Taylor Parker Now: Netflix Killer's Life on Texas Death Row Today
Taylor Parker's crime is featured in a new Netflix documentary called Maternal Instinct. Horrifically, the documentary reconstructs Parker's story.
She was convicted of murdering Reagan Simmons-Hancock and cutting her unborn child from her womb to continue a masquerade that Parker was pregnant. The charade was designed to fool Parker's boyfriend Wade Griffin. The crime was monstrous. Simmons-Hancock "was slashed more than 100 times and left in a pool of blood, with her unborn baby Braxlynn Sage Hancock cut from her womb," according to the Associated Press. The baby also died.
That has a lot of fans wondering: Where is Parker now? Today, she is on death row. Here's what we know about her life.
Where Is Taylor Parker Now?
Today, Parker is housed on death row at the Patrick L. O'Daniel prison. She is 33 years old. That's according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Her full name is Taylor Rene Parker.
The prison record says she was convicted in Bowie County of capital murder. The prison is located "four miles north of Gatesville on FM 215 in Coryell County," the prison system says. It's a prison for women that has a capacity to hold 644 inmates.
Parker is housed with another famous inmate. Yolanda Saldívar, who murdered singer Selena Quintanilla is housed there as well, according to Biography.com, which noted that Parker is "one of only seven women on death row in Texas." She doesn't have an execution date yet, though.
According to Netflix, Parker met the victim by agreeing to take her wedding photographs.
Taylor Parker Was Accused of Misbehaving While Incarcerated
Parker has not had a blemish free incarceration record.
Court documents revealed she has "repeatedly and continuously engaged in criminal behavior, violations of jail policy, and has continued her fraudulent pattern of lying and misrepresenting most all aspects of her medical history and medical status," according to WLBT-TV.
She was accused of having relationships with inmates and altering her jail uniform to look more seductive, the television station reported.
The Texas prison system has a recent photo of Parker on its website, writing, "On October 9, 2020, the subject killed a 21-year-old pregnant woman to take her unborn child." Parker is listed in prison records as standing 5 foot 4 inches tall and weighing 223 pounds. She was 27 when she committed the murder, according to the prison system.
Parker "has repeatedly and continuously engaged in criminal behavior, including a massive fraudulent scheme directed at fabricating evidence, tampering with witnesses and ultimately attempting to frame a mentally fragile inmate," court documents obtained by KTAL-TV report.
Taylor Parker Has Lost Appeals
Parker has tried to appeal her conviction, but a court rejected her claim. An appellate court decision lays out the gory details of the crime.
"Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the murder of Reagan. Instead, Appellant only challenges the sufficiency of the State's evidence to show that Braxlynn was 'born and is alive' during the kidnapping or attempted kidnapping," the court decision noted, according to KTAL-TV.
The U.S. Supreme Court later declined to hear her case.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 7:43 AM.