Jury finds Texas woman guilty of killing pregnant woman to take her unborn child

(CNN) — A woman in Bowie County, Texas, has been found guilty of murder and capital murder for killing a pregnant woman and taking her unborn baby, who also died, in October 2020, court records show.

The jury found Taylor Rene Parker guilty after about an hour of deliberation on Monday, the Bowie County District Attorney’s Office said.

Parker had told her boyfriend and others she was pregnant, held a gender reveal party, and on October 9, 2020, said she was going to a hospital in Idabel, Oklahoma, to preregister for labor, according to the probable cause affidavit.

That same morning, police in New Boston, Texas, west of Texarkana, received a 911 call from a woman who reported someone had killed her daughter, the affidavit said. Responding officers found the victim, who had been 34 weeks pregnant, with a large cut along her abdomen and the baby no longer inside.

State troopers conducted a traffic stop of a car that morning, during which they found Parker holding a baby in her lap and “the umbilical cord was connected to the infant, which appeared to be coming out of the female’s pants, as if she gave birth,” the affidavit said.

Parker and the baby were taken to the hospital in Idabel, Oklahoma, where hospital staff determined Parker had not given birth to the baby. Parker then admitted to being in a “physical altercation” with the victim and abducting the unborn baby from the victim’s body. Parker caused the death of the baby, as she “did not have consent to leave the home with the child and due to the inability to provide necessary care to the child,” according to the affidavit.

The punishment phase of Parker’s trial is set to begin on October 12 the district attorney’s office said. CNN has reached out to Parker’s attorney, Jeff Harrelson, for comment.

The jury can sentence Parker to life in prison without parole or death, according to the district attorney’s office.