Maternal Instinct's Taylor Parker sent letter to ex-boyfriend's dad from death row asking for one thing
Warning: This article contains discussion of themes which some readers may find distressing.
Taylor Parker's reportedly sent a letter Wade Griffin's father, Jimmy, expressing her remorse for her heinous crimes.
Mother-of-two Parker was sentenced to death in November 2022, after murdering her friend, Reagan Simmons-Hancock, 21, who was eight months pregnant, as well as her unborn baby.
Parker was faking her own pregnancy at the time, with her former partner Griffin believing he was about to become a dad. Griffin has spoken about the ordeal for the first time in the Netflix documentary, Maternal Instinct, in which he said her claims 'made sense to me'.
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Parker also cut Hancock's unborn baby from her womb, pretending the baby was hers, however, it was determined in hospital that the baby was not hers, and she was arrested on the same day.
Now, a note from Parker to Griffin's father, which has been obtained by TMZ, from the Bowie County court, shows her asking him for forgiveness.
The letter, dated 20 September 2022, just one month before she was convicted of capital murder, and two years after the crime, begins: "Mr Jimmy. I'm sorry," as she tells him it's taken a while due to her having 'a lot on her mind and heart'.
Parker then goes on to ask Jimmy for forgiveness, although she acknowledges she 'does not deserve it'.
She then goes on to express the love she had for her former partner's father, and asking him to 'be patient with Wade,' as the father and son 'don't always see eye to eye'.
Elsewhere, the 33-year-old told Jimmy that his son Wade 'has felt like a disappointment,' adding that he never felt his father would be proud of him.
Towards the end of the handwritten letter, Parker penned: "I don't know how this happened or why but I miss my kids and family, but I'm ok."
She then asks Jimmy for forgiveness a final time, before saying she hasn't sent her letter to Wade yet - asking his father to 'keep it between us'.
During the documentary, Parker's former partner Wade spoke about how Parker, who had her tubes tied after suffering pre-eclampsia in 2014, and a hysterectomy in 2015, was able to keep up the lies.
“She would go to a doctors appointment, but I couldn’t ever go in with her because it was COVID at the time," he said.
“When I did try to go, she said the doctor had an emergency, or he couldn’t meet us, and we had to reschedule.”
Parker also wore a silicone pregnancy bump to avoid suspicion, and was posting photos on social media with her 'bump'.
In May 2026, The Supreme Court said it will not review Parker’s case, and she remains on death row.
A timeline of Taylor Parker’s crime
2014
Mother-of-two and wedding photographer Taylor Parker decides to get her tubes tied after suffering pre-eclampsia, a dangerous condition which raises blood pressure, during her last pregnancy.
2015
Parker goes to her doctor with bleeding, who concludes she has had an ectopic pregnancy. She undergoes a hysterectomy, permanently removing her ability to have children.
July 2019
Parker, who is now twice divorced, meets hog trapper Wade Griffin at a local rodeo and they start a relationship. She lies to him that she is the heir to a $6 million estate.
September 2019
Jessica Brookes hires Parker as the photographer at her daughter Reagan Hancock’s wedding to longtime boyfriend Homer Hancock. Parker also previously took their engagement photos.
January 2020
Parker tells Griffin she’s pregnant. He doesn’t know about the hysterectomy. To maintain the ruse, Parker wears a fake pregnancy bump, takes maternity photos and throws a gender reveal party. She claims her due date is September.
Staffers at the hospital where Parker had her hysterectomy are ‘very confused’ about her social media updates, but are bound by privacy laws.
May 2020
Hancock tells her mum Jessica that she’s pregnant with her second child. Jessica later says that after Parker finds out Hancock is pregnant and expecting a girl, she starts to have more contact with her.
September 2020
After her ‘due date’ passes, Parker tells Griffin she will need to be induced or have a c-section.
October 9 2020
Parker watches a video on how to deliver a baby pre-term at 35 weeks, the length of Hancock’s pregnancy. She tells Griffin she is travelling to Idabel, Oklahoma to be induced. Instead, she travels to Hancock’s home, killing her and cutting her unborn child, Braxlynn Sage, from her womb. Hancock’s three-year-old daughter is later found in the house unharmed.
Parker is later pulled over by a Texas State Trooper for erratic driving. As the trooper is approaching her car, she calls 911 and asks for an ambulance, saying: “I’m starting to have my baby.”
The trooper finds Taylor covered in dried blood and holding Hancock’s dead baby, with the umbilical cord still attached.
She is taken to hospital, where it is soon determined she has not given birth. She is arrested the same day.
December 2020
Taylor is indicted by a grand jury on charges of capital murder and kidnapping.
October 2022
Parker is convicted of capital murder.
November 2022
Parker is sentenced to death. Jessica says a ‘heavy burden has been lifted’.
May 2026
The Supreme Court says it will not review Parker’s case. She remains on death row. A date of execution has not been set.
June 12 2026
Netflix documentary Maternal Instinct is released.
Kiesha Dosanjh