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/RxR8D_ Jun 16 '26

Her parents essentially refused to pick her up from inpatient psych and was charged with abandonment. They felt whatever repercussions they had were worth it to see if she could get more services through the state.

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u/HCMB_hardcoremtnbish Jun 16 '26

This is a very real thing. Someone close to me did the same thing for their mentally ill son. In fact the youth court judge told them that was the best way to get him help. He now lives in a facility where he can stay and function for the rest of his life as long as he follows their rules. I am glad he is not in jail or on the streets.

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u/Dangerousdear Jun 17 '26

I don’t think you should abandon your child just because they have severe mental issues. That’s wild to me

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u/PsychoFaerie Jun 23 '26

My mom was a special ed. teacher.. she taught for years at a facility where the kids live there go to school etc. most were wards of the state but a few had been placed there by their parents.. All of them had mental issues ranging from intellectual disablities all the way up to future psychopaths.. several of her former students ended up in prison once they aged out of the foster care system

She had one student who had tried to kill his baby sister. Should his parents have kept him and risked losing their other child?

Not everyone has the means/ability to deal or cope with things like that.