Texas Woman Found Guilty of Fatally Stabbing Pregnant Woman and Trying to Steal Her Baby

Mar. 15, 2025

Victim Reagan Simmons Hancock and Her Killer Taylor Parker.Photo: Facebook; Idabel Police Department

The D.A.’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Duringthe three-week trial, Parker’s lawyer, Jeff Harrelson, argued that the kidnapping charge should be dismissed, a move that would reduce Parker’s capital murder charge to murder, per Associated Press.

PEOPLE reached out to Harrelson for comment but did not immediately get a response.

In his closing argument, Harrelson told the 12-person jury, made up of six women and six men, “That’s why in opening statements we spent so much time on definitions. You can’t kidnap a person who has not been born alive.”

Reagan Simmons Hancock.Facebook

Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards said, according to Fox News Digital, “In the past two weeks,the evidence has never been more clear.She’s a liar, a manipulator, and now she’s gonna be held accountable for it.”

Richards went on to describe the mom-to-be’s harrowing final moments on earth as Taylor ripped her daughter from her stomach.

Simmons Hancock was approximately seven-and-a-half months pregnant when the child was taken from her womb.

Reagan Hancock with her family.Facebook

Parker was later arrestedafter Simmons Hancock was found dead in her New Boston home around.

During the trial, Crisp said Parker lied about being pregnant for nearly 10 months to keep her boyfriend around. She faked ultrasounds, had a gender-reveal party and even posted about her fake pregnancy on social media.

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After the attack, Parker left Simmons Hancock’s 3-year-old daughter alone with her dying mom.

Parker’s sentencingproceedings are scheduled for Oct. 12. Prosecutors are asking for the death penalty, according to theTexarkana Gazette.

source: people.com