crimes have regained notoriety in the public eye after the true crime story was fashioned into a Netflix documentary, Maternal Instinct.
Born in 1992, Parker was revealed to have experienced a troubled childhood marked by alleged sexual assault and struggles with obesity.
After dropping out of high school and becoming a mother at 17, she went on to have a second child in 2014 before undergoing a tubal ligation.
The following year, Parker underwent surgery and was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and endometriosis after suffering from severe pelvic cramps.
While she was under anesthesia, her mother authorized a hysterectomy, leaving Parker unable to have more children.
Interrogation footage showed Parker repeatedly changing her story, from claiming she gave birth on the roadside to alleging a physical fight with Simmons-Hancock
Just a few months into their relationship, Parker told Griffin she was pregnant – a claim which was impossible as her hysterectomy had left her unable to carry a child
Friends and family would later describe the procedure as a devastating blow that appeared to have a lasting impact on her, leading her to become obsessed with the idea of having another child.
Over the next several years, Parker’s personal life continued to unravel. She divorced her first husband in 2017 and married Hunter Parker the following year.
Despite her hysterectomy, she repeatedly sought friends willing to act as surrogates so she could have another child.
Her second marriage ended in divorce in April 2019, and just weeks later, Parker began dating Wade Griffin, a hog farmer she had met at a rodeo.
Just a few months into their relationship, Parker told Griffin she was pregnant – a claim which was impossible as her hysterectomy had left her unable to carry a child.
Yet she maintained the lie for months, using a silicone pregnancy belly and fake ultrasound images purchased online.
She staged maternity photographs, hosted a gender reveal party and carefully controlled her interactions with Griffin to prevent him from discovering the truth.
‘During that summer, our time together was very limited,’ Griffin recalled in the documentary.
‘She never hardly ever wanted me to see her naked or anything because she said she was insecure because of her stretch marks. We never really did anything at all, pretty much.’
As the fake pregnancy progressed, suspicions began to spread throughout the small Texas community.
While she was revealed to have manipulated Griffin, turning him against her family and lying about her wealth, Parker sparked a friendship with Simmons-Hancock.
The pair met when Parker was hired as Simmons-Hancock’s engagement party and wedding photographer. Over time, the two women grew close, with Simmons-Hancock believing they were both expecting baby girls.
By September of 2020, Parker’s deception was nearing its breaking point. For months, she had convinced Griffin, his family and much of the local community that she was expecting a baby girl.
Yet, the date she had repeatedly claimed as her due date was fast approaching, and there was no real pregnancy to conceal.
As the pressure mounted, Parker began searching online for pregnant women, focusing her attention on maternity consignment stores and pregnancy clinics in the area.
In the days leading up to the murder, prosecutors said Parker’s internet searches became even more disturbing.
Taylor claimed she had given birth in her car and told the officer the baby was not breathing
Taylor was covered in blood when she was stopped by a Texas Highway Patrol trooper
Testimony revealed that she had watched videos explaining how to perform a C-section.
Then, on the day of the killing, she viewed an instructional medical video demonstrating how to conduct a physical examination on a premature infant born at 35 weeks’ gestation – the exact gestational age of her victim’s baby.
An autopsy later revealed that Simmons-Hancock suffered 113 sharp force injuries, including 15 stab wounds and 98 incised wounds, as well as 39 blunt force injuries.
Medical examiner Dr Melinda Flores testified that the cause of death was ‘homicide from traumatic extraction from the uterus with both sharp and blunt force injuries’.
A separate examination determined that her unborn child – Braxlynn Sage – also died as a result of the violent extraction from her mother’s womb.
The medical examiner found bruising on the baby’s scalp and umbilical cord, indicating that some of the blows delivered to Reagan’s abdomen had also struck Braxlynn.
Parker was pulled over in Texas after an officer noticed her driving erratically. She told the officer that she had given birth and the baby wasn’t breathing, and the officer called for an ambulance.
But after arriving at the hospital and the baby was pronounced dead, Simmons-Hancock’s body was discovered in Texas.
Nearly two hours of disturbing bodycam footage show Oklahoma detectives arriving at the hospital and questioning Taylor, who is in a hospital bed, about the stolen baby
Hospital staff became suspicious when Parker refused to undergo a vaginal examination. Tests soon confirmed that she had not been pregnant and no longer had a uterus.
Nearly two hours of bodycam footage saw Oklahoma detectives arriving at the hospital and questioning Parker, who is in a hospital bed, about the stolen baby.
Initially, she denied the crime, claiming she was pregnant and the baby was hers. However, after a doctor performed a vaginal exam confirming the lie, she began to open up.
The interrogation footage showed Parker repeatedly changing her story, from claiming she gave birth on the roadside to alleging a physical fight with Simmons-Hancock.
Following her confession, Parker was arrested, initiating two years of legal proceedings that exposed gruesome details of her planned murder of her supposed friend.
After weeks of harrowing evidence and emotional testimony, the jury finally delivered its verdict – Parker was found guilty of capital murder.
A month later, on November 9, 2022, she was sentenced to death by the trial court upon the jury’s unanimous recommendation for capital punishment.
Several subsequent appeals in 2025 and 2026 were denied, including by the Supreme Court in May of this year.
Parker is now the youngest woman and one of only seven female convicts on death row in Texas.
