Pauline Parker, one half of a notorious teenage murder duo whose story was immortalized in the film "Heavenly Creatures," has died at the age of 88.
Parker and her friend Juliet Hulme, both 15, bludgeoned Parker's mother, Honora Reiper, to death in Christchurch, New Zealand, on June 22, 1954. The pair used a brick concealed in a stocking to carry out the attack in Victoria Park. A psychiatrist later suggested the teenagers believed it was their "moral right" to kill Reiper due to shared paranoia and delusions.
The jury heard that Reiper sustained 45 separate head wounds. The motive, as presented in court, was to prevent Parker's mother from separating the two friends, who had developed an intense co-dependency. Hulme's father had planned to send her to South Africa to recover from tuberculosis, a separation that the girls reportedly feared immensely.
Parker and Hulme were convicted of murder but, due to their age, avoided the death penalty. Parker served five years at Paparua prison near Christchurch, while Hulme spent time in Mt Eden prison in Auckland, including solitary confinement, before being transferred to Arohata near Wellington.
Following their release, both women were granted new identities and eventually moved to Scotland. It is understood that they never met again after the murder. Hulme, under the name Anne Perry, became a successful crime novelist, often exploring themes of killing, justice, and morality. Parker, known as Hilary Nathan, reportedly worked as a riding instructor and later ran a horse stable in Orkney.
Hulme died in 2023. Parker passed away earlier this month in retirement housing in the village of St Margaret’s Hope, in Orkney, with her death registered in Kirkwall. Neither woman married nor had children.
"Heavenly Creatures," released in 1994 and directed by Peter Jackson, starred Melanie Lynskey as Parker and Kate Winslet as Hulme, bringing the chilling story of their crime and friendship to a global audience.