Taylor Parker, who gained notoriety for her involvement in the tragic case of Reagan Simmons Hancock, is not only known for her deception but also for being a mother. This complex figure is at the center of Netflix’s documentary Maternal Instinct, which explores her unsettling story.
Before her infamous relationship with Wade Griffin, a hog farmer, Parker was already a mother to a daughter and a son. Her relationship with Griffin quickly became serious, during which she convinced him she was expecting her third child. However, as revealed in the documentary, Parker had undergone a hysterectomy years prior, making it impossible for her to conceive.
Despite this, Parker orchestrated an elaborate ruse to appear pregnant, complete with a maternity shoot and a gender reveal celebration. Her deception took a dark turn when she entered Hancock’s home, brutally murdered her, and removed the baby from Hancock’s womb, intending to present the infant as her own, according to court documents.
Shortly after the heinous act, Parker was stopped by a Texas state trooper for erratic driving. She falsely claimed to have just given birth to the child, who tragically did not survive.
Now, Parker resides on death row in Texas, having been convicted of murder. But what became of the two children she had before meeting Griffin? Continue reading to uncover their fate.
Who Are Taylor Parker’s Children?
Parker was just 17 years old when she gave birth to a daughter she shared with then-boyfriend Donald Whiteside, according to the court records.
Parker’s mother Shonna Prior had only met Whiteside once, she testified during Parker’s sentencing hearing, adding that he was not involved in Parker’s life for long, KTAL reported.
The child’s aunt Jennifer Whiteside also took the stand during the trial, according to the news outlet, testifying that Parker briefly lived in a trailer on the Whiteside family’s compound during the pregnancy, but later moved out after she discovered he was cheating on her. At the time of her 2022 testimony, she told the court that he had never seen his daughter.
After the pair split up, Parker began dating her future husband Tommy Wacasey, according to the court records. When she was 21, she gave birth to a son she shared with Wacasey.
Why Did Taylor Parker Have a Hysterectomy?
During the pregnancy, she suffered from pre-eclampsia, a dangerous condition that can raise a mother’s blood pressure. As a result, Parker decided to get her tubes tied to prevent a future pregnancy, authorities said. Two years later, she got pregnant again, but due to the tubal ligation, she had an ectopic pregnancy and had to undergo surgery.
Doctors discovered she had “complex cysts and scarring from endometriosis,” according to court records, and while she was still under anesthesia, Wacasey and Prior made the decision for her to have a hysterectomy.
“At that point, you tell a surgeon to ‘do what you would do,’” Prior testified, according to KTAL. “Of course, Tommy told her Taylor was going to be upset about a hysterectomy. At that point, that wasn’t my concern. My concern was for the physician to do whatever she thought was necessary.”
What Was Taylor Parker Like As a Mother?
During Parker’s sentencing hearing, defense attorney Jeff Harrelson painted her as a caring mother, sharing photos of weekend trips, family gatherings and days at the pool, KTAL reported.
While her brother Zachary Morton also testified that Parker had been a good mother, he said she could be distracted when “she was chasing another man,” much like their own father.
“When dad was chasing other women or drugs, we were put on the back burner,” he testified, according to the news outlet. “It seemed like when Taylor was chasing another man, instead of the focus being on her children, it was on herself. It was all about her at one specific time.”
First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp also criticized Parker’s parenting abilities after the court heard a jail call between Parker and her daughter in which she instructed the crying child not to talk to anyone about the murder allegations.
“She’s wanting to talk to her friend,” Crisp said, adding that it was “hard to wrap your mind around” why Parker wouldn’t let the then-12-year-old open up to anyone.
Prior testified the family had done their best to try to protect Parker’s daughter, even getting her a counselor shortly after the arrest.
“She does not know the horrific details,” Prior testified, per KTAL. “She knows that two people have died at the hands of her mother.”
Where are Taylor Parker’s Children Now?
Prior was granted custody of her granddaughter—who also continued to spend time with Wacasey’s family, according to the court testimony.
Wacasey testified during the legal proceedings, alleging to the court that Parker never paid child support or lived up to her visitation rights with their son, according to KSLA.
According to prosecutors, Parker owed more than $8,000 in child support.
Parker is awaiting execution on Texas Department of Correction’s O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas. No execution date has been set.