Texas Woman Receives Death Sentence for Fatally Assaulting Pregnant Friend and Abducting Unborn Child 

A 29-year-old Texas woman, Taylor Rene Parker, has been sentenced to death for the 2020 murder of her pregnant friend, Reagan Simmons-Hancock, and the abduction of the unborn baby, Braxlynn Sage Hancock. The Bowie County jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Parker guilty of capital murder by terror threat or other felony last month. The recent sentencing comes after the jury determined that Parker posed a continuing threat to society, and there were no significant mitigating circumstances in her background.

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During the trial, several family members of the victim provided victim impact statements. Reagan's sister, Emily Simmons, expressed the pain of losing her sister and how it affected important life events like her upcoming wedding. Reagan's mother, Jessica Brooks, directly addressed Parker, describing her as an "evil piece of flesh demon" and highlighting the brutal act of tearing her daughter open and taking the baby.

First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp recounted the gruesome murder scene in her closing statement, emphasizing the horrific circumstances and the mother's fight for her child. The court heard details of the murder, involving over 100 stab wounds, defensive wounds on the victim's hands, a fractured skull, and other injuries inflicted with various objects.

The investigation began when Hancock's mother discovered her daughter's lifeless body on October 9, 2020, with a large amount of blood throughout the house. Parker was apprehended less than an hour later, holding a newborn infant, and claiming it as her own. However, medical personnel determined that Parker had not given birth to the child.

Prosecutors argued that Parker's motive was to steal Reagan's baby to maintain a lie she had told her boyfriend about being pregnant. The brutal nature of the crime and the extensive injuries inflicted on the victim played a significant role in the jury's decision to sentence Parker to death.

Judge John Tidwell formally sentenced Parker to death, stating, "You have been found guilty of capital murder and punished by Texas law to death. I formally sentence you to death." Parker has been taken to death row following the sentencing.

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