Netflix to Air Documentary on Horrific Northeast Texas True-Crime Case This Friday

Netflix will debut a documentary this Friday, June 12, about a case that shook our community to its core when it first broke on October 9, 2020. The documentary, Maternal Instinct, tells the story of a woman so desperate to have a baby that she committed one of the most horrific crimes imaginable.

Get our free mobile app

This isn't just another true-crime documentary for our community. It's a story many of us remember all too well. The crime took place in nearby New Boston, a short drive from Texarkana. Living in a small town in Northeast Texas, you never expect to see a case like this unfold in your own backyard, but it serves as a reminder that terrible things can happen anywhere.

The documentary follows the case of 27-year-old Taylor Parker, who carried on a fake pregnancy and befriended 21-year-old Reagan Simmons-Hancock, who was 35 weeks pregnant. Prosecutors said Parker murdered Reagan and cut her unborn daughter, Braxlynn, from her womb in an effort to maintain the lie.

READ MORE: Missing Person: Jonathan Bohrer’s Vehicle Found in Texarkana 

The case crossed state lines when Parker was stopped in Oklahoma, where authorities said she falsely claimed she had just given birth and the baby needed medical assistance. Parker was taken to an Oklahoma hospital, where, unfortunately, the baby died. Doctors could not find any evidence that she had just given birth. Investigators were called in and later uncovered a web of lies that eventually unraveled.

Even years later, it's difficult to comprehend that someone could commit such a crime. I covered the story when it first broke and still find myself struggling to wrap my head around it. Reagan's family is interviewed in the documentary and shares their perspective on the events leading up to that tragic day.

Their story is an important part of understanding the devastating impact this crime had on so many lives. Parker remains on Death Row and has been denied several appeals. Most recently, on May 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal challenging her death sentence.