A crime scene expert took the stand this week during the murder trial of Texas woman Taylor Parker (pictured left), who stands accused of killing a friend and her unborn baby.
On Tuesday, Judge John Tidwell warned those in the courtroom that they were about to see and hear graphic details in connection with the brutal death of Reagan Hancock (pictured right), 21, who was allegedly murdered while eight months pregnant with her daughter.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Parker, also known as Taylor Waycasey and Taylor Morton, was indicted by a grand jury last year for capital murder in connection with the death of the unborn baby girl, Braxlynn Sage Hancock.
Hancock was found dead in her home in October 2020, after Parker allegedly cut the infant out of Hancock’s womb, then fled with the baby. Prosecutors had already charged the defendant with Hancock’s murder prior to the additional murder charge.
Texarkana Texas Police Department crime scene expert Marc Sillivan took the stand Monday and said the attack on the victim took place in several parts of her residence. Hancock was found inside her home, sliced from hip to hip in a botched C-section, allegedly carried out by Parker.
Bowie County Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp: “This was not a quick death, was it?”
Sillivan: “No, it was not.”
Sillivan, who called it the worst crime scene he’d scene, told the court that Hancock had ultrasound photos of her unborn daughter pinned on the fridge. Underneath the photos, he found a bloody handprint smudged on the fridge.
A pull-up diaper soaked in urine was found near a couch, NBC 6 reports, close to a blood-soaked child’s bathing suit that may have been used by the suspect to clean up the crime scene.
Hancock’s 3-year-old daughter was at the residence when the murder occurred; she was left alone with her dying mother after the attack, the court heard.
Additional clumps of Hancock’s bloody hair were found near the front door, Sillivan testified.
Along with numerous stab wounds, Hancock was found with her uterus pulled out of her body, a dislocated finger, and multiple defense wounds. A blanket reportedly soaked with amniotic fluid was found near her body.
Dallas County Medical Examiner, Dr. Melina Flores, said that Hancock had more than 100 lacerations, with many of the injuries on and around her scalp and head. The skull fractures were consistent with someone hitting Hancock with a Mason jar and a claw hammer.
Further, Flores said, a blade used in the attack was found lodged into Hancock’s neck.
Hancock and Parker were previously acquainted, and Parker took photos at Hancock’s engagement and wedding. A friend of Hancock’s who also knew Parker reportedly told the Daily Beast that Parker had been faking her own pregnancy.
An arrest affidavit stated that Parker had told numerous lies to convince others she had been pregnant.
Earlier this month, Crisp told the jury that Parker not only wanted a baby but also took desperate measure measures to keep her boyfriend from leaving.
Crisp added Parker used a fake belly disguise to make herself look pregnant while going to fraudulent ultrasounds and posting about her pregnancy on social media. She even had a gender-reveal party, according to the prosecutor, NBC DFW reports.
“How did we get here?” Crisp asked the jury on Monday.
“How did it get this far? She is an actress, an actress of the highest order. The lies and fraud go on and on; the layers of fraud are staggering. You are going to have to understand the fraud to understand what happened on Oct. 9. This started months and months ahead of time until it passed the point of no return, and it ended up in homicide.”
The prosecution added Tuesday that Parker had her tubes tied and couldn’t have babies. She also allegedly “stalked OB clinics” in both Louisiana and Texas, Fox 33 reports. Prior to the murder, Parker allegedly watched YouTube videos on how to perform a C-section.
Parker has pleaded not guilty. She’s facing the death penalty if convicted.
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[Feature Photo: Taylor Parker/Facebook; Reagan Hancock/Facebook]
