It is the kind of story that feels too ghoulish for a Sunday morning news cycle, but in New Boston, Texas, it became a living nightmare. On October 9, 2020, the lives of several families were shattered in a way that most people can't even fathom. At the center of it all was a woman named Taylor Parker, her boyfriend Wade Griffin, and a young mother named Reagan Simmons-Hancock. People often look at these cases and ask "how?" How does someone fake a pregnancy for ten months? How does a partner not notice?
Honestly, the details that came out during the 2022 trial—and the subsequent appeals in late 2025—paint a picture of manipulation so dense it’s hard to see through. Taylor Parker didn't just tell a lie. She built a world out of them. She used spoofing apps to fake texts from "doctors," bought fake ultrasound photos online, and even wore a silicone "moon belly" to physically look the part.
The Web Taylor Parker Spun for Wade Griffin
Wade Griffin was, by all accounts, the catalyst for the deception, though not a willing participant in the crime. Prosecutors argued that Parker was "obsessed" with him. She was terrified he would leave her. The problem? Parker had undergone a hysterectomy years prior after the birth of her second child. She couldn't have more children. But instead of being honest, she told Griffin she was pregnant in early 2020.
For nearly a year, the couple lived a lie that Parker curated with terrifying precision. They had a gender reveal party. They picked out a name: Clancy Gaile. They even set up a nursery. Griffin’s mother later testified about "red flags," but Parker was a master at deflection. When her "due date" in September 2020 passed, she didn't confess. She doubled down. She claimed she was being induced at a hospital in Mount Pleasant on October 5.
To buy more time, she allegedly set fire to the house she shared with Griffin and called in a bomb threat to the very hospital where she was supposed to give birth. It sounds like a movie script. It wasn't. It was a desperate attempt to keep a man from realizing his girlfriend was never pregnant.
What Really Happened on October 9
When the excuses ran out, Taylor Parker turned to a level of violence that left the courtroom in tears. She had been stalking women's clinics and boutiques, looking for a victim. She eventually targeted Reagan Simmons-Hancock, a 21-year-old she knew through photography work. Reagan was 35 weeks pregnant and already a mother to a three-year-old daughter.
Inside Reagan’s home, Parker committed an act of depravity. She beat Reagan with a hammer, stabbed her over 100 times, and used a scalpel to perform a "crude C-section" while Reagan was still alive. Parker then took the baby, Braxlynn Sage, and fled.
The Traffic Stop That Ended It All
Around 9:30 a.m. that morning, a Texas state trooper pulled over a speeding car near the Oklahoma border. He found Taylor Parker behind the wheel, covered in blood. She was holding a limp baby and had an umbilical cord protruding from her pants. She claimed she had just given birth on the side of the road.
The hospital staff in Idabel, Oklahoma, saw through it almost immediately. Doctors noted that Parker showed no physical signs of having given birth. While they tried to save the baby, it was too late. Braxlynn Sage was pronounced dead.
The 2025 Appeal: Fat-Shaming and Final Rulings
Fast forward to November 2025. Taylor Parker, currently on death row at the O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas, attempted to have her sentence overturned. Her legal team argued something unexpected: they claimed she was "fat-shamed" during the trial.
They argued that the prosecution's focus on her previous weight-loss surgery and her physical appearance was meant to "trivialize her life" in the eyes of the jury. It was a long shot. On November 7, 2025, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously rejected her appeal.
💡 You might also like: The Population in Puerto Rico Explained: What the Numbers Don't Tell You
The court ruled that the evidence regarding her appearance was actually relevant to her motive. The prosecution’s theory was simple: Parker was obsessed with keeping her boyfriend, underwent surgery to be more "attractive" to him, and when she couldn't give him a child, she committed murder to maintain the illusion of their perfect life.
Where the Case Stands Now
The legal road for Taylor Parker is narrowing. With her state-level appeals exhausted as of late 2025, she remains one of the few women on death row in Texas. For the families of Reagan Hancock and baby Braxlynn, the "justice" part of the process is over, but the grief is permanent.
Wade Griffin, the man at the center of Parker's obsession, has mostly stayed out of the public eye since his testimony. His life was effectively a stage for a year, a set piece in a play he didn't know he was starring in.
Key Takeaways and Facts:
- The Sentence: Taylor Parker was sentenced to death in November 2022.
- The Victim: Reagan Simmons-Hancock was 21 years old and 35 weeks pregnant.
- The Motive: To keep her boyfriend, Wade Griffin, by providing him with a child she could not biologically have.
- The Legal Outcome: As of late 2025, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the death sentence, citing overwhelming evidence of premeditation and kidnapping.
If you are following this case or similar true crime developments, the next step is to look for the scheduling of an execution date, which hasn't happened yet. You can track updates through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) offender information search.