Taylor Parker Claimed to Be Heiress to a Syrup Fortune: Inside Money Lies

Taylor Parker captured national attention after her crimes were depicted in Netflix's June 2026 documentary Maternal Instinct.

While claiming she was pregnant, Parker killed her pregnant friend Reagan Simmons-Hancock in October 2020. After she fatally stabbed Simmons-Hancock, Parker performed a C-section, cut out her baby and fled the scene with the newborn, umbilical cord and placenta still attached.

Many Netflix viewers were left in shock by the crime, while several want to know more about Parker's romance with then-boyfriend Wade Griffin. Not only did she trick him into believing that she was pregnant, but she also led him to believe she was an heiress to a syrup company fortune.

Us Weekly breaks down everything to know about Parker's lies about money leading up to the murder.

Taylor Parker Claimed to Be an Heiress of a Syrup Company

During Parker's trial, Griffin testified that she claimed she was the heiress of a million-dollar syrup empire when they met in 2019, according to KTAL News.

Griffin added that Parker said the syrup money was all tied up in an account controlled by her mother, Shona Prior, though she would eventually get access to it.

In light of her alleged money, Parker encouraged Griffin to make lavish purchases and she promised she would get the funds to pay for everything as their debt racked up.

Griffin also said that Parker started writing million-dollar checks that banks refused to cash.

Taylor Parker Got Others Involved in Her Financial Schemes

Also during the trial, real estate agent Rusty Lowe testified that Parker reached out to him in early December 2019 about a property and she told him she was an heir to the Blackburn syrup fortune, according to KTAL News.

The property was listed at $4.7 million and the deal required a payment of $200,000 upfront.

Lowe said he mainly dealt with Parker directly via text, but she and Griffin came out to view the property together and both of their names were on the contract. In fact, Parker used the hyphenated name Taylor Parker–Griffin on the paperwork despite not being married to Griffin.

The real estate agent worked with Parker for the next four months to verify the funds for the payment, though they hit several roadblocks.

Lowe said that an alleged $7 million wire transfer from the inheritance failed to come through, and Parker claimed the money would come from oil and gas leases. When the money still didn't go through, Parker alleged her Uncle Butch would give her the money to make the deal, which grew to include two other properties that were worth a total of $20 million.

Parker eventually wrote two separate checks for $150,000 each to Lowe, but later called him to ask for them back and said her bank advised her to wire the money instead.

Lowe said that the money never came through despite Parker's seemingly ongoing attempts to pay for the properties.

Also during his testimony, Lowe said that Griffin did not appear to be in on the con.

"He was excited and energetic about it but came to fall back a bit when he started to doubt the money was going to come through," Lowe said, noting that the money was supposed to come from her side of the family.

Lowe said that Griffin would call to ask if the money had come through and that he seemed "very concerned" about the transaction.

What Did Taylor Parker Do?

After her alleged due date passed on September 22, 2020, Parker killed her pregnant friend Simmons-Hancock on October 9, 2020. Once Simmons-Hancock was dead, Parker performed a C-section to remove the unborn child and fled the scene with the baby. She then called 911 and claimed she had just given birth on the side of the road.

Upon her arrival at the hospital, doctors quickly learned she had not given birth and an officer began to interview her. She was then linked to Simmons-Hancock and her baby's murders and was arrested that same day.

Taylor was found guilty of capital murder and kidnapping in October 2022 and was sentenced to death. She is currently the youngest woman on death row in Texas.

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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 5:38 PM.