Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘Maternal Instinct’ is a true crime documentary that delves deep into the gruesome killings of Reagan Hancock and her newborn daughter, Braxlynn Sage Hancock, in their New Boston, Texas, home in 2020. As the detectives investigated the double homicide, they discovered that a web of lies and deception led the perpetrator to commit the murders. All aspects of the case, including the swift investigation, are explored in depth in the documentary with the help of exclusive and insightful interviews.
Reagan and Braxlynn Sage Hancock Were Killed at Their New Boston Home
On November 14, 1998, in Hope, Arkansas, Jessica and Brandon Simmons welcomed Reagan Michelle Simmons into the world as a little bundle of joy. Not long after her birth, her mother divorced and remarried Marcus Brookes. Growing up, she shared a close-knit bond with her two sisters, Emily Shirey and Destiny Brookes, and two brothers, Clayton Brookes and Sawyer Simmons. At 17, the amazing daughter and sister also became a doting mother to her daughter, Kynlee Grace, whom she shared with the love of her life, Homer Hancock. Being a religious and helpful member of the community, she was a member of the J-C Cowboy Church in Lewisville, Arkansas, and a Customer Service Representative with Flying Burger in Texarkana, Texas.
A couple of years later, on September 21, 2019, Reagan and Homer made their relationship official by tying the knot in an intimate wedding ceremony. In May 2020, she announced that she and Homer were going to be parents for the second time. As her due date approached, the couple also decided on the name for their unborn girl — Braxlynn Sage Hancock. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to give birth to her second child as she met her untimely demise at her home in New Boston, Texas, when she was 35 weeks pregnant. On the morning of October 9, 2020, when Reagan’s family and friends couldn’t reach her by phone, her mother went to her house to check in on her. Jessica found the garage door open and a bloody footprint before she discovered her daughter’s remains.
As the authorities were notified, they rushed to the scene and determined that the attacker had removed Braxlynn Sage from Reagan’s womb, inflicting a total of 113 sharp force injuries to the mother, including 15 stab wounds and 98 incised wounds. The autopsy confirmed that the cause of Reagan’s death was “homicide from traumatic extraction from the uterus with both sharp and blunt force injuries.” Meanwhile, Braxlynn died of traumatic extraction from the mother’s uterus, also deemed a homicide. As a result, a double homicide investgation was immediately launched.
Reagan and Braxlynn’s Killer Pretended to be Pregnant For Several Months
Months before the double homicide, Reagan Hancock hired Taylor Rene Parker as the photographer for her wedding ceremony in September 2019. At the time, Taylor was in a relationship with Wade Griffin and was a mother to two children, a daughter and a son. In the months that followed, Reagan and Taylor developed a close friendship. On the fateful day of October 9, 2020, when Taylor was stopped by a state trooper in DeKalb, Texas, she was found with a newborn baby. She told the officers that she had given birth in the car and was headed to the hospital. She was then taken to McCurtain Memorial Hospital in Idabel, Oklahoma, where the baby was declared dead. However, it was discovered that Taylor had lied about giving birth, as the test concluded that it was not her child. As the police connected the dots, they realized that Taylor could be linked to the murder of Reagan and Braxlynn.
Digging deeper into Taylor’s personal life, the detectives learned that she had been faking her pregnancy for several months to her boyfriend, his family, and their friends. However, it was alleged by a few of her acquaintances that she could not get pregnant as she had a hysterectomy in 2015. Taylor also reportedly lied to Wade about her inheritance, claiming she was due to receive nearly $8 million. As a result, the couple bought an $80,000 tractor, an $87,000 pickup truck, cattle, and other expensive items. On the fateful morning of October 9, 2020, Taylor told Wade that she was going to be induced at the hospital, but convinced him to go sell the hogs before he came to the hospital. She then reportedly drove down to Reagan’s home, where she attacked her with a knife and performed a C-section to extract her unborn daughter, Braxlynn, before fleeing the scene with the newborn.
As a result, Taylor Parker was arrested for the murder of Reagan and Braxlynn. During her questioning, she changed her stories multiple times. In one version, she claimed that Reagan asked her to pull the baby out of her and begged her to leave with the baby. After being extradited back to Texas on October 15, 2020, Taylor was charged with kidnapping, murder, and capital murder. Nearly two years later, on September 12, 2022, the killer’s trial began in Bowie County. After several weeks of hearing, the jury deliberated for about an hour on October 3 and found her guilty of murder and capital murder. Following the conviction, the prosecution sought the death penalty for Taylor, while the defense requested life without parole. In the end, on November 9, 2022, she was sentenced to death for her convictions.
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