A "womb raider" who wore a fake pregnant stomach before killing a woman and ripping out her baby has been sentenced to death.
Taylor Rene Parker, 29, brutally killed mum-of-one, Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock, 21, and her unborn daughter at her home in New Boston in October, 2020.
She was convicted of capital murder on October 3 after it took a jury less than two hours to decide the death penalty for Parker, who was labelled an “evil piece of flesh demon” by the victim's mum, Jessica Brooks.
The devastated mum said: “My baby was alive still fighting for her babies when you tore her open and ripped her baby from her stomach."
Emily Simmons, who was just 19 at the time, told the court through a victim impact statement Parker had taken away her only sister.
She said: “My only biological sister. You need to understand what you took from me and my family. No more celebrating her birthday. I was barely 19 when I got the call my sister was gone.
“She will never be my maid of honour. If I visit my sister I have to go to a graveyard and see a headstone. I will never get a text or phone call her from again.”
Parker smashed Ms Simmons-Hancock's head with a hammer and stabbed her over a 100 times.
She then grimly cut the baby from her womb with a scalpel after abducting her as the baby later died.
Parker had previously faked her own pregnancy for over 10 months after researching ways online.
She also looked at several videos where they offered advice on delivering babies born at 35 weeks - which was how long Ms Simmons-Hancock was when the baby was cut from the womb and killed.
The 29-year-old made herself look pregnant in the weeks leading up to the murder.
She even faked ultrasounds, bragged on social media that she was pregnant and said she had thrown a gender reveal for her baby.
Parker, who couldn't have children following her hysterectomy, lied to her boyfriend about being pregnant in order for him to stay with her.
Prosecutors said she would be induced on the day she killed Ms Michelle Simmons-Hancock.
Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards told the jury: "In the past two weeks, the evidence has never been more clear.
"She’s a liar, a manipulator, and now she’s gonna be held accountable for it."
She also said the jury should take into account how Taylor smashed in her in the head at least five times with huge force.
The Attorney added: "The pain Reagan must have felt when Taylor started cutting her abdomen, hip to hip … indescribable.
"When Taylor had the baby and Reagan was still alive, that’s when Taylor started slashing and cutting. She can’t leave her alive. It was no quick death. She just kept cutting her.
"I guess Reagan would not die fast enough for Taylor to get out of there and get on with her plans."
Parker's defence argued the baby girl was never alive and asked for the kidnapping charge to be dropped against her.
This would have resulted in the capital murder charge being lowered to murder.
Jeff Harrelson, Taylor's attorney, said in his closing argument to the jury: "That's why in opening statements we spent so much time on definitions. You can’t kidnap a person who has not been born alive."
Prosecutors, however, disagreed and said the baby girl had a heartbeat when she was born after several medical professionals all testified.
