How Taylor Parker Met Wade Griffin
Parker had two children and had just experienced her second divorce when she met hog trapper and roofer Wade Griffin in July 2019. Griffin's mother, Connie Griffin, later testified that the whole family grew to love Parker as they got to know her, but there were some "red flags," like not having custody of her son. (Parker did have custody of her daughter.)
Griffin testified that Parker, who claimed she was the heiress of a million-dollar syrup empire, quickly proved herself useful in running his farm. The syrup money, she claimed, was all tied up in an account controlled by her mother, Shona Prior, but it would all be hers eventually. She encouraged Griffin to make lavish purchases and grand plans as debt racked up, and she promised she would soon have the funds.
At some point, Parker claimed Prior had put a hit out on her, was involved in a shootout suppressed by media and died by suicide in jail. Parker also started writing million-dollar checks that the banks refused to cash, but Griffin continued to trust her.
She first claimed she was pregnant in August 2019, just a few weeks into the relationship. She said she was pregnant with twins but later had been hit with a towing cable, causing the loss of the pregnancy. In February 2020, she said she was pregnant again, due in September 2020.
Parker's life was filled with milestones of this second pregnancy: her gender reveal party (involving a cow wearing a pink feather boa), morning sickness, doctor's appointments and a maternity photoshoot. She told Griffin he couldn't come to any of the appointments due to COVID-19. Even when Parker's ex-husband texted Griffin to tell him Parker had a hysterectomy in 2015, Griffin decided it was Prior, who Parker said had faked her death to further torment her daughter.
September came and went, and soon Parker was well into her 10th month of pregnancy.
How Wade Griffin Discovered the Truth
On the morning of the day that Parker planned to be induced, Griffin's house caught on fire, and the hospital was hit with a bomb threat, causing everyone to be evacuated and delaying the baby even further.
His mother, Connie, testified that she tried to tell her son that Parker was likely not pregnant and had probably called in the bomb threat herself, but he stormed out of her house in response.
Parker's new date of induction was October 9, 2020—the same day of a $6,100 hog sale she had arranged in Oklahoma. Griffin went to make the sale only to find out that no such deal had been made. He continued to assume it was Parker's mother trying to ruin their lives, even after he got to the hospital and was detained by three police officers. He assumed it was for illegal hog transport.
What Taylor Parker Did
In her quest to prove she was pregnant, Parker cozied up to 21-year-old Reagan Hancock. Parker had taken Hancock's wedding photos, and the two became friends. In early October 2020, Hancock had a 3-year-old daughter named Kynlee and was 35 weeks pregnant with her second daughter, who she wanted to name Braxlynn Sage.
On the morning of October 9, Parker went to Hancock's house in New Boston, Texas, and attacked her. Based on forensics, investigators believe they fought throughout the house before Hancock died with over 100 knife wounds and a fractured skull among other injuries. Parker cut the unborn baby out of her victim's uterus and left the body face down, with Hancock's 3-year-old unharmed in another room. When neighbors grew concerned, they called Hancock's husband Homer, but it was Hancock's mother Jessica Brookes who first encountered the scene and frantically called 911.
Multiple investigators testified that it was the worst crime scene they had ever seen.
Parker, meanwhile, got in her car with the baby and drove towards Oklahoma, but she was pulled over for erratic driving near De Kalb, Texas. When officers discovered her covered in blood, she claimed she had given birth while driving. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors discovered not a single bit of evidence that Parker had recently been pregnant. In fact, she had no uterus, but she was still adamant she had just given birth.
Baby Braxlynn was pronounced dead soon after arriving at the hospital due to a lack of oxygen. Parker was promptly detained.
Taylor Parker's Trial
In statements after the arrest, Parker said she and Hancock had gotten into a "physical altercation" that ended with Hancock's death and the crude C-section. She also said, "I wasn't in my right mind. I was freaking out." Her confession would already get her life in prison, but the state's attorney sought the death penalty.
Parker's team tried to dispute the kidnapping based on a lack of proof that Braxlynn was ever alive outside of the womb. The kidnapping charge was key to the prosecution's case because without it, Parker would not be eligible for execution. Under Texas law, intentional murder "in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping" can be classified as capital murder.
On October 3, 2022, Parker's trial ended after testimony from 142 witnesses and less than an hour of jury deliberation. She was declared guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to death a month later. She eventually appealed the sentence, but it was upheld in November 2025. An execution date has not been set.
"I'm overwhelmed with happiness it's over," Hancock's sister, Emily Simmons, said after the sentencing. "This has been such a burden in our life for so long now that I haven't been able to think about my sister without thinking about [Parker]."
