Maternity Instinct, a true crime documentary, is soaring up the Netflix charts, but what did Taylor Parker do and where is she now? Released on Friday, June 12, the series has become one of the most talked-about true crime releases of the year, topping the streaming service's chart for three days.
What Did Taylor Parker Do?
The documentary follows Taylor Parker, a young woman from a small East Texas town who claimed to come from a wealthy family. She fell for Wade Griffin, a local hog trapper. Their relationship seemed perfect, and soon Parker announced she was pregnant, showing off her baby bump on social media. However, as her due date approached, doubts about her pregnancy grew.
Parker's friends revealed she had previously lied about having cancer, a brain tumor, a stroke, and multiple sclerosis. She had also undergone a hysterectomy years earlier, making pregnancy impossible. Desperate for a solution, Parker targeted her friend Reagan Simmons-Hancock, a 21-year-old whose wedding she had photographed. In October 2020, Reagan was found dead by her mother, with her three-year-old daughter hiding in a bedroom.
On October 9, 2020, Parker called 911 claiming she had just given birth and the baby wasn't breathing. State troopers found her performing CPR on a newborn. Doctors found no evidence she had given birth. It emerged that Parker murdered Reagan, who suffered 15 stab wounds and 98 incised wounds, and cut out her baby, who died in the hospital.
Where Is Taylor Parker Now?
After a lengthy trial, Parker was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. In 2025, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed her conviction and sentence. She continues to pursue appeals and remains the youngest woman on death row in Texas.
