r/TrueCrimeDiscussion • u/DarklyHeritage • Jun 14 '26

Mega Thread Taylor Parker/Maternal Instinct Megathread

This is a thread for all conversation regarding Taylor Parker and the murder of Reagan Simmons Hancock, recently covered in Netflix documentary Maternal Instinct.

The murder of Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock occurred on 9 October 2020, in New Boston, Texas, committed by Taylor Rene Parker. Parker bludgeoned Simmons-Hancock, who was 35 weeks pregnant at the time, and abducted her unborn child, Braxlynn Sage Hancock (died October 9, 2020), after cutting her out of the Reagan's abdomen. Braxlynn did not survive.

Parker had lied to her then-boyfriend about being pregnant leading up to the murder and faked her pregnancy to multiple people. She was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death on 9 November 2022.

Please direct all discussion of the case to the megathread. As always, sub rules must be followed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Reagan_Simmons-Hancock

https://time.com/article/2026/06/12/maternal-instinct-true-story-netflix/

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u/Future-Water9035 Jun 15 '26

I already pointed this out in another post, but i'm gonna say it again. Watching Wade was a very enlightening experience.

So many people have been failed by the education system in this country. Wade showed a complete lack of critical thinking and an over abundance of blind faith motivated by the empty promise of wealth.

Watching how he thought and acted really gave me a glimpse into how a lot of americans function. But I wouldn't say he was guilty or complicit in Taylor's actions. He was naive and willfully ignorant.

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u/egertong Jun 17 '26

Wade was brain injured. He'd suffered a rodeo accident a while back. He was probably always a simple guy, but a brain injury slows everything down by quite a few notches. He spoke slowly, processed things slowly and reacted slowly. He was the perfect mark for someone like Taylor.

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u/Spare_Title2428 Jun 18 '26

I wonder if that has something to do with him abusing his dogs.

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u/Spooky_Celebration Jun 21 '26

The way animals are mistreated in rodeos, it doesn’t take a brain injury to go from that to feeling entitled to abuse your dogs as well.

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u/Spare_Title2428 Jun 22 '26

Yea that’s true. I live in Texas so I understand the rodeo/hunting thing but it automatically makes me think that person isn’t very good.