She Faked a Pregnancy for 10 Months-Then Her Friend Was Murdered and Her Baby Was Gone

Reagan Simmons-Hancock believed Taylor Parker was her friend.

Parker had photographed her wedding. She had become part of Reagan’s life. And when Reagan was pregnant with her second child, Parker claimed she was pregnant, too. On the surface, it looked like two young women bonding over motherhood.

But according to prosecutors, one of those pregnancies was real and the other was an elaborate lie that ended in murder.

In 2022, Taylor Parker was convicted of capital murder for the 2020 killing of 21-year-old Reagan Simmons-Hancock and the abduction of Reagan’s unborn daughter, Braxlynn Sage. The baby was cut from her mother’s womb and later died.

The case is now the subject of the Netflix true-crime documentary “Maternal Instinct,” which takes a closer look at Parker’s months-long deception, the warning signs people missed, and the devastating impact on Reagan’s family.

What makes this case so horrifying is not just the violence. It is the fact that Reagan trusted Parker.

She had no reason to believe the woman claiming to share the pregnancy journey with her was actually planning something unthinkable.

A Friendship Built on a Lie

Reagan, who was originally from Arkansas, met Parker while looking for an affordable wedding photographer. Parker came recommended, and at first, she seemed like a good fit.

Over time, the two women became friends.

When Reagan became pregnant with her second child, Parker claimed she was also expecting. She told friends, relatives, and her boyfriend, Wade Griffin, that she was pregnant with her third child.

But Parker could not become pregnant.

She had undergone a hysterectomy years earlier, meaning she did not have a uterus. Pregnancy was biologically impossible.

Still, Parker managed to keep the lie going for months.

According to the documentary, she wore a fake silicone baby bump, posted pregnancy updates, shared fake ultrasound images, staged medical appointments, took maternity photos, prepared a nursery, and even held a gender-reveal party.

She used the pandemic to her advantage, reportedly telling Griffin that COVID restrictions prevented him from attending prenatal appointments with her.

Every time someone questioned the story, Parker seemed to have an explanation ready.

That is one of the most unsettling parts of this case. This was not a small lie that got out of hand overnight. Prosecutors described a long-running deception that Parker kept feeding until she was trapped by her own false story.

Why Did Parker Fake the Pregnancy?

The documentary suggests Parker may have faked the pregnancy in an attempt to keep her relationship with Griffin from falling apart.

Director Jessica Dimmock described Parker as a master manipulator and said the case shows how danger does not always look the way people expect it to look.

That is what makes this story so disturbing. Parker did not appear to Reagan as a stranger in a dark alley. She appeared as a friend. A photographer. Another expecting mom.

But behind the scenes, Parker’s fake pregnancy was unraveling.

According to Dimmock, Parker had been looking at different ways to keep the lie alive, including adoption, fake home birth paperwork, and even watching pregnant women outside OB-GYN offices.

By October 2020, Parker was desperate.

And Reagan, who was in the final weeks of her pregnancy, became her target.

The Day Reagan Was Killed

On the morning of October 9, 2020, Reagan was found dead inside her home.

Authorities said she had suffered a brutal attack, including more than 100 sharp-force injuries. A scalpel was used to remove her unborn daughter, Braxlynn Sage.

Reagan’s 3-year-old daughter was inside the home during the attack but was not physically harmed.

Later that same day, police stopped Parker after she was seen driving erratically. Parker told officers she had just given birth on the side of the road and that the newborn was not breathing.

Emergency responders rushed Parker and the baby to a hospital.

But medical staff quickly realized something was wrong.

Parker showed no signs of having recently given birth. Doctors also confirmed she did not have a uterus and could not have carried a pregnancy. DNA testing later proved the infant was not Parker’s child.

The baby was Reagan’s daughter.

Parker was arrested.

A Family Left With an Unthinkable Loss

Reagan’s family has described her as a loving wife, a devoted mother, a sister, and someone who saw the good in people.

That detail makes this case even harder to process. Reagan was not suspicious of Parker. She was not looking over her shoulder. She believed she had a friend who was sharing one of life’s most emotional milestones with her.

Instead, she was being deceived.

Dimmock said Reagan’s family has leaned on faith and each other, but what happened to Reagan and Braxlynn will never truly make sense.

And that is the part that stays with you.

So much of this tragedy was built on lies. Lies about pregnancy. Lies about medical appointments. Lies about a future baby. Lies told to friends, family, a boyfriend, and ultimately to police.

But Reagan and Braxlynn paid the price.

Parker’s Conviction and Death Sentence

Parker’s defense attorneys argued that the baby was never alive and tried to have a kidnapping charge dismissed, which could have reduced the capital murder charge.

Prosecutors argued that multiple medical professionals testified the infant had a heartbeat when born. They also focused on Parker’s actions in the months leading up to Reagan’s murder, showing jurors how far the pregnancy hoax had gone.

Parker was convicted of capital murder.

She is now on Texas death row.

This case raises questions that are difficult, but worth discussing. How did Parker keep the fake pregnancy going for so long? Were the red flags obvious only in hindsight? And when someone is this committed to deception, how much can the people around them realistically see before it is too late?

What do you think... was this a case where warning signs were missed, or was Parker simply too manipulative for anyone to imagine what she was capable of?