United States: A woman is facing the charges of the death penalty after being found guilty of killing a 21-year-old for taking her unborn baby in Texas.
The woman named Taylor Rene Parker has been convicted of the October 2020 murder of Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock in Texas as well as the kidnapping of her daughter, who later died.
Along with this, the 29-year-old was discovered to have been beaten the young pregnant mom in the head about five times before “cutting her abdomen, hip to hip” to remove her unborn baby.
The verdict of a jury of six men, as well as six women came after weeks of testimony at Bowie County in northeast Texas.
The attorneys of Parker claimed that the baby was never alive as well as moved to dismiss a kidnapping charge, which would have lowered the capital murder charge to murder.
Moreover, Jeff Harrelson mentioned during his final argument to the jury, “That is why we spent so much time on definitions in opening statements. You can not kidnap someone (a person) who has not been born alive.”
Prosecutors stated that several medical professionals testified the baby had a heartbeat when born. They also recounted Parker’s actions following the day Simmons-Hancock was murdered.
Prosecutor Kelley Crisp expressed, “We have methodically laid out what she (Parker) did, why she did it, all the moving parts, as well as all the collateral damage.”
“The best evidence the state of Texas has that baby was born alive is that Taylor Parker said it was not.”
In addition, Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards shared the information with the jury, “In the previous two weeks, the evidence has never been clearer. She’s a liar, a manipulator, and now she’s going to be held accountable for it.”
