Texas Woman on Death Row Is Focus of New Netflix Documentary

Some documentaries stick with you long after the credits roll.

Netflix's new true-crime documentary, Maternal Instinct, is one of those documentaries.

I knew it was based on a real case in Texas, but I wasn't prepared for just how many times I'd find myself saying, "WTF?" while watching it! Every new detail somehow felt more unbelievable than the last.

And maybe the most surprising part of all? This story didn't happen in a major city. It happened in a small Texas town.

The True Story Behind Maternal Instinct Happened in Texas

Maternal Instinct tells the story of Taylor Parker and the murder of 21-year-old Reagan Simmons Hancock, a pregnant mother from New Boston, Texas.

The documentary explores the months leading up to the crime and the deception that surrounded it. Without giving too much away, it's one of those cases where you quickly understand why it has been the subject of multiple true-crime podcasts and documentaries over the years.

You think you know where the story is going, and then another detail comes along and completely changes your perspective.

This Netflix Documentary Leaves You Asking One Big Question

As I watched, I kept thinking the same thing: How did nobody see this coming?

The documentary revisits numerous moments that, in hindsight, seem like major red flags. Of course, hindsight makes everything look obvious, but that's also what makes the story so unsettling.

It's not just the crime itself that's shocking. It's realizing how easy it can be to trust the people around us and assume everything is exactly as it seems.

The Most Chilling Part of the Story Isn't the Ending

I don't think Maternal Instinct is disturbing because of how it ends- I mean, it totally is disturbing but the realization is also bad. I think it's disturbing because of what it reminds us.

Sometimes the people who hurt us aren't complete strangers. Sometimes they're people who have earned our trust and become part of our everyday lives.

That's what stayed with me after the documentary ended.

Not just that this happened, not just that it happened in Texas, but that it happened in a small Texas town where, at one point, everything probably seemed perfectly normal.
Maternal Instinct is streaming now on Netflix.