Pauline Parker, known later as Hilary Nathan, has died aged 88 in Orkney, closing a chapter on a life marked by a notorious murder trial in New Zealand. At 16, Parker was convicted alongside her schoolfriend Juliet Hulme of murdering Parker's mother in 1954, a case that shocked New Zealand and attracted international attention. The girls, fearing separation due to Hulme's planned move abroad, killed Honora Parker by bludgeoning her with a brick.
After serving five years in prison, both were released, given new identities, and moved away from New Zealand, with a court order preventing them from meeting again. Parker settled in the UK, running riding stables and living a reclusive life, while Hulme, under the name Anne Perry, became a successful crime writer. Their story was famously depicted in Peter Jackson's 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, which explored their intense friendship and the events leading to the murder.
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Source: BBC UK News. Aggregated summary, not independent reporting.