Who is Taylor Parker? Netflix Doc 'Maternal Instinct' Features Inmate on Death Row for Unspeakable Crime
A new terrifying, but true documentary has found its way to Netflix and the details of the newest addition are horrifying to say the least.
Maternal Instinct focuses on the murder of Reagan Simmons-Hancock, who was pregnant with what would have been her first child.
"She was only 17 when she was pregnant with her first one, Kynlee, and they were each other's worlds from the beginning," Hancock's mother told People. She would never give birth to the child, though, as she was attacked by a blunt object and stabbed with a sharp blade more than 100 times before her mother found her dead – and the baby missing.
Who Is Taylor Parker?
Taylor Parker, the photographer at Hancock's wedding, used a scalpel to cut out Hancock's unborn baby in an attempt to claim the baby as her own. It was an apparent attempt to save her relationship with a new boyfriend, according to People's report.
"Pulled over by police for driving erratically shortly afterward, Parker initially claimed she had just given birth to a baby who wasn't breathing," People revealed. "But after a doctor at the hospital where she was taken examined her and reported to police that she hadn't given birth, she was arrested and subsequently tried for capital murder."
She was eventually found guilty on Oct. 2, 2022 and is currently the youngest woman on death row in the state of Texas.
Why Did Taylor Parker Murder Reagan Hancock?
Parker, who was twice divorced and with two children from previous relationships, had recently started a new relationship with Texas roofing company supervisor Wade Griffin, whom she met at a rodeo.
The film focuses on their troubled relationship and Parker's multiple claims that she was pregnant at various times - and was set to receive a vast inheritance. In July 2019, she told her new boyfriend she was pregnant with twins but later said she lost the babies in a fluke accident, which the documentary details is just one of many fabricated stories from Parker.
"To her it was just, ‘Whatever I've got to do. Whatever I've got to do to keep this man with me,' " said Parker's former friend McKenzie Bright in the documentary.
Parker maintained that she was pregnant and even held a "heifer and bull"-themed gender reveal party. After her supposed September due date passed she went to Hancock's home, murdered her and took her unborn child.
During police questioning, Parker claimed she took the baby after a dying Hancock begged her to in the aftermath of a bloody fight.
In May, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review her appeal. She now sits in a Gatesville, Texas, prison, awaiting execution.
The documentary can now be found on Netflix.
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This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 12:02 PM.