Texas’ Court of Criminal Appeals has affirmed the death sentence of Taylor Rene Parker, who was convicted of one of the most gruesome murders in recent memory.
As previously reported, her legal team had argued that prosecutors improperly introduced humiliating and prejudicial evidence during her trial, including repeatedly calling her fat. They claim this evidence was introduced to manipulate the jury into trivializing her life.
The court’s opinion—written by Judge Lee Finley—was released on Thursday. “Finding no reversible error, we affirm Appellant’s conviction and sentence of death,” wrote Finley.
Parker, 32, was sentenced to death in 2022 for the murder of 21‑year‑old Reagan Hancock and Hancock’s unborn daughter, Braxlynn, on October 9, 2020, in New Boston.
Parker brutally attacked Hancock inside her home—beating, stabbing, and strangling her before using a scalpel to cut the unborn child from her womb. Hancock’s three-year-old daughter was in the house at the time of the incident.
For months, Parker had faked her own pregnancy to convince her boyfriend she was expecting, to keep him from leaving her. After killing Hancock, she fled the scene with the infant in an attempt to pass the child off as her own.
She was later stopped by a state trooper for speeding and erratic driving. The trooper found her covered in dried blood while holding the dead baby with the umbilical cord still attached. She was subsequently transported to a nearby hospital in Idabel, Oklahoma.
Parker claimed she had given birth on the side of the road, but medical staff found no signs of recent childbirth. Under questioning, Parker admitted she had been in a “physical altercation” with Hancock and took the baby from her body. She was immediately arrested for abduction and murder.
In November 2022, Parker was tried and convicted of capital murder for killing a person while committing or attempting to commit a kidnapping. Based on the jury’s answers to the statutorily required special issues, Parker was sentenced to death.
Direct appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals is automatic, and Parker raised twenty-five points of error with her trial. However, the court found none of them convincing, ultimately affirming her death sentence.
Parker is currently housed at the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, the primary detention facility for female death row inmates in Texas. She has yet to receive an execution date.
This ruling follows the same court’s decision to delay the execution of Robert Roberson, who was convicted more than 20 years ago of murdering his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. His execution was scheduled for October 16 but was delayed by the court over concerns of “junk science” evidence used at the trial.
If you or anyone you know has information regarding court cases, please contact our tip line: scorecardtips@protonmail.com.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
