Pauline Parker, Subject of ‘Heavenly Creatures,’ Dies at 88

Hilary Nathan, known to the world as Pauline Parker, one of the two teenagers who bludgeoned Parker's mother to death in a crime that inspired the film "Heavenly Creatures," died earlier this month on the Orkney island of South Ronaldsay. She was 88.

Nathan's death was registered in Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney, but details of her funeral and attendance were not publicly disclosed, reflecting a life dedicated to remaining anonymous after the notorious 1954 murder.

At 16, Parker, along with her best friend Juliet Hulme, murdered Parker's mother, Honorah, in Christchurch, New Zealand, using a half-brick wrapped in a stocking. The crime, particularly the obsessive friendship between the two girls and the motive, captivated and horrified the public. The intense media interest led to the girls being transported to court daily in a prison van to avoid public view.

Both were convicted of murder. Due to their age, they received sentences of five and a half years in separate prisons rather than the death penalty. Upon their release, they both emigrated to the United Kingdom, changed their identities, and largely disappeared from public life.

Hulme went on to become Anne Perry, a successful crime novelist who penned over 100 books and sold millions worldwide. Before her death in 2023, Perry had acknowledged her past and discussed the murder in interviews. Parker, conversely, adopted the name Hilary Nathan and pursued a life of obscurity, reportedly working as a horse-riding instructor.

The 1994 film "Heavenly Creatures," directed by Peter Jackson and starring Kate Winslet in her first major role, brought the case back into the public consciousness. The film's success led journalists to uncover the identities of the women, prompting renewed media attention.

Perry engaged with her past publicly, but Nathan vehemently resisted any intrusion into her secluded life. When journalists located her, she denied being Pauline Parker. Following further media attention, Nathan sold her home and relocated to the remote Orkney Islands off the coast of mainland Scotland.

The case remains a subject of public fascination due to the rarity of adolescent matricide and the detailed accounts of the girls' plans documented in Parker's diary. The diary entries, which detailed their shared fantasy world and their growing resentment towards Honorah Parker for perceived obstacles to their friendship, were used as a narrative device in the film.

Honorah Parker, originally from Birmingham, England, had emigrated to New Zealand and lived with a partner for over 20 years before her daughter's birth. Pauline Parker was raised under the name Rieper, unaware of her biological surname until after the murder.

Parker and Hulme bonded over shared childhood illnesses and a mutual sense of being misunderstood geniuses. Their friendship intensified into an obsessive bond, leading them to create an elaborate fantasy world known as the 'Fourth World.' The trial included discussions about the nature of their relationship, with medical witnesses suggesting it was homosexual, a notion Perry consistently denied.

As Hulme faced separation from her family, Parker began to blame her mother, seeing her as an obstacle. The plan to murder Honorah Parker, which they referred to as the 'moider,' was meticulously laid out. On June 22, 1954, the day described by Parker as 'The Day of The Happy Event,' the girls took Honorah to Victoria Park for tea. There, Hulme dropped a brick, which Parker then used to strike her mother while she was distracted. The two girls then took turns inflicting further blows.

The brutality of the attack, which involved numerous injuries to Honorah Parker's face and hands, contradicted the girls' initial story of a simple accident. The defense at the trial argued for 'folie à deux,' a shared delusional state, but this plea of insanity was rejected.

With both Perry and Nathan now deceased, any potential firsthand explanation for their actions has vanished. Nathan's sister indicated that Nathan had become a recluse, a devout Roman Catholic who spent much time in prayer. Questions about Nathan's sexuality persisted throughout her life, with reports of relationships with women after her release and concerns expressed by justice department officials about her "lesbian associates."

Nathan maintained her privacy, living in seclusion in Orkney and reportedly teaching children to ride. Her refusal to engage with the media or acknowledge her past underscored her commitment to anonymity. A filmmaker's attempt to interview her in 2010 was met with anger and denial.

Contrary to popular belief, there was no prison condition preventing Parker and Hulme from seeing each other after their release. Their eventual settlement in northern Scotland, geographically distant from New Zealand, remains a notable coincidence. A mural found in Nathan's former home in England depicted two girls, suggesting that while Parker adopted a new name, aspects of her past and her intense relationship with Hulme may have persisted.

The victim, Honorah Parker, remains largely in the background of the case's narrative. Unlike the perpetrators, who had the opportunity to live long lives, Honorah Parker was cremated, and her ashes' final resting place is unknown, leaving her with none of the years her murderers were granted.