How Taylor Parker Was Able to Trick People About Her Fake Pregnancy

The director of Netflix's "Maternal Instinct," Jessica Dimmock, has explained how Taylor Parker was able to successfully trick people into believing she was pregnant. Dimmock told Netflix's Tudum that Parker exploited the trust of people in her small town, and was able to keep people from talking to each other by telling different lies to different individuals. The director also suggested a culture of not wanting to "rock the boat" may have played a role. Parker killed her pregnant friend Reagen Hancock-Simmons in October 2020, performed a C-section, and fled with the baby. She was later found guilty of capital murder and kidnapping and sentenced to death. Dimmock explained she chose not to interview Parker for the film because she did not want to give her "any extra time to spin and lie," preferring to focus on the people whose lives she damaged.