Pauline Parker, killer in 1954 'Heavenly Creatures' case, dies aged 88 in Orkney

Pauline Parker, who murdered her mother alongside her friend Juliet Hulme in Christchurch in 1954, has died in Scotland aged 88.

Scottish newspaper The Orcadian reported that Parker, living under the assumed name Hilary Nathan, died this month in Orkney, where she had lived for nearly 30 years. She was 88.

Parker was 16 and Hulme 15 when they killed Parker’s mother, Honorah Mary Parker, in Victoria Park, Christchurch, in June 1954, hitting her about 20 times with a brick concealed in a stocking. Both were convicted of murder but, being under 18, could not face the death penalty. They served five years in prison and were released in 1959 under new identities.

The case later inspired Peter Jackson’s 1994 film “Heavenly Creatures”, in which Melanie Lynskey played Parker and Kate Winslet played Hulme. Hulme went on to write crime fiction under the name Anne Perry and died in 2023.

Parker and Hulme are not thought to have met again after their trial.

Sources: 1News, Otago Daily Times, The Times