Taylor Parker, 28, was previously charged with murdering and kidnapping the mom-to-be, 21-year-old Reagan Hancock, who considered Parker to be a friend before her brutal slaying.
Texas woman Taylor Parker has been charged with murder in the death of unborn baby Braxlynn Sage, who police say was removed from her pregnant mother's womb. This follows previous charges of murder and kidnapping in the death of Braxlynn’s mom-to-be, 21-year-old Reagan Hancock.
Parker, 28, was indicted by a Bowie County grand jury in connection to the death of Braxlynn last Thursday. She was previously indicted in the other two charges in December, and the state announced it would seek the death penalty, the Texarkana Gazette reported.
Hancock and Parker had reportedly been friends, according to a now-deleted PayPal donation fund.
Parker was originally taken into custody in Oklahoma early October, after Hancock was found dead in her home by her mom. Her body was found face down in the living room, which had been covered in blood, and a large cut across her abdomen revealed that her baby was removed, the Texarkana Gazette reported.
“[O]fficers entered the home and found a white female, on the ground, in the living room of the house face down with a large abundance of what appeared to be blood throughout the house,” charging documents read, according to Law and Crime. “A large amount of what appeared to be blood was located on the floor, furniture walls, appliances, and other items in the home.”
Hancock, who lived in the home with her 3-year-old daughter and her husband Homer, had been 34 weeks pregnant at the time of her killing.
Meanwhile, Parker allegedly tried to pass off the baby as her own. She was pulled over shortly after allegedly fleeing the home, with the infant in her lap. "She claimed she had just given birth and the baby wasn't breathing,” Special Agent Chad Dansby, of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, told People.com.
“[T]he umbilical cord was connected to the infant, which appeared to be coming out of the female’s pants, as if she had given birth to the child,” Law and Crime reported, citing an affidavit.
She and the baby were transported to the hospital, where eventually doctors confirmed that she had not given birth to the baby.
"She didn't want them to check her," Dansby told People. "We were told that, so I talked her into letting the doctor check. They called the doctor and he pretty much told us she didn't have a baby. It was just a matter of getting her to tell us what happened."
Braxlynn died at the hospital, and authorities arrested Parker on probable cause.
The charges related to the infant’s death were only presented now as prosecutors awaited the final report from the medical examiner, according to the Texarkana Gazette.
Parker has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and is currently being held without bail at Bowie County Jail. Her next hearing is scheduled for April. Inside Edition Digital has reached out to Parker's attorney for comment.
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