Ep 229: Reconsidered: 4 - Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker
Original Airdate: 12/23/19
Teenage best friends Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker were convicted of murdering Pauline's mother, Honorah Parker. What led to this heinous crime and where are the offenders now?
Women & Crime: Reconsidered is whe…Ep 229: Reconsidered: 4 - Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker
Original Airdate: 12/23/19
Teenage best friends Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker were convicted of murdering Pauline's mother, Honorah Parker. What led to this heinous crime and where are the offenders now?
Women & Crime: Reconsidered is where we revisit our episode catalog and bring new insights, behind the scenes or updates.
Sources for Today's Episode:
Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham
Huffington Post
New Zealand Herald
Credits:
• Written and Hosted by Amy Shlosberg and Meghan Sacks
• Produced & Edited by James Varga
• Music by Dessert Media
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On the afternoon of June 22, 1954, Agnes Ritchie was preparing ice cream for two customers in her shop when two teenage girls, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, burst through the front door, screaming for help and saying one of their mothers had been killed. Agnes and her husband followed the girls i…On the afternoon of June 22, 1954, Agnes Ritchie was preparing ice cream for two customers in her shop when two teenage girls, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, burst through the front door, screaming for help and saying one of their mothers had been killed. Agnes and her husband followed the girls into the nearby wooded area, where they found the badly beaten and obviously dead body of Honorah Parker. The couple wasn’t able to get much out of either girl, only that the woman had slipped and hit her head, but their behavior was strange and something about the whole scene didn’t feel right.
Just two days later, Parker and Hulme were charged with the murder of Pauline’s mother, Honorah Parker. According to the prosecution, the girls had developed an intense bond and had created romantic fantasy in the months leading up to the murder that bordered on obsessiveness. In 1954, the girls’ relationship became threatened when Hulme’s parents divorced and began talking of relocating. Fearing they would be separated and never see one another again, Parker and Hulme killed Honorah, believing that her death would put an end to any plans to relocate.
The story of Honorah’s murder and the trial that followed quickly spread across New Zealand and Australia and eventually made its way around the globe. Among other things, the case challenged existing beliefs about young women and their capacity for violence, but just as important were the sensational and salacious mentions of insanity and homosexuality that were often more implied than explicitly stated.
Thank you to David White, of the Bring Me the Axe Podcast, for research :)
References
Brisbane Telegraph. 1954. "Conspired to Kill." Brisbane Telegraph, August 23: 1.
—. 1954. "Teenagers remanded, police blame girl's passion for horses." Brisbane Telegraph, June 24: 1.
Chun, Louise. 1995. "Slaughter by the innocents: The case of the schoolgirl killers shocked New Zealand." The Guardian, January 30.
Graham, Peter. 2011. So Brilliantly Clever: Parker, Hulme and the Murder that Shocked the World. Wellington, NZ: Awa Press.
Neustatter, Angela. 2003. "‘I was guilty. I did my time’: Anne Perry, the novelist whose past caught up with her." The Guardian, November 20.
Newcastle Sun. 1954. "Girls shrugged at charge of murder." Newcastle Sun, July 16: 1.
The Age. 1954. "Girls smile at N.Z. sentence." The Age , August 30: 1.
—. 1954. "Defence says N.Z. girls insane as mother killed." The Age, August 25: 9.
—. 1954. "Description of quarrel." The Age, July 17: 3.
—. 1954. "Doctor says both girls certifiable." The Age, August 27: 5.more
In 1954 Christchurch woman Honorah Parker was murdered while on a walk in the Port Hills.
The culprits? Her daughter Pauline, 15 and best friend Juliet Hulme, 16.
With “animal ferocity” they hit her over and over again with a brick inside a stocking. Police would later say the 46-year-old had be…In 1954 Christchurch woman Honorah Parker was murdered while on a walk in the Port Hills.
The culprits? Her daughter Pauline, 15 and best friend Juliet Hulme, 16.
With “animal ferocity” they hit her over and over again with a brick inside a stocking. Police would later say the 46-year-old had been “battered to pieces”.
After a controversial trial, the teens were found guilty of murder - a jury rejecting their claims of insanity.
In this episode of A Moment In Crime host Anna Leask looks back at the crime, the trial, the aftermath and speaks exclusively to Juliet Hulme's brother about why he wants the convictions amended to reflect his sister's lifetime of insanity.
This episode is accompanied by a full feature about the case - click here to read the story.
This episode references Canterbury crime author Peter Graham's book about the case, So Brilliantly Clever, the documentary Anne Perry Interiors which is available to rent or buy in New Zealand on AppleTV and author Ian Rankin's documentary Evil Thoughts, which aired in 2002 and can be found in part on YouTube.
A Moment In Crime is written and hosted by Anna Leask, senior crime and justice journalist for the New Zealand Herald.
It is produced by Leask, NZME audio engineer James Irwin and podcast production manager Ethan Stills.
South Island head of news Kurt Bayer oversaw this project, the voice of Pauline Parker's diary was provided by NewstalkZB reporter Emily Ansell and some of the audio recording was undertaken by NZME video journalist George Heard.
Special thanks to Jonathan Hulme, Nigel Hampton KC and Professor Warren Brookbanks for their insight and in put into this episode.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.more
In the winter of 1954, two schoolgirls - Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme - murdered Pauline's mother on a remote walking track in Christchurch. Author Peter Graham recounts the events leading to Honora Parker's death.
On June 22,1954, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker went for tea and a walk at Victo…In the winter of 1954, two schoolgirls - Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme - murdered Pauline's mother on a remote walking track in Christchurch. Author Peter Graham recounts the events leading to Honora Parker's death.
On June 22,1954, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker went for tea and a walk at Victoria Park in Christchurch's Port Hills with Pauline's mother, Honorah Parker.
It was there, on one of the park's remote walking tracks, that the teenage girls brutally killed Pauline's mother.
True crime writer Peter Graham wrote a book about the case called So Brilliantly Clever and he describes how 16-year-old Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, 15, became two of New Zealand's most notorious murderers.
Fearing separation, they came to believe Honora Parker was the only thing standing in the way of their being together.
At trial, the pair were found guilty but due to their age and lack of proper holding facilities for them, they only served about five years in prison.
Juliet Hulme later changed her name to Anne Perry and became a successful writer. Both she and Parker now live in the United Kingdom.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more detailsmore
In 1954 Christchurch, New Zealand two teenage girls become obsessively close. When an obstacle threatens to separate them, someone ends up murdered. Tune in to find out why teenagers still scare the living sh*t out of us and discover the story that inspired Peter Jackson’s break out film Heavenly Cr…In 1954 Christchurch, New Zealand two teenage girls become obsessively close. When an obstacle threatens to separate them, someone ends up murdered. Tune in to find out why teenagers still scare the living sh*t out of us and discover the story that inspired Peter Jackson’s break out film Heavenly Creatures.
Ep 04: Teenage best friends Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker were convicted of murdering Pauline's mother, Honora Parker. After just five years of imprisonment the girls were released. What led to this henious crime and where are the offenders now?
Sources Cited for this episode:
Anne Perry and the…Ep 04: Teenage best friends Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker were convicted of murdering Pauline's mother, Honora Parker. After just five years of imprisonment the girls were released. What led to this henious crime and where are the offenders now?
Sources Cited for this episode:
Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham, Huffington Post, New Zealand Herald
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Credits:
Written and Hosted by Amy Shlosberg and Meghan Sacks
Keywords: New Zealand, Christchurch, 1954, Honorah Rieper, Co-dependent Friendship, folie a deux, Victoria Park, Anne Perry, Hilary Nathan
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