Pauline Parker dies in Scotland aged 88

Pauline Parker, one of the killers in the 1954 Christchurch 'Heavenly Creatures' murder case, has died at age 88. She passed away this month in the Orkney islands of Scotland under the assumed name Hilary Nathan. It is understood she was living in retirement housing at Braeburn Court in St Margaret’s Hope, or in the town of Kirkwall.

In June 1954, Parker and her friend Juliet Hulme killed Parker's mother, Honorah Mary Parker, in Victoria Park, Christchurch. The 46-year-old was struck approximately 20 times with a brick inside a stocking. The teenagers were convicted of murder after a jury rejected their pleas of insanity, and they served five years in prison.

The case inspired Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures. Parker's co-defendant, Juliet Hulme, lived under the name Anne Perry and became a bestselling crime writer before dying in the United States in 2023 at age 84.

Following their release from prison, the women lived under new identities. Parker previously lived in Kent, England, where she ran a horse riding school, and was later found running a horse stable in Burray.

How it developed

• Sat 24 Oct, 2:42pmThis report noted Parker was known as Pauline Rieper during her school years and provided details regarding her family's background and childhood illness.

Where reports differ

• Reports differ on the specific location of Parker's residence in Scotland, citing either Kirkwall or Braeburn Court in St Margaret’s Hope

Compiled from reports by Stuff, NZ Herald, 1News, RNZ and Otago Daily Times.