Taylor Rene Parker of Texas was convicted of capital murder and kidnapping of a mother and her unborn child Monday after less than an hour of jury deliberations.
Parker, 29, was convicted of murdering Reagan Michelle Simmons Hancock, 21, at the victim’s home in October 2020, and cutting Hancock’s unborn child Braxlynn Sage Hancock from her body, according to Law & Crime. Evidence presented at trial showed that Parker stabbed her friend Hancock in at least five different places, Law & Crime described in another article.
The injuries were consistent with a sharp-edged weapon such as a scalpel, and included numerous stab wounds and deep incisions, the outlet continued. Hancock was cut open from hip to hip before her uterus was pulled out and cut during her 34th week of pregnancy, according to the evidence presented at trial.
REPORT: Coroner Says He Cried, Couldn’t Eat For A Week In Most Heinous Crime He’s Ever Seen https://t.co/fW0coOo8sO
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 28, 2022
Parker stabbed Hancock more than 100 times, including at least 39 wounds to her head. Additional wounds suggest Parker repeatedly hit her skull with the claw-end of a hammer, Law & Crime continued. A scalpel was also found in the victim’s neck.
Parker then tried to pass the baby off as her own when approached by state troopers, the outlet noted. When she was pulled over, the umbilical cord was still attached to the infant and appeared to be coming out of Parker’s pants as if she had birthed the child.
Parker tried to fake a pregnancy for ten months prior to the brutal murder in order to keep her boyfriend, prosecutors asserted during trial. She had received a hysterectomy and done extensive research on how to fake her pregnancy, according to the New York Post. She even went as far as to fake a pregnancy for ten months, fabricate ultrasounds, and hold a “gender reveal.” (RELATED: REPORT: Child Killed By Family During Disturbing Exorcism Ritual)
“The pain Reagan must have felt when Taylor started cutting her abdomen, hip to hip … indescribable,” Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards said at trial, the NY Post continued. “When Taylor had the baby and Reagan was still alive, that’s when Taylor started slashing and cutting. She can’t leave her alive. It was no quick death. She just kept cutting her. I guess Reagan would not die fast enough for Taylor to get out of there and get on with her plans.”
Sentencing for Parker begins October 12. She faces either life in prison without parole or the death penalty, the NY Post noted.