Parker-Hulme murder

The Parker-Hulme Murder was a murder and court case that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954.

Incident

On June 22, 1954, the body of Honora Rieper was discovered in Victoria Park, in Christchurch, New Zealand.cite web|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/parker_hulme/index.html|title=Dutiful Daughters|publisher=TruTV Crime Library] That morning Honora had gone for a walk through Victoria Park with her daughter Pauline Parker, and Pauline's best friend, Juliet Hulme. Approximately 420 feet down the path, in a wooded area of the park near a small wooden bridge,cite web|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5XMGiAAg4|archivedate=2008-04-26|url=http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=2581|title=Stupefying Parker-Hulme Murder Case|publisher=BrooWaha|date=25 April 2008] Juliet and Pauline bludgeoned Honora Rieper to death with half a brick enclosed in an old stocking. After committing the carefully planned murder, Juliet and Pauline ran, covered in blood, back to the tea kiosk in which the three of them had eaten at only minutes before. They were met by Agnes and Kenneth Ritchie, owners of the tea shop, whom they told in a horrified panic that Honora had fallen and hit her head. The body of Honora Rieper (her maiden name was Parker) was found by Kenneth Ritchie where she had been killed by the girls. Major lacerations were found about Honora's head, neck, and face, with minor injuries to her fingers. Police soon discovered the murder weapon in the nearby woods, and the girls' story that Honora was killed by a slip and fall quickly fell apart.

Before the trial began, it was discovered that Honora Rieper had never married Herbert Rieper, the man known as her husband. She and Pauline were therefore referred to by her maiden name, Parker, during the trial.Pauline was a girl from a working class background; while Juliet Hulme was the daughter of Dr. Henry Hulme, a distinguished physicist who was the rector of University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

As a young child, Pauline suffered from osteomyelitis. Juliet suffered from tuberculosis and was sent to the Bahamas as a child to recuperate. The girls initially bonded over their ailments. As their friendship progressed, they formed an elaborate fantasy life together. They would often sneak out and spend the night acting out stories involving the fictional characters they had created. Their parents found this disturbing and worried their relationship was sexual. Homosexuality at the time was seen as a serious mental illness and was also a criminal offence, so both sets of parents attempted to compel the girls to remain separate.

In 1954, Juliet's parents separated and her father resigned from his position as rector of Canterbury College and was moving to England. It was then decided that Juliet would be sent to South Africa, for the good of her health, with an added incentive being that the girls would be separated. Pauline told her mother that she wished to accompany Juliet, but Pauline's mother made it clear to her that she would not be allowed. The girls then formed a plan to murder Pauline's mother and leave the country for the United States, where they dreamed they would publish their writing and work in film.

Trial and aftermath

The trial was a sensational affair, with speculation about their possible lesbianism and insanity. The girls were convicted on August 30, 1954, and each of them spent five years in prison. They were released with the condition that they never contact each other again. To this day, they have not contacted each other.

The murder was touched upon as strong evidence of moral decline less than four months later by the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents in what became known as the "Mazengarb Report", named after its chair, Oswald Mazengarb. After her release from prison, Juliet Hulme travelled to the United States and went on to have a successful career as a historical detective novelist under her new name, Anne Perry. She has been a Mormon since about 1968. [ [http://www.anneperry.net/3.html Anne Perry official website, accessed 1st May 2008] ] She now lives in Scotland. Pauline moved to England and became a Roman Catholic.

Portrayals in fiction

The story of the murders was loosely adapted into the French film "Mais ne nous délivrez pas du mal" ("Don't Deliver Us from Evil") and more faithfully into Peter Jackson's Academy Award-nominated film, "Heavenly Creatures". Perry's identity was only uncovered due to publicity surrounding the latter film. The case was also fictionalised in 1958 as "The Evil Friendship" by M. E. Kerr under the pseudonym Vin Packer.

In March 2006, Perry said that while her relationship with Pauline Parker was obsessive, they were not lesbians. [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10371147 New Zealand Herald] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Heritage/Digitised/ParkerHulme/index.asp Information on the Parker-Hulme case] - from the public library of Christchurch, New Zealand
* [http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/2194/ Extensive FAQ on the "Heavenly Creatures" film] - containing much data on the historical background of the motion picture
* [http://heavenly-creatures.com]