The first woman from Bowie County to be sentenced to die by lethal injection for her crimes, Taylor Rene Parker, was denied an appeal attempt and a new trial by the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas last week. The ruling to deny was a unanimous decision by the court in Austin.
It was Parker’s first attempt at a new trial following the guilty verdict and death sentence she received from a Bowie County jury for the murder and kidnapping of New Boston’s Reagan Hancock and her unborn daughter Braxlynn Hancock back in 2020.
In October 2022, a sixman, six-woman Bowie County jury took just less than an hour to convict Parker of the capital murder of Reagan Hancock and the kidnapping of her Braxlynn. The jury had listened to testimony on the tragic crimes committed by Parker during a weeklong trial before the jury rendered its verdict and sentence.
Bowie County Assistant District Attorneys Lauren Richards and Kelley Crisp represented the State during Parker’s 2022 trial.
According to court documents, Parker was charged with capital murder and that the State’s theory at trial was that she had “intentionally cause[d] the death of [Reagan] . . . and was then and there in the course of committing or attempting to commit the offense of kidnapping [Braxlynn].” See TEX. PENAL CODE § 19.03(a)(2). The jury found Parker guilty of capital murder as alleged in the indictment and answered the punishment phase special issues in favor of the death penalty.
The appeal documents fil ed with the Court of Appeals state that Parker did not contest the evidence in the case proved that she murdered Reagan, but she argued that that evidence was insufficient to support the aggravating factor, which included the kidnapping of Braxlynn.
According to court documents, a person commits the offense of capital murder “if the person commits murder as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and: . . . (2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the course of committing or atwhat tempting to commit kidnapping.” TEX. PENAL CODE § 19.03(a)(2). A person commits the offense of kidnapping “if he intentionally or knowingly abducts another person.” Id. § 20.03(a). “Person” is defined as “an individual.” Id. § 20.01(4). An individual is defined as “a human being who has been born and is alive.” Id. § 20.01(5).
At the time of Parker’s Bowie County trial, Assistant ADA Richards commented on the State’s burden to prove Braxlynn Hanckock was an individual who had been born and was alive by saying, “To state Braxlynn was anything less is an insult to your intelligence.”
Parker also claimed in her appeal that her rights were violated, and she was denied due process when she was denied a change of venue request presented to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell during her 2022 court proceedings.
According to the appeals court, “The trial judge acted within the zone of reasonable disagreement in denying the motion to change venue based on the presence of media coverage.”
The court went on to deny every point of Parker’s appeal and in its conclusion stated, “Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
By statute, Parker has three attempts at appeal and after being denied by the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas she now has the option to file an appeal at the federal level.
She now sits on death row at TDCJ’s O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Death row offenders are housed separately from the rest of the prisoners in single-person cells measuring 60 square feet. A date for her execution has not yet been set.
Bowie County First Assistand District Attorney Kelley Crisp said of the appeals court decision, “Taylor Parker’s conduct was rightly condemned by the justice system as unlawful, immoral, and depraved. This affirmation of her conviction and death sentence from the Court of Criminal Appeals honors the foundational principle of our system of government that every human life deserves protection and every innocent life a voice and due process. This outcome does not erase the pain of the loss of Reagan and Braxlynn, but for their families, this measure of justice shows that Bowie County correctly answered Taylor Parker’s heinous criminal actions with the highest measure of accountably allowed under the laws of the State of Texas.
Reagan’s mother and Braxlynn’s grandmother, Jessica Brooks, told the Tribune after the appeal was denied, “I am very thankful for the decision of the panel of judges. I am even more grateful they stated in great detail that they believe Braxlynn Sage was alive. Our family would like to thank our community for the continued support and for keeping our girls’ memory alive.”
