A Texas woman was sentenced to death for mu*rdering a pregnant woman and ripping out her unborn child.
A jury of six men and six women in Bowie County, approximately 150 miles east of Dallas, deliberated for less than two hours before imposing the death penalty on Taylor Rene Parker, age 29.
Parker was found guilty of capital mu*rder on October 3, 2020, for the heinous mu*rders of Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock, age 21, and her infant daughter in New Boston, Massachusetts, in October 2020.
“I have only one biological sister. You must comprehend what you have taken from me and my family. No more birthday celebrations for her. Emily Simmons, the victim’s sister, delivered an emotional victim impact statement before jurors began deliberating, as reported by the Texarkana Gazette. “I was barely 19 years old when I received the call that my sister had been mu*rdered,” Simmons said.
“She is never going to be my maid of honour. If I visit my sister, I must visit a cemetery and view a tombstone. Never again will I receive a text message or phone call from her.”
Jessica Brooks, the mother of Simmons-Hancock, referred to Parker as a “evil piece of flesh demon.”
“My baby was still alive and fighting for her babies when you tore her open and ripped her baby from her stomach,” the heartbroken mother said.
Prosecutors claim that in the 10 months preceding the mur*der, Parker faked her own pregnancy in an elaborate plot to prevent her boyfriend from leaving her. She wore pregnancy disguises, fabricated ultrasounds, posted online about her pregnancy, and even threw a gender reveal party for the fake baby.
Parker, who was unable to conceive following a hysterectomy, informed her boyfriend that she would be induced on the day of the mur*der. According to prosecutors, Simmons-Hancock conducted extensive research on how to fake a pregnancy and watched numerous videos on prematurely delivering babies at 35 weeks, which is how far along she was when she was murd*ered.
On the morning of October 9, 2020, Parker crushed Simmons-Hancock’s skull with a hammer and stabbed her more than one hundred times before removing her unborn child from her womb. Parker fled with the infant, a girl who subsequently passed away.
Parker was scheduled to be transferred to the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas, where the state houses its female death row inmates, according to court officials who spoke with TXK Today. She may file an appeal of her sentence.
