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A Texas mother pretended to be pregnant, then killed her pregnant friend and cut the fetus from the victim’s uterus to try to pretend it was her own, a court heard.
Taylor Parker, 29, is accused of killing 34 weeks pregnant Regan Simmons-Hancock, 21, and her unborn daughter Braxlynn Sage in New Boston, in October 2020.
Parker, who also goes by the surnames Morton and Griffin, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and kidnapping, as well as non-fatal murder in connection with the baby. Her trial started Monday and she could face the death penalty or life without parole if convicted of manslaughter.
Authorities believe Parker was so terrified of losing her boyfriend Wade Griffin that she faked a pregnancy for nearly 10 months.
She is a mother of two, but had had hysterectomy surgery, meaning she was unable to have any more children.
She is accused of faking ultrasounds, hosting a gender reveal party and posting on social media about her fake pregnancy while searching for a victim.
Taylor Parker, 29, (pictured) has denied killing her boyfriend Regan Simmons-Hancock and her unborn child in October 2020. She could face the death penalty or life without parole if convicted of manslaughter.
Parker, a mother of two, had a hysterectomy and was unable to have any more children, but pretended she had become pregnant for fear that Griffin would break up with her.
Regan Simmons-Hancock, 21, was murdered by Parker after befriending her with prosecutors who said the ‘layers of fraud are staggering’
Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told the Bowie County jury that Parker was an “actress of the highest order” while opening the case on Monday.
Parker cut out Regan’s baby named Braxlynn Sage after killing her mother by stabbing her with a scalpel and crushing her skull with a hammer
She said, ‘The lies and fraud go on and on; the layers of fraud are staggering. You will have to understand the fraud to understand what happened on October 9.
“This started months and months in advance until it passed the point of no return, and it ended in murder.”
Parker is accused of leaving Regan, whom she was friends with, to die in front of her three-year-old daughter.
She stabbed and cut Regan, who was 34 weeks pregnant with Braxlynn Sage, more than 100 times and crushed her skull with a hammer, before using a scalpel to remove the baby.
Prosecutors allege she rode alone with the baby on her lap and stuffed the placenta into her own pants to make it look like she had given birth, as the umbilical cord was still attached.
Parker was stopped by a state agent around 9:37 a.m. and could be seen performing CPR on the child before being transported to a hospital.
Reagan’s mother called 911 minutes before Parker was arrested after finding her daughter on the floor with a ‘great abundance’ of blood
Parker is accused of leaving Regan, whom she was friends with, to die in front of her three-year-old daughter
Wade Griffin, left, Parker’s boyfriend at the time believed she was pregnant and had his child. He told officers he planned to meet Parker at the hospital to be induced on the day of the murder
Reagan’s mother had called 911 minutes before Parker’s arrest after finding her daughter on the floor with a “great abundance” of blood.
It covered the floor, furniture, walls, appliances and other items in the house, with emergency services seeing a large cut in Regan’s abdomen.
When interviewed by officers, Parker admitted she did not give birth to the child and said she assaulted Reagan before kidnapping the child.
Parker told her then-boyfriend Wade Griffin that she would be persuaded to have their child on the day of the murder.
Griffin told the officers that he would meet her at the hospital around lunchtime for the birth of their child.
Witnesses also claimed that Parker bid $100,000 for a surrogate mother after lying to Griffin about her pregnancy.
Attorney Jeff Harrelson asked the six male and six female jurors not to succumb to their emotions and to be open.
He said: ‘It’s a complicated matter, both factually and emotionally. The law is the lens and filter through which you must view these facts. Sometimes it’s not black and white but a shade of gray.’