A tragic update on Taylor Parker’s children now as their mum remains on death row in Texas

After Netflix’s new documentary Maternal Instinct, a lot of people are just getting to know about the horrifying case of Taylor Parker, but while much of the attention has focused on the fake pregnancy and the murder of Reagan Simmons-Hancock, there’s another heartbreaking part of the story that often gets forgotten: Taylor’s children.

Taylor Parker had two children, a daughter and a son, years before she met Wade Griffin and convinced him she was expecting their baby. What Griffin didn’t know was that Parker had undergone a hysterectomy and could no longer become pregnant.

Now, years after the crime that shocked Texas and the rest of the country, Parker’s children have had to grow up carrying the weight of such a devastating case.

Taylor Parker’s daughter was raised without her biological father

EWU bodycam

Parker was only 17 when she gave birth to her first child, a daughter she shared with former boyfriend Donald Whiteside. But according to testimony heard in court, the relationship ended not long after the baby was born. Jennifer Whiteside, the child’s aunt, said Parker moved out after discovering Donald had been cheating on her.

Jennifer testified that Donald had never actually seen his daughter. Parker’s mother, Shonna Prior, also told the court that her granddaughter had only ever known Parker’s first husband, Tommy Wacasey, as her father figure.

Following Parker’s arrest, family members tried to shield the girl from the horrific details of the case and arranged counselling to help her cope.

As Prior told the court, “She does not know the horrific details. She knows that two people have died at the hands of her mother.”

Eventually, custody of Parker’s daughter was granted to Prior.

Her son was already living with his father before the murder

via Idabel Jail

Parker’s second child, a son, was born during her marriage to Tommy Wacasey. The marriage later ended in divorce, and Parker voluntarily gave up custody of their son as part of the settlement.

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Connie Griffin, the mother of Wade Griffin, testified that she noticed what she described as “red flags” when she first got to know Parker. One of them was her relationship with her son.

“She seemed to want a close relationship. I could not tell if he wanted that or was standing back,” Connie Griffin said. “There were some red flags. One was that she didn’t have custody of her son.”

Wacasey later alleged in court that Parker failed to pay child support and did not consistently exercise her visitation rights. According to prosecutors, she owed more than $8,000 in unpaid child support by the time of the trial.

Family members gave mixed views about what she was like as a mother

via Netflix

During the sentencing phase, Parker’s defence team tried to paint a picture of a loving parent. Her lawyer showed photographs of family trips, days at the pool and time spent with her children.

Her brother, Zachary Morton, also described her as a good mother in many ways. At the same time, he admitted there were periods when her focus appeared to shift elsewhere.

“It seemed like when Taylor was chasing another man. Instead of the focus being on her children, it was on herself,” Morton testified. “It was all about her at one specific time.”

The court also heard a recorded jail call in which Parker told her daughter not to discuss the murder allegations with other people. Prosecutors argued that the conversation raised concerns about how she was handling her daughter’s emotional well-being after the arrest.

Where Taylor Parker’s children are now

Taylor Parker’s daughter is being raised by her grandmother, Shonna Prior, while her son remains with his father, Tommy Wacasey. Both children have largely been kept out of the public eye, something relatives appear to have worked hard to maintain.

Meanwhile, Parker remains on death row in Texas after being convicted of murdering Reagan Simmons-Hancock and her unborn baby in 2022.

Maternal Instinct is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.