The real people and events - background information. [jp]

Previous sections of the "Heavenly Creatures" FAQ have concluded that Peter Jackson's film "Heavenly Creatures" is precise in its depiction of factual details, but it is not necessarily complete or accurate in its overall portrayal of the "Parker Hulme" murder case.

This section of the FAQ contains background material related to the "Parker Hulme" murder case. Some material has been reproduced in its entirety if it is difficult to find, or rare, or if it has been analyzed and annotated as a representative example of a genre of common material. To conform to copyright and fair use laws, the material in this section is for educational or personal use only (please see disclaimer at the end of the FAQ). References have been provided to recent material which is still in print and which should be readily available to the interested reader through libraries or retailers.

Although the FAQ compiler has tried to maintain high standards in preparing this section of the FAQ, a rigorous academic format was not adopted insofar as referencing and footnotes etc are concerned (any volunteers?), so this section should be viewed more as a database and bibliography. Editorial annotations have been kept to a minimum in most places to allow the reader to form independent opinions about the case.

To that end, a word of caution is in order. All of the original material should probably be viewed and judged, first, in the context of the times in which the material was prepared and then, second, within the context of the entire body of background material. It may take several passes through this section before the data are weighed and digested to the reader's satisfaction.

Inevitably, there will be errors in the data. Inconsistencies and errors have not been removed from the quoted material, of course, though they have been pointed out in many places to show the reader the pitfalls of taking anything at face value. Obviously, this FAQ cannot possibly provide a complete, error-free picture.

During the preparation of the FAQ it became obvious that each new piece of information produced new insight into this extremely complicated case. So, it is conceivable that data which are missing from this version of the FAQ might completely change the interpretation of the data presented below. Remember, this section of the FAQ is concerned with real human beings, real events and real life, and not with a neat piece of fiction.

So, it's obvious, but worth stating: Real life and real people are endlessly fascinating but also infinitely complex. Concerning something as convoluted and subtle as the "Parker Hulme" murder, it is virtually impossible to come up with simple, final answers to even the most basic questions.

However, it is hoped the material below will provide fuel for constructive, intelligent debate and thoughtful discussion.

7.1List of people (by '54 names)#

[*] = corroborated person depicted in "Heavenly Creatures." [?] = uncorroborated person depicted in "Heavenly Creatures." [X] = corroborated person not depicted in "Heavenly Creatures." JMH = Juliet Marion Hulme. PYP = Pauline Yvonne Parker. G&L = Glamuzina, J; Laurie, A.J., "Parker & Hulme", New Women's Press, Auckland, 1991. (an important secondary source)

[X]Abernethy, Rex C. (Magistrate, Mr). [G&L,mk] [Mr RC Abernethy, S.M.] Presided over PYP's being charged with the murder of her mother, the morning after her arrest. An acquaintance of HM Hulme through the Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council.

[X]Adams, Francis Boyd (Justice, Mr). [jp,sb,G&L] [Mr Justice Adams] Pronounced JMH and PYP guilty of murder on the recommendation of a 12-man jury, Aug. 28, '54, after a sensational, high-profile Supreme Court trial. Adams was characterized as a hard-liner at the time. Trial transcripts paint a picture of an even-tempered, extremely conservative justice, determined to uphold the letter of the law and the morality of the community, and determined to make an example of the case to discourage indiscriminate use of the insanity defense, at the very least. After the defense had presented its case, Adams called the legal teams into his chambers. He informed them he was considering ending the trial because he did not consider a viable case for the defense had been presented. Both junior counsel, for the defense and the prosecution, argued against this and went to find precedents. Their research convinced Adams to continue the trial. G&L credit Mahon in particular for arguing persuasively to see the case through and to give PYP and JMH fair access to the judicial system.

[X]Alty, G.W. (Detective-Sergeant). [mk] [DetSgt GW Alty] Made application in Magistrate's Court on behalf of police in charging PYP and JMH with murder.

[X]Barnett, Morris John (Mr). [mk] [Mr MJ Barnett] Superintendent of Reserves in ChCh. Presented evidence about Victoria Park layout, terrain, provided official drawings at trial.

[X]Barnett, Samuel Thompson (Mr). [jp] [Mr ST Barnett] Secretary of Justice, NZ and Controller General of Prisons. Barnett held consultations after the conviction of PYP and JMH to determine recommendations for sentencing under the provisions of Section 5 of the Capital Punishments Act, 1950, relating to persons under the age of 18: A person sentenced to detention 'During Her Majesty's Pleasure' shall be liable to be detained in such place and under such conditions as the Minister of Justice shall direct. A person detained pursuant to the directions of the Minister of Justice under this section shall, while detained, be deemed to be in legal custody. The Minister of Justice may at any time discharge on licence any person detained pursuant to his directions. The licence shall contain such conditions as the Minister may direct, and may at any time be revoked or varied by him. Where a licence under this section has been revoked the person to whom the licence relates shall return to such place as the Minister of Justice may direct. Failure to obey this condition may result in the person being arrested without warrant and taken to the place. Sentence was actually pronounced and announced by Thomas Clifton Webb, the Minister of Justice. Involvement of Barnett and Webb illustrates the degree of public interest in the case (and hence political opportunity). Barnett rose to be Secretary of State for Justice (Minister of Justice) by the time PYP and JMH were released. As Justice Minister he took a personal interest in their progress while incarcerated, receiving regular reports and authorizing special treatment, such as private tutoring. He announced their release and the terms of their release personally though, for some reason, all conditions were not announced at the press conference by Barnett. Barnett had attended the innaugural meeting of the Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council in '49, and remained involved in its work. G&L conclude Barnett may have known HM Hulme, through her work with the Council.

[*]Bennett, Francis Oswald (Dr). [jp,lfr,sb,G&L,mc] [Dr FO Bennett] Psychiatric witness for PYP defense, called by Dr AL Haslam. Registered medical practitioner (family physician, general practitioner, started practice in '34) whose family had settled in Christchurch in the 1860s. Held honorary positions at Christchurch Hospital and later wrote a history of the institution. Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Physicians. A social acquaintance of the Hulmes for several years before the murder. Worked with HM Hulme on Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council. Bennett "was consulted about the girls' friendship before the tragedy occurred" according to testimony (see time line below). HM Hulme testified JMH was not "psycho- analysed" by Bennett or anyone else before the murder. Bennett examined PYP in Dec. '53, formally at HM Parker's request. After the murder, Bennett examined both PYP and JMH in the hours following their arrest "by courtesy of the police" and, later, at the request of the defense team. Bennett pronounced PYP and JMH insane (folie … deux paranoiacs of the elated type) and detailed their delusions and practices during the trial. His trial testimony was frequently inconsistent, impassioned and rambling. Prosecutor Brown befuddled Bennett on the stand several times and Bennett seemed to be way out of his depth in these procedings, legally. Bennett made one absolutely critical legal blunder in response to clarifying questions by an obviously confused and exasperated Justice Adams: Justice Adams: Then may your view be summarized thus: in your opinion they knew the act [murder] was contrary to the law and contrary to the ordinary standards of the community, but nevertheless it was not contrary to their own moral standards? Dr Bennett: That is so, your honour. You have exactly summarized it. What Justice Adams had actually summarized were the McNaghten rules defining legal sanity. What Dr Bennett had actually done by agreeing with the Judge was nullify, in one sentence, all his previous testimony for the defense. Bennett's psychiatric qualifications consisted mostly of treating cases in his private practice, in hospital and in the Army associated with war trauma, and he had little or no experience with criminal psychiatry, according to Prosecution summing up.

[X]Brown, Alan W. (Mr). [jp,G&L] [Mr AW Brown] Crown Prosecutor, appointed Feb '54 after many years of working with previous CP. Brown had joined a local firm in '20, achieving partner in '24. Aggressive, effective and cunning, he adopted an indignant, conservative, judgemental moral tone throughout the trial. Brown managed to appeal to the community's prejudices against lesbians and social privilege while titilating with salacious and legally-irrelevant material, and to tap the community's outrage over the brutal murder. Concluding remarks (widely quoted): "This was a coldly, callously planned and carefully committed murder by two precocious and dirty-minded little girls. They are not incurably insane, but incurably bad. You may feel pity for these girls, but pity and sentiment have no part in British justice." G&L mis-spell his given name as "Allan."

[X]Brown, Macdonald (Senior-Detective). [jp,sb,G&L,mk] [Senior-Detective Macdonald Brown] Received the radio message from Sgt Hope after the murder. Dispatched Det Sgt AB Tate and Det GF Gillies to investigate at the scene. Interrogated PYP at Ilam and extracted her confession. Testified at Hearing and Inquest and Trial. Read diary extracts, signed statement of PYP. G&L incorrectly state his name as "McDonald Brown," probably because that was how it was listed in The Press (ChCh) on the day after the murder.

[X]Elizabeth II, H.M. b. 1926/04/21 (aged 28 in '54) [jp] [H.M. Queen Elizabeth II] Queen Elizabeth became a young, vivacious, immensely popular monarch when she succeeded her father, King George VI, upon his death on Feb. 6, '52. Her Coronation took place June 2, '53 and touched off global celebrations in most capitals. There was a Royal Tour of Australasia in '53-4 which passed through Christchurch. It is virtually certain that Henry and Hilda Hulme, being prominent members of the Christchurch establishment, would have been presented to the Queen and would have been in attendance at evensong in the Cathedral Jan. 20, '54.

[X]Felton, Margaret (Police Matron). [G&L] [Matron M Felton] Left guarding PYP at the police station when PYP attempted to burn the final note/diary entry.

[X]Ferner, Raymond S (Magistrate, Mr). [sb,G&L,mk] [Mr RS Ferner, S.M.] Charged JMH with murder. Committed JMH and PYP to trial at the sensational Hearing and Inquest which foreshadowed the incredible trial to come.

[X]Gilles, G Ferguson (Detective). [G&L,mk] [Det GF Gilles] From Criminal Investigation Branch. Dispatched to murder scene. Testified at Hearing, inquest and Trial.

[X]Gresson, Terence Arbuthnot (Mr). [jp,sb,G&L] [Mr TA Gresson] Defense counsel for Hulme, engaged by Hilda and Henry Hulme. From a well-known South Island (NZ) legal family, he had met Henry Hulme at Cambridge; the two re- established social contact upon HR Hulme's arrival in NZ and Gresson was an occasional guest at Ilam. Pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (paranoia, folie … deux). Consistently out-maneuvered by the prosecution during the trial, largely because of damning statements made by JMH and PYP and legally-amateur testimony from consulting psychiatrists, Bennett in particular. In fact, Gresson had few options once a decision to plead not guilty by reason of insanity had been made, because the legal burden of proof falls on the defense in that case, not the prosecution, under NZ law. In effect, Gresson had to prove PYP and JMH were legally insane under the very restrictive definition of the McNaghten rules. Unfortunately the girls' statements to police and psychiatrists after the murder made it abundantly plain they were not insane under that definition. So the defense strategy was to appeal to the jury's unscientific perception of madness, heaping evidence of the girls' unusual beliefs and behaviour on the jury. The defense wanted the girls to be declared to be homosexuals because of the link at that time between homosexuality and mental imbalance. Gresson was highly regarded in legal circles. He became one of the youngest judges appointed in NZ in '56. Found dead (apparent suicide) of carbon monoxide poisoning in his Auckland garage in '66 while a Senior Judge in Auckland Supreme Court.

[X]Griffiths, Audrey Elsie (Constable). [jb,G&L,mk] [Const AE Griffiths] Policewoman who arrived at the scene with Dets Tate and Gilles and performed the initial search of the site and inspection of the body. Later, she helped transport the body to Christchurch Hospital mortuary where she removed Honora's clothing and effects as evidence. She recalled in '94 that the victim's fingers had been severed when she tried to block the blows of the murder weapon. Family name Amos in '94. Testified at Hearing and Inquest.

[X]Haslam, Alec L (Dr). [jp,sb,G&L] [Dr AL Haslam] Defense counsel for Parker. Rieper family lawyer. Made little impact in contemporary press reports outside Australasia. Former Rhodes Scholar, 'Dr' may have been LLD. Defense team didn't appear to be well coordinated or particularly spirited. H Rieper spent years under severe financial hardship paying off the defense legal fees, which were eventually reduced when the firm "became aware of his difficulty in paying."

[X]Hope, Robert William (Sergeant). [G&L,mk] [Sgt RW Hope] First Christchurch police officer on the scene after the murder, with Const Molyneux. Arrived late, after first going to Victoria Lake. Radioed Central Police Station in downtown Christchurch after viewing Honora's body. Testified at Hearing and Inquest.

[*]Hulme, Henry Rainsford (Dr). b. 1908 (aged 45 in '54). [jp] [Dr HR Hulme] A mathematical physicist, Rector of Canterbury University College, Christchurch, NZ '48-'54, a member of the Senate of the University of New Zealand and a close acquaintance of the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch and other prominent members of Christchurch society. Husband of Hilda, father of Juliet and Jonathon. Attended JMH's arraignment but left NZ shortly afterwards, before the Hearing, Inquest and Trial, with his son, never to return. Did not testify at the arraignment, hearing or trial. No statements read into evidence. Did not visit his daughter in prison after the trial. See 7.10.1 for a detailed biography.

[*]Hulme, Hilda Marion (Mrs). b. 1913 (aged 41 in '54). [jp] [Mrs HM Hulme] Wife of Henry, mother of Juliet (F, 1st) and Jonathon (M, 2nd). Prominent member of Christchurch organizations and society. Testified at all stages of legal proceedings, appearing on subpoena at the hearing, inquest and trial. She was used cynically and effectively by Brown as a prosecution tool during the trial. Admitted to being in love with Walter Perry in testimony during the trial and provided much personal information about her family, reluctantly. Immediately following the trial she changed her name and left the country, and her incarcerated daughter, behind her. Did not speak with her daughter after the trial or visit her in prison. See additional biography of Juliet Hulme in 7.10.2.

[*]Hulme, Jonathon. b. Mar. 22, 1944 (aged 10 in '54). [jp,sb] [Jonathon Hulme] Younger brother to JMH. Fond of his sister but apparently treated indifferently by her. Jonathon was removed from NZ by his father before the trial. Not known which parent ended up with custody of Jonathon.

[*]Hulme, Juliet Marion. b. Oct. 28, 1938. (aged 15 in '54). [jp] [JMH] Evidence of troubled childhood and adolescence, chronic respiratory ailments, chronic abandonment, difficult family life and 'juvenile delinquency' (including blackmail) presented at arraignment and trial. She had a measured IQ of 170 in '52. Her statements to police were quoted extensively in the trial. Public opinion at the time of the trial held Juliet to be utterly spoiled and ruthlessly manipulative and this affected her sentencing. Medlicott: "Juliet is a tall, willowy, frail, attractive blonde with large blue eyes." G&L give a decidedly different description of JMH. See 7.10.2 for additional biography.

[X]Hunter, James Dewar (Dr). [jp,G&L] [Dr JD Hunter] Superintendant Sunnyside Mental Hospital, Christchurch. Similar qualifications to Stallworthy and Saville. Employed by Department of Mental Hygene in NZ for 29 years, excluding 2 years spent as a medical officer in Scotland. Testified for the prosecution, stating he refused to certify JMH and PYP, believing them to be quite sane.

[X]Keys, Harold Ernest (Mr). [mk] [Mr HE Keys] Driver for St John Ambulance Association, called to Victoria Park by A Ritchie. Saw body of victim, ascertained she was dead, then later took Dr HR Hulme's name and address when he came and took away PYP and JMH before the arrival of the police. Testified at Hearing and Inquest.

[X]Mahon, Peter Thomas (Mr). [sb,G&L,mk] [Mr PT Mahon] Junior member of Crown prosecution team. Born and educated in Christchurch, joining the firm where Brown had practised in '41. Served in the Army in WW II. Returned to work with Brown and Crown Prosecutor preceeding Brown. Succeeded Brown as Crown Prosecutor in '57 upon Brown's retirement. Later had a long and distinguished career.

[X]McIlroy, Eric Gordon (Mr). [G&L,mk] [Mr EG McIlroy] Labourer hired by ChCh City Council and Assistant to Kenneth Ritchie in Victoria Park. First to find Honora Parker's body with KN Ritchie. Stood guard over the body as instructed when Ritchie went back for police and doctor. Testified at Hearing and Inquest.

[X]McKenzie, D. (Inspector). [G&L,mk] [Inspector D McKenzie] Took charge of murder investigation with SeniorDet Macdonald Brown.

[X]McLelland, Brian (Mr). [jb,G&L] [Mr B McLelland] Junior defense counsel for JMH, assisting Gresson. Born and educated in Christchurch, attending Canterbury College. After War service joined Gresson's firm. Read JMH's and PYP's writings. In a '91 interview, after he had risen to be Queen's Counsel, he made these statements: "They really believed [JMH's play] was so brilliant that it would be filmed in Hollywood. They were going over there to arrange all this. The whole thing was ridiculous." He disagreed with the verdict, believing JMH to be insane. Never saw JMH again after trial. "Frankly I did not want to. There was nothing I could do. Juliet needed a doctor, not a lawyer." Died recently.

[X]Medlicott, Reginald Warren (Dr). [jp,jb,sb,mf,G&L] [Dr RW Medlicott] Medical superintendent of Ashburn Hall, a private psychiatric hospital, Dunedin for seven years prior to trial. In his early 30s, he was prominent and well- respected in his field, a Member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, visiting psychiatric physician to Dunedin Hospital, lecturer in psychiatry at Otago University Medical School, and had held a Rockefeller Fellowship, spending a year at a University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Lead psychiatrist, testifyied at the trial for the defense, called by Gresson. Bennet physically and mentally examined JMH and PYP and read their writings: PYP's diary, some fictional writings of both, some correspondence. Interviewed H Rieper, HM Hulme, Dr FO Bennett, Wendy Rieper, Amy ('Nana') Parker. Testified that both PYP and JMH were hostile and abusive toward him during examinations. Pronounced JMH and PYP insane (folie … deux paranoics of the exalted type). Read extensively from PYP's poetry and diaries in testimony. Grilled mercilessly and ridiculed in 2 days of withering cross-examination on psychological interpretation of poetry, among other things, by Prosecutor Brown during trial. Medlicott, like Bennett, seemed way out of his depth, legally, in the trial proceedings. His obvious lack of criminal psych experience was noted by the Crown Prosecutor in his summing up. Medlicott wrote up the case history for publication in a learned psych journal (see 7.8.1). The case seems to have had a lasting impact on him. Glamuzina and Laurie interviewed him in '87, when he "described a dream he had about Juliet, where he thought that an evil scorpion-like creature which crawled out of a wall symbolised her. Even nearly thirty-five years later he was still preoccupied with ideas of evil about the two girls." Rumour was that Medlicott would have committed PYP and JMH to his private hospital had they been found insane. He died ca. '88.

[X]Molyneux, Donald (Constable). [G&L,mk] [Const D Molyneux] First police to arrive at murder scene, with Sgt RW Hope. Stayed with Honora's body when Sgt Hope returned to radio for assistance. Testified at Hearing and Inquest.

[*]Parker, Honora Mary (Mrs). b. 1909 (aged 45 in '54). [jp,sb] [Mrs HM Parker] British emigrant to NZ at 18. Common-law wife of Herbert Rieper for 23 years [some accounts say 25]. Mother of (?) (M, 1st), Wendy (F, 2nd), Pauline (F, 3rd), and Rosemary (F, 4th). Known in life as Honora Rieper. Her children also known by Rieper name. Murdered by PYP and JMH on June 22, '54.

[X]Parker, (?) (M, 1st). [jp,sb] Older brother to Wendy, PYP and Rosemary. "Blue baby," i.e. born with perforated heart &/or other cardio-pulminary defects. Died within 24 h of birth according to court testimony.

[*]Parker, Wendy Patricia. b. Mar. 1937 (aged 17 in '54). [Wendy Parker] Older sister of PYP and Rosemary. Medlicott described her: "An attractive blonde of seventeen years of age. She is of average intelligence, likeable in manner, sociable and keen on sport, and has never given her family any cause for concern. Of different temperament than Pauline they have never had much in common." [sb,jb,jp]

[*]Parker, Pauline Yvonne. b. May 26, 1938 (3rd, aged 16 in '54). [PYP] aka Pauline Rieper. Evidence of wit and intelligence presented in arraignment and trial through statements and writings. Suffered from severe osteomyelitis as small child and had recurring disability and pain throughout her life. PYP attended East Belt Methodist Church with Wendy quite regularly, though her parents did not attend. Both girls spent holidays on a farm which took in city children referred to them by the Methodist Church. PYP's diaries and writings were key pieces of evidence used to prove premeditation of the murder and involvement of JMH in planning it. Medlicott: "Pauline is a dark, rather sulky looking but not unattractive girl of stocky build." G&L describe her in very different terms. Public perception of PYP at the time of the trial was that she was moody, evil and used by JMH as a lover and an agent of a 'thrill killing.' Perception of PYP as an intelligent 'quasi-victim' affected terms of her incarceration. [jp,sb]

[X]Parker, Rosemary. b. Mar. 1949 (4th, aged 5 in '54). [jp,sb] [Rosemary Parker] Younger sister to Wendy and PYP, described as a 'mongolian imbecile' (Downs' Syndrome) in court testimony. Rosemary was institutionalized at Templeton Farm outside Christchurch, in '51, at age 2 [G&L] or in '52 at age 3 [Medlicott]. HD Rieper testified she was visited regularly and brought home from time to time and was apparently loved by PYP. The birth defects of PYP's siblings were discussed in court, in terms of "raising a query as to the stock from which she comes."

[X]Pearson, Colin Thomas Bushby (Dr). [sb,mk] [Dr CTB Pearson] Pathologist who examined Honora Parker in Victoria Park. Later performed post mortem and catalogued her injuries at the Hearing, Inquest and Trial.

[*]Perry, Walter Andrew Bowman "Bill" (Mr). [jp,sb] [Mr WAB Perry] Consulting Engineer living in Hulme's home. Testified at Hearing, Inquest and Trial. Admitted to being in love with Hilda Hulme in testimony during trial. Born in Winnipeg, Canada. See additional biography of Juliet Hulme in 7.10.2. Now dead.

[X]Ramage, William McDonald. (Constable). [G&L,mk] [Const WM Ramage] Police photographer who photographed Honora's body and the murder scene on the evening of the crime, and during the post mortem and also photographed 7 pages of PYP's diaries for evidence.

[*]Rieper, Herbert Detlev (Mr). b. 1894 (aged 60 in '54). [jp,sb] [Mr HD Rieper] Common-law husband of Honora Parker for 23 years. Married to an older woman, and father of two children with her, when he met and started relationship with Honora. Father of four children with Honora. Three daughters survived infancy: Wendy, PYP and Rosemary. Manager of Dennis Brothers' fish shop, according to court testimony. Testified at all stages of legal procedings but did not bother to attend trial after his testimony was done. Was not present at PYP's conviction and had no contact with her before her incarceration. Seems a lost, tragic and bitter figure after the murder, reading between the lines of press reports. Though he did visit PYP once in prison, the statements he made upon her release suggest he did not reconcile with her, and the two never met again. PYP's legal defense was a severe financial burden on HD Rieper for many years. Died in '81.

[*]Ritchie, Agnes (Mrs). [jp] [Mrs A Ritchie] Owned tearoom near Victoria Park. Witnessed JMH and PYP return from murder, hysterical and bloodsoaked. Testified at hearing, inquest & trial. She called for an ambulance and a doctor at the girls' request, and instructed her husband to go and find Honora. Later, she called Herbert Rieper at Pauline's request and Henry Hulme at Juliet's request, allowed the girls to wash off the blood from themselves, and she served them tea to calm them down.

[X]Ritchie, Kenneth Nelson (Mr). [G&L] [Mr KN Ritchie] Caretaker of Victoria Park and husband of Agnes Ritchie. First to find the body of Honora Parker with his assistant, Eric McIlroy. Pulled Honora's dress back down to cover her legs; it was up around her thighs, perhaps because Honora had fallen head downmost on the rather steep grade, perhaps because she had flailed her legs. Later returned to the body with police and doctor.

[X]Saville, James Edwin (Dr). [jp,G&L] [Dr JE Saville] Medical officer Sunnyside Mental Hospital, Christchurch NZ, with Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degrees as well as Diploma of Psychological Medicine (London). Started career in general practice, moving to mental institutions in England in '37. Came to Sunnyside in '46 after 8 years as a medical officer in the prisons service in England and Wales. Psychiatric witness for prosecution. Pronounced JMH and PYP sane and cunning. G&L mis-spell his family name Savill.

[X]Stallworthy, Kenneth Robert (Dr). [jp,G&L] [Dr KR Stallworthy] Senior medical advisor Avondale Mental Hospital, Auckland NZ, with 15 years experience working in psychiatric hospitals in NZ and England. Held Bachelors degrees in Medicine and Surgery and Diploma of Psychological Medicine (England). Psychiatric witness for prosecution. Gave important, frank testimony refuting link between homosexuality and insanity, thereby negating pillar of the defense argument. G&L give middle name erroneously as Robin.

[X]Tate, Archie Brian (Detective-Sergeant). [jp,G&L,mk] [DetSgt AB Tate] Sent to Victoria Park to investigate Honora's murder. First to perform inspection of murder site and the body. Arranged for the coroner, a pathologist and the police photographer to come to the Park. Interrogated JMH at Ilam and obtained detailed statements from her. Testified at Hearing, Inquest and Trial.

[X]Taylor, E.B.E. (Dr). [G&L,mk] [Dr EBE Taylor] Coroner who inspected Honora's body. Held inquest into her death.

[X]Walker, Donald (Dr). [G&L,mk] [Dr D Walker] Arrived at Victoria Park in response to Agnes Ritchie's call for assistance. Upon learning from KN Ritchie that Honora was obviously dead, Walker waited until arrival of police before proceeding to inspect the body. Walker confirmed that Honora was dead and did not disturb the body. Testified at Hearing, Inquest and Trial.

[X]Webb, Thomas Clifton (Mr). [jp,G&L] [Mr TC Webb] Minister of Justice, NZ. Pronounced sentence of separate imprisonment for girls, announced at press conference. Very unusual public involvement of a cabinet minister in a criminal proceeding, illustrating the degree of public interest and scrutiny in the case.

[X]Wicks, J.A. (Mr). [sb] [Mr JA Wicks] Junior defense counsel for PYP during trial.

7.2Basic facts of the "Parker Hulme" murder. [jp]#

Victim: Parker, Honora Mary (Mrs) (aged 45)

Date: Tuesday, June 22, 1954. (mid-winter)

Time: Between 3:05 and 3:30 p.m. (est. 3:20 p.m.)

Location: Victoria Park, Cashmere Hills (part of Port Hills range), Christchurch, NZ. Near a small 'rustic' wooden bridge on sloping grade that was part of a steep slope, approximately 420 yards along a path from the Tea Kiosk at Victoria Park.

Witnesses: None.

Post Mortem: Performed by Dr Colin Thomas Bushby Pearson on June 23, 1954. The cause of death was shock associated with multiple wounds of the head and fractures of the skull.

Forensic: Dr Pearson testified he examined the body of Honora Parker when the body was lying in the plantation at Victoria Park, around 7:30 pm, June 22, 1954. Rigidity had not set in. There were multiple lacerated wounds on the head and face and minor injuries on the fingers. Dr Pearson stated there were 45 discernable injuries on the body, (head, neck, face and hands), 24 of them being lacerated wounds on the face and head [note: Some popular accounts mistakenly state 69 total injuries. jp] Some wounds were minor but many were serious. The head wounds varied in size and shape and some had ragged edges and showed crushing and bruising at the edges. They had been inflicted by a blunt instrument applied with considerable force. In the front of the skull the fractures were were extensive. There were haemorrhages on the brain. The fractures of the skull indicated that the victim's head was most probably immobilized on the ground when the force was applied. It would have taken only a few of these major head wounds to produce unconsciousness. He could not say in what order the wounds were received. In cross-examination he testified it was possible that a single blow could produce a number of lacerated wounds. Bruises on the neck suggested that the victim was held forcibly by the throat, but there was no suggestion of throttling. The lacerations on the fingers could have been caused when the victim put up her hand to defend herself. The injuries could have been produced by the half-brick produced in Court. The half-brick, the stocking foot and the stocking leg minus the foot all had human bloodstains. Human hairs similar in texture to those from the head of the dead woman were adhering to the stocking foot.

Constable William McDonald Ramage, police photographer went about 7 pm went to Victoria Park and took photos there. On June 23 he was present during the post mortem examination of the body and took photos then of Honora Parker's body. These and other photos were entered into evidence, under objection of defense counsel.

Mr Kenneth Ritchie testified that he found the victim's body, lying on her back with the feet pointing uphill. Her head was badly battered. There was blood on her head and face and on the path. Her skirt was up a little at the knees and he pulled it back down. [note: Possibly because of flailing legs. One shoe lay some distance from body. Other articles strewn nearby. jp]

Dr Donald Walker was the first physician called to the scene, arriving shortly before 4 pm. He observed that the victim's head was thrown back and was lying downhill. There was no doubt about her being dead. There was a lower denture lying on the ground to the victim's left alongside the jaw. The stockings were muddy and smeared with blood. Her arms were mud- and blood-stained. The eyes were closed but gave the impression they had been blackened. There were severe gashes on the victim's head and a great deal of blood had streamed from her head, had flowed down the path and had congealed. (Victim was almost completely ex-sanguinated so bleeding from head was massive and rapid [note: Possibly indicating severed carotid artery, which might also explain the massive amount of spattered blood on PYP and JMH. jp].) From the appearance of the body Dr Walker could not reconcile it with an accident. One shoe was off and personal articles were strewn nearby.

Sgt Robert Hope testified there was a stream of blood 10 or 12 ft downhill from the head. Various objects were strewn about near the body. There was a half-brick lying about 15 inches from the body. Sgt Hope also found a woman's lisle stocking on a bank. In a shallow drain beside the bank there was a large pool of blood.

Most major wounds were on the right side and front of the head. Victim's right ear was badly split. Some reports indicate severe cosmetic damage to face, others that wounds on left side of head and face were less severe. Mouth was blocked with vomit, possibly indicating convulsions.

Weapon: Half-brick in knotted woman's lisle stocking, the brick was ejected by the force of the blows. Victim's hair found on stocking. Brick probably used as weapon after ejection from stocking. Bloody stocking and brick recovered separately at scene, near the body.

Murderers: Parker, Pauline Yvonne (aged 16 years, 1 month), daughter of the victim. Hulme, Juliet Marion (aged 15 years, 8 months).

7.3Timeline of important events. [jp]#

**For me, there are two extremely interesting things about the time line: the first is the spread of important time scales-- Herbert Rieper was born more than a century ago and yet, in places, it is important to know and distinguish between minutes, or pieces of minutes--and, second, is the the way that the continuity and interconnectedness of events becomes apparent and even emphasized when they are presented in this artificially- discrete format. Many entries here are open to debate and few are carved in stone, but I believe this is the most complete time line available, and I feel it is a valuable tool for trying to understand the "Parker Hulme" case. Debate, additions and corrections are welcomed. [jp]

..........Start date. | Denotes official NZ school (& College) holiday period. |..............End date.

1873, June 16. *Canterbury University College founded, Christchurch, NZ. Campus to be located on Worcester Blvd, three blocks west of Cathedral Square, the heart of Christchurch.

1878 *Christchurch Girls' High School founded, under control of Canterbury University College, Christchurch, NZ.

1880 *Helen Connon (b Melbourne 1860, d 1903 Christchurch) becomes the first woman to graduate (BA) from Canterbury University College, Christchurch, NZ. The following year she obtains her MA degree (1st Class Honours) in English and Latin. An assistant mistress at Christchurch Girls' High School during this period (1878-1883). "No University was ever more fortunate in its first woman student than Canterbury College. Her combination of scholarship and dignity (and her beauty as well) placed a seal on the vocation of student for other young women, and evoked a tradition of chivalry among the men students." ["History of the University of Canterbury," WJ Gardner et al., p. 156.]

1882 *Christchurch Girls' High School moves to Cranmer Square site, two blocks north of Canterbury University College, Christchurch, NZ. Gloucester St lies between CUC and CGHS.

1883 *Helen Connon becomes an extremely influential and popular headmistress of Christchurch Girls' High School (1883-94) and establishes a scholarly tradition which encourages CGHS girls to seek degrees and prepares them for the academic rigors of University. CGHS assumes its role as a major 'feeder' school to CUC of qualified matriculated students. By 1885 enrollment of women at Canterbury College has risen to about 100. In 1893 women outnumber men, 176 to 164, although women students are still treated in an extremely patronizing manner, by admission of CUC historians.

1894, Oct. 22. *Herbert Detlev Rieper born to Claude Detlev Rieper (shop assistant, German origin) and Katie Thurza Stubbings, Strahan, Tasmania. [sb, G&L]

1908, Aug. 9. *Henry Rainsford Hulme born to James Rainsford Hulme and Alice Jane Smith in Southport, England.

1909 *Honora Mary Parker born to Robert William Parker (chartered accountant) and Amy Lilian Parker (aka 'Nana' Parker), Birmingham, England. [sb,G&L]

1910 *HD Rieper (aged 16) moves to New Zealand. [sb,G&L]

1912 *Hilda Marion Reavley (later Hulme, later Perry) born to Rev J Reavley (Anglican clergyman) and spouse ? [note: in or near Liverpool?? jp].

1914 *WW I begins.

1915 *HD Rieper (aged 21) marries Louise McArthur (n‚e Mackrie, a divorced Englishwoman born in India, aged 34), Cairo, Egypt. [sb]

1918 *WW I ends on Armistice Day Nov. 11, 1918.

1919 *1st child of HD Rieper (aged 24) and Louise Rieper (aged 37) born, Napier, NZ. [sb,G&L]

1922 *HD Rieper (aged 27, bookkeeper) and Louise Rieper (aged 40) move to Raetihi, NZ, a small town located in the central North Island in a region known for skiing and market garden agriculture. [sb,G&L,lw,maw]

1924 *2nd child of HD Rieper (aged 29) and Louise Rieper (aged 43) born, Raetihi, NZ. [sb,G&L]

1927 *HM Parker (aged 18) emigrates to New Zealand. She eventually works for the same firm as HD Rieper in Raetihi, NZ, where the two meet. [sb,G&L]

1929 *HR Hulme graduates with BA (Math Tripos), Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, UK. He begins study for the PhD degree at Cambridge, UK. Smiths' Prizeman, 1931.

1929-1931 (sometime in this period--probably early) *HM Parker (aged 20-22) and HD Rieper (aged 35-37) begin living together in Raetihi, NZ. HD Rieper and Louise Rieper never divorce, so HM Parker and HD Rieper can never marry. HD Rieper pays some support to his former family but apparently has no further contact with them. [G&L]

1932 *HR Hulme graduates with MA, PhD from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, UK.

1933 *Dr HR Hulme becomes Fellow, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, UK (1933-38). Travels to Leipzig, Germany [note: for post-doctoral study? jp] around this time.

1936 *HM Parker (aged 27) and HD Rieper (aged 42) move to a house in Mathesons Rd in the Phillipstown area of Christchurch, NZ. Christchurch is located on the east coast of the South Island at Pegasus Bay. Mathesons Rd is in a modest residential neighbourhood 2 km east of Cathedral Square, near Lancaster Park. HD Rieper eventually works as manager of Dennis Brothers Fish Supply nearby on east Hereford St. [sb,G&L,lw]

c.1936? *1st child, male, "blue baby," (cardio-pulmonary birth defects) born to HM Parker (aged 27) and HD Rieper (aged 42) in Christchurch, NZ. He dies soon after birth. [sb,G&L]

1936 *Dr HR Hulme becomes lecturer in mathematics, University of Liverpool, UK. [note: I believe Dr HR Hulme meets Hilda Marion Reavley around this time. jp]

1937, Mar. *Wendy Patricia Parker born to HM Parker (aged 28) and HD Rieper (aged 42), Christchurch, NZ.

1937, June *HM Reavley and Dr HR Hulme marry [note: in Liverpool? jp]. [G&L]

1938 *Dr HR Hulme assumes position of Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, UK. Dr HR Hulme and HM Hulme move to Greenwich (London suburb east of City on south shore of Thames). The Royal Observatory is located on a hill overlooking the Thames river valley. This is the location of the Greenwich Meridian, reference 'zero' for all lines of longitude, and time standards of the day. The Naval Academy is nearby, downhill on the Thames.

1938, May 26. *Pauline Yvonne Parker born to HM Parker (aged 29) and HD Rieper (aged 43) in Christchurch, NZ.

1938, Oct. 28. *Juliet Marion Hulme born to HM Hulme (aged 26) and Dr HR Hulme (aged 30), Greenwich, London, UK.

1939 *War declared. WW II begins.

1940-41 *JMH (aged 2) suffers 'bomb shock' [psychological trauma] in the London blitz when she is caught out in bombing during an air raid with her mother. Screaming nightmares and insomnia for many weeks.

1942 *JMH (aged 3) is bathed by her father, Dr HR Hulme (see 7.10.2.1) in Greenwich, London, UK.

1943 [*] *PYP (aged 5) hospitalized with severe osteomyelitis for 9 months. Life-threatening in acute stage; extreme pain, borne bravely, and surgery. Results in permanent physical disability and chronic discomfort and pain as a child. PYP will take painkillers as needed throughout childhood and adolescence. PYP's first memory.

1944, Mar. 22. *Jonathon Hulme born (in Greenwich?) to HM Hulme (aged 32) and Dr HR Hulme (aged 35). HM Hulme had serious post-partum medical problems and is hospitalized for an extended period. She testifies this situation was traumatic to JMH because she was "too ill to be visited in the nursing home." Would not have been statistically uncommon (esp. given the times) for HM Hulme to have had serious post-partum depression in addition to any physiological problems [note: Wording of some of HM Hulme's testimony leads me to speculate this may have been the case. jp].

1944, Aug. *Dr HR Hulme travels to America on War work. JMH is probably sent away to live in Liverpool at this time and probably attends school there. HM Hulme testified JMH separated from her "due to war conditions and her illness."

1944 (winter) *JMH (aged 6) contracts bronchitis and then near-fatal pneumonia in UK. Withdrawn from school. Remains ill for 2 years, absent from school during this time.

1945 *PYP (aged 7) undergoes second painful operation to drain infection from leg.

1946 *HD Rieper and HM Parker buy house at 31 Gloucester St, Christchurch, NZ, registered in HM Parker's name as "wife of Herbert Rieper." The house abuts CGHS at the rear and lies between CGHS and CUC, one block to the south. The CUC School of Fine Arts is located at 'Ross House,' a couple of houses east of Riepers on Gloucester at corner of Montreal St. There is a cerebral palsy school across the street from the Riepers' home, in a large converted house at 28 Gloucester St.

1946, Nov. (probably) [*] *JMH (aged 8) sent alone to Bahamas by her parents on medical advice, for her health. Lives with another family for 13 months. Schooling unknown during this period.

1947, May 30. *Advertisement placed for position of full-time Rector, Canterbury University College, Christchurch, NZ in "the press of those countries of the Commonwealth peopled by British stock: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom." ["A History of UC..."]

1947, Nov. 18. *Universities Bureau of the British Empire forwards recommendation of Dr HR Hulme for the position of Rector, CUC, to the University of New Zealand for approval.

1947, Nov. 23 (approx.). *Dr HR Hulme offered the position of Rector, Canterbury University College, Christchurch, NZ.

1947, Dec. (probably) *JMH (aged 9) sent to Bay of Islands, NZ, a historic location and popular holiday spot on the east coast of the northern tip of the North Island, to stay with another family. Schooling unknown during this period. [sb,lw]

1948 *Dr HR Hulme honoured by award of DSc degree, Cambridge University, UK.

1948, Feb. 19. *Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council formed. Modelled on the British Marriage Guidance Council, considered a daring and progressive organization. HM Hulme will join in 1949 and became a prominent member and counsellor. Others she will meet through the Council include: Dean AK Warren, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, Dr Mel Aitken, Dr M Bevan-Brown (psychiatrist who would write on the case later), Dr Eleanor Mears, Rex Abernethy (magistrate who later presided over PYP's arraignment on charge of murder) and Dr FO Bennett (GP who examined PYP, then later both PYP and JMH, testifying at trial).[G&L]

1948, Oct. 16 (Sat). *HM Hulme (aged 36) & Dr HR Hulme (aged 40) arrive with Jonathon (aged 4) in Christchurch, New Zealand, joined by JMH (aged 9), who is described by HM Hulme during the trial as extremely clinging and dependent on HM Hulme and difficult to discipline, after being reunited with her family. Location of residence unknown, but probably in Riccarton, Fendalton or Merivale areas just west/north of Hagley Park.

1949, Jan. *Dr HR Hulme votes logically, with his conscience, against rescinding the decision already made in the prior August by University Senate not to establish School of Forestry at CUC. This vote at a University Senate meeting was one of his first acts as Rector of CUC. This was a critical political blunder, viewed as unforgiveable disloyalty by the two governing bodies at CUC [note: Dr Hulme's vote would not have swung the decision either way, according to the numbers. jp]. Dr HR Hulme's tenure as Rector of CUC is irreversibly marred by this irrelevant vote. Later, the School of Forestry is moved to CUC anyway.

1949, end of January (probably). *JMH (aged 11), "in poor health," (according to HM Hulme's testimony) is sent away to private boarding school ("Queenswood" according to Jackson) in Hastings, NZ, located on the east coast of the North Island, on The Hawke's Bay. Severely unhappy there, she returns to her family within the year. Schooling for the remainder of 1949 is probably by private tutor.

1949, Mar. *Rosemary Parker born with Downs' Syndrome to HM Parker (aged 40) and HD Rieper (aged 54) in Christchurch, NZ.

1949, Nov. *Dr HR Hulme's private, offhand remarks about a CUC Council member, made earlier in Wellington, NZ, at a Senate meeting, are discussed in Christchurch as being "disloyal to the Council" in one of its meetings. Dr HR Hulme will learn over and again that gossip travels far and fast in his new home and there are no secrets, and nothing is too trivial for intense scrutiny and critical discussion.

1949, Dec. *CUC School of Fine Art moved to Ilam site. This will be the only CUC presence at the site for years; most Fine Arts students are women. School located near Ilam homestead and adjacent to farmland and horse paddocks (probably the ones used secretly by PYP and JMH in late '52 and into early '53 for midnight, full-tilt galloping rides by moonlight [see G&L]).

1950 *NZ sends small force to Korea to support UN forces.

1950, Sept. 9. *Ross House site that was vacated by CUC School of Fine Art lost by CUC to CGHS--it is torn down, paved over and tennis courts are built for CGHS. (see 3.1.5.2).

1951 *The Colombo Plan started. Ceylonese students begin educational exchange program at U of NZ campuses, especially CUC, which takes up to about 10 annually.

1952. *Cerebral Palsy School at 28 Gloucester St closed when CUC Dept of Education takes over the house. Is there a connection with institutionalization of Rosemary?

1952, after week of Feb. 2 (beginning of school) [Third Form] [*] *JMH (aged 13) arrives @ Christchurch Girls' High School (CGHS), late. Evidence JMH was enrolled briefly at private Anglican Girls' School (St Margaret's, located north of Hagley Park, 3 km from Ilam). HM Hulme explains in testimony her decision to send JMH to CGHS as being due to JMH's high IQ, more suited to the stimulation of a larger, diverse public school environment. HM Hulme is a member of the Board of Governors of CGHS and Dr HR Hulme works two blocks away from CGHS--these may also have been important factors. PYP (aged 13) is already a new student at CGHS in the top academic stream, Form IIIA.

1952, Feb. 6. *Death of King George VI. Princess Elizabeth abroad in Kenya (in the 'Treetops,') returns home to succeed to the Crown next day, declared Sovereign on Feb. 8. Coronation plans begin soon after, date announced on April 29. The British Commonwealth begins to gear up to change and, in the end, celebration of the beginning of Elizabeth's reign.

1952, May 4 (Sun). First Term [Third Form] ends. ..........May holidays begin. | 1952, May 5 (Mon) - 10 (Sat). | *CUC "Capping Festival Week" -- traditionally a wild | and boisterous time is had, very publicly, by all... | 1952, May 19 (Mon). |..............May Holiday ends. Second Term [Third Form] begins. *HM Hulme testified during trial that the friendship between JMH and PYP begins in earnest in the Second Term of Third Form.

1952, May 26 (Mon). *PYP 14th birthday.

1952, June (approx). *JMH tells HM Hulme: "Mummy, I've met someone at last with a will as strong as my own." This is PYP. [Medlicott]

1952, Aug. 17 (Sun). Second Term [Third Form] ends. ..........August holidays begin. | 1952, August. | [*] *PYP and JMH bicycle ride and ecstatic disrobing. | PYP states to Medlicott that before this, she & JMH had | just been friends, but after this there was an | indissoluble bond between them. | 1952, Sept. 8 (Mon). |..............August Holidays end. Third Term [Third Form] begins.

1952, Oct. 28 (Tues). *JMH 14th birthday.

1952, Nov. 1 (Sat). *The United States explodes the first thermonuclear Hydrogen-bomb in an above-ground test at Eniwetok Atoll, in the South Pacific. Cold War escalates.

1952, Dec. *CUC Graduation ceremonies are wild: PA system sabotaged, Dr HR Hulme's speech drowned out, Bishop Warren butt of practical joke with a halo lowered over his head, goat brought out for a diploma. Note Warren's participation--and Anglican Church, by extension.

1952, Dec. 21 (Sun). Third Term ends [End of Third Form]. ..........Summer holidays begin. (remember how good these were??) | 1953, Jan. 1 (Thurs). | [*] *PYP Diary: PYP begins detailed diary entries with a | New Year resolution to be lenient, & a summary of 1952 | highlights. | 1953, Jan. 5 (Mon). | *PYP Diary: housework. | 1953, January. (for approx. 2 weeks) | *PYP visits farm in North Canterbury County as a city | girl recommended by her church, East Belt Methodist. | | *PYP Diary: Records flirtations with older boy and her | jealousy of younger, rival girl. Wendy also attends. | 1953, Jan. 10 (Sat). | *PYP Diary: mustering sheep. | 1953, Jan. 14 (Wed). | *PYP Diary: diary found by men who leave note in it.

1953, January. (late) | *PYP Diary: intends to do well at school. | | *JMH and PYP worry about upcoming school and are | consoled and tutored by Dr HR Hulme. (see 7.10.2.1). | 1953, Jan. 31 (Sat). | *PYP Diary: HM Parker says they will have 'Training | College' boarders. These are Teachers' Training College | students, so PYP may not have been intellectually | starved at home. Was this the beginning of the | boarders? | 1953, Feb. 2 (Mon). |..............Summer holidays end. First Term begins. [Beginning of Fourth Form] *PYP buys a horse secretly around this time, and hides the fact from her family. HD Rieper finds out 3 months later, when PYP has difficulty with grazing fees, but he relents and allows PYP to keep the horse, thinking it will distract her from her friendship with JMH, so there is already serious concern about the relationship in the Rieper house by April, 1953. HD Rieper testified PYP had ridden horses for years.

1953, Feb. 9 (Mon). *PYP Diary: boarder Harry arrives.

1953, Feb. 10 (Tues). *PYP Diary: boarder Ross and housework.

1953, Feb. 13 (Fri). *PYP Diary: breakfast for boarder Harry.

1953, Feb. 18 (Wed). *PYP Diary: boarder Ron arrives.

1953, Feb. 20 (Fri). *PYP Diary: boarder Ross.

1953, Feb. 22 (Sun). *PYP Diary: trip to Brighton beach with Ron, Wendy, HM Parker.

1953, Mar. 4 (Wed). *PYP Diary: enquiries about board, including Frenchman.

1953, Mar. 9 (Mon). *PYP Diary: boarder John, homework, "damn."

1953, Mar. 11 (Wed). *PYP Diary: dinner with Ross, John and Juliet at Riepers'.

1953, Mar. 15 (Sun). *PYP Diary: kisses from HM Hulme.

1953, Mar. 18 (Wed). [*] *PYP Diary: genius.

1953, Mar. 20 (Fri). *PYP Diary: Lancaster Park for school sports day and writing poetry together instead of watching games.

1953, April. *HM Hulme re-elected as Vice-President of Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council.

1953, April 3 (Fri) - 6 (Mon). (Easter holidays) | [*] *Hulmes holiday with PYP at Port Levy during this | period. Port Levy makes a profound impression on PYP. | 1953, April 3 (Fri). (Good Friday) | [*] *PYP Diary: PYP and JMH find key to "Fourth World" in | their "Port Levy Revelation." | 1953, April 4 (Sat). | *PYP Diary: Gianina, Nicholas die under crashing hooves | of Vendetta. | 1953, April 6 (Mon). (Easter Monday) | [*] *PYP Diary: HEAVENLY time, HM Hulme does hair, calls | PYP her "foster daughter." |..............Easter holidays end.

1953, April 18 (Sat). [*] *PYP Diary: nocturnal activities in Ilam gardens.

1953, April 23 (Thurs). *PYP Diary: HM Hulme says she wishes PYP were her daughter, too.

1953, May 3 (Sun). First Term [Fourth Form] ends. ..........May holidays begin. | | *HM Hulme visits Riepers. HM Parker proposes JMH stay | with them while Hulmes are abroad on their upcoming | trip to the UK. Friendship ... and board money? The | Riepers were already worried about the relationship, | so why invite JMH into their home? To keep an eye on | things? To exert some control? | 1952, May 4 (Mon) - 9 (Sat). | *CUC "Capping Festival Week" celebrations and | bacchanalia. | 1953, May 15 (Fri). | *PYP Diary: Juliet diagnosed with TB. | 1953, May 16 (Sat). | [*] *PYP Diary: wretched night, wishes to get TB, too. | 1952, May 18 (Mon). |..............May Holidays end. Second Term [Fourth Form] begins.

1953, May 21 (Thurs). [*] *JMH is confined to Cashmere Sanatorium with TB for nearly four months (will miss end of Second and all of Third school term, 1/3 of Fourth Form in all. Never again returns to school. Will never attend University. All told, JMH attends CGHS for less than 3 terms... yet it makes an indellible impression on her. See 7.10.2.1).

1953, May (late). *PYP Diary: brainwave!--write letters with Juliet.

1953, May 23 (Sat). *HM Hulme, Wendy attend 'Christchurch Competitions.'

1953, May 26 (Tues). *PYP 15th birthday.

1953, May 28 (Thurs). [*] *Dr HR Hulme & HM Hulme leave for travels abroad (UK). Officially, Dr HR Hulme is to attend 1953 Congress of the Association of Universities of the British Commonwealth. In fact, it is also a hunt for a senior- level job for Dr HR Hulme. There is evidence he does not secure a job offer during the trip. HM Hulme testifies JMH sends them only 1 short note while they are away. [note: My speculation was always that this was a senior-position job hunt by Dr HR Hulme, probably for a senior academic position at Cambridge, hence essential that HM Hulme attend as 'wife-of-the- applicant-and-potential-mistress-of-the-college'. Job hunt at urging of small group of University Council now confirmed. Dr HR Hulme is by now very unpopular at CUC [ad]. Also, HM Hulme may have suspected Dr HR Hulme of extra-marital activities, according to published rumour, and may have wanted to keep an eye on him. The lingering Coronation festivities may have also figured in HM Hulme's desire to go along, though they would have missed the actual event. No doubt HM Hulme could also visit friends and family; the Hulmes have been away from 'home' for nearly 5 years by this point. G&L list this trip simply as a "holiday," not mentioning the job hunt and completely missing the point, I think. What was done with Jonathon? Knowing the arrangements for him would be very informative. jp]

1953, May 29 (Fri). *Mr Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper, and Sherpa Tensing Norkey conquor the summit of Mount Everest in the Himalayas for the first time.

1953, June 2 (Tues). *News of the conquest of Everest reaches the world.

1953, June 12 (Fri). *PYP Diary: School trip to see film "A Queen is Crowned." PYP Unimpressed.

1953, June 14 (Sun). *PYP Diary: create new religion with JMH.

1953, June (late). *PYP sneaking out to meet Ceylonese CUC exchange students. JMH also said to be very interested in these students because they were exotic and, given the prestige of the program and the rigorous selection process, very intelligent and accomplished.

1953, July 2 (Thurs). *WAB (Bill) Perry arrives in NZ.

1953, July. *PYP goes to bed with one Ceylonese student.

1953, Aug. 9 (Wed). *PYP Diary: visit Juliet in the Sanatorium.

1953, Aug. 16 (Sun). Second Term [Fourth Form] ends. ..........August holidays begin. | *PYP sneaks out to see Nicholas repeatedly. | 1953, Aug. 20 (Thurs). | *USSR explodes its first thermonuclear H-bomb. | Cold War escalates sharply. | 1953, Aug. 30 (Sun). | [*] *Hulmes return from travels abroad. | | *PYP Diary: HM Hulme gives presents to PYP and HM | Parker. | | *HM Parker has become very concerned about relationship | between PYP and JMH during period Hulmes abroad, and | tells HM Hulme of her grave concerns. HM Hulme | testifies that she herself noticed on her return that | the only thing important to JMH now was her | relationship with PYP, and that JMH seems to ignore | her. | 1953, Sept. 7 (Mon). |..............August holidays end. Third Term [Fourth Form] begins.

1953, Sept. 9 (Wed) [*] *JMH is released from TB sanatorium 'uncured,' on the understanding HM Hulme will nurse her at home.

1953, Sept. *PYP still sneaking out to see Nicholas, to 4-5 a.m.

1953, Oct. 8 (Thurs). *PYP Diary: PYP & JMH continue relationship unmolested.

1953, Oct. (soon after 8th) [*] *PYP and Nicholas have sex in his rooms. PYP states to Medlicott: "It wasn't for me, I wasn't interested."

1953, Oct. 20 (Tues). *Boistrous public meeting critical of CUC Ilam relocation plan, widely reported in Christchurch press.

1953, Oct. 28 (Wed). *JMH 15th birthday.

1953, Nov. 2 (Mon). *PYP Diary: PYP depressed & contemplates suicide.

1953, Nov. 4 (Wed). *NZ Parliament discusses CUC Ilam relocation plans for a whole hour... flap caused in Christchurch is large.

1953, Nov. *PYP continues to see Nicholas, talking frequently through the night with him.

1953, Nov. 28 (Sat). *PYP Diary: planning Diello's Coronation.

1953, Dec. 9 (Wed). *Dr HR Hulme consults Dr FO Bennett about girls' relationship. JMH will not be examined by Dr Bennett.

1953, Dec. 10 (Thurs). *PYP Diary: Diello's Coronation is tomorrow.

1953, Dec. 11 (Fri). *JMH and PYP crown Diello King of Borovnia in elaborate Coronation ceremony.

1953, Dec. 14 (Mon). [*] *HM Parker takes PYP to be examined by Dr FO Bennett. Result of this examination is threat by HM Parker to forbid PYP seeing JMH 'unless PYP's health improves.'

1953, Dec. 20 (Sun). [*] *PYP Diary: PYP depressed by HM Parker's threat of permanent separation from JMH and considers suicide.

1953, Dec. 21 (Mon). Third Term ends. [End of Fourth Form] ..........Summer holidays begin. (sad and stressful this year.) | *PYP and JMH are separated by their parents. HM Parker | obviously prime instigator of separation, but Hulmes | also didn't want PYP around for Royal tour??? | PYP apparently complies, according to diary, for all of | Summer Holidays. She will not see JMH until end of Jan. | 1953, Dec. 23 (Wed). | *H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. the Duke of | Edinburgh arrive in NZ on Royal tour of Australasia. | 1953, Dec. 24 (Thurs). | *PYP Diary: not feeling Christmassy. | 1953, Dec. (around Christmas) | *WAB Perry moves into Ilam with Hulmes. He testifies he | had a separate flat, with his own housekeeper. | 1954, Jan. 1 (Fri). | [*] *PYP Diary: New Year's resolution: eat drink, be merry, | for tomorrow you may be dead. | 1954, Jan. 2 (Sat). | *PYP Diary: the joy of housework. | 1954, Jan. 10 (Sun). | *PYP Diary: day trip to Coes Ford, a popular crossing | of Selwyn River, with swimming, picnic and camping | south-west of Christchurch. [lw,he] | 1954, Jan. 12 (Tues). | *PYP Diary: prospective boarder treats PYP like maid. | 1954, Jan. 15 (Fri). | *PYP Diary: trip to river with Val. | 1954, Jan. 18 (Mon). | *H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. the Duke of | Edinburgh arrive in Christchurch, NZ. | | *According to trial testimony, niether JMH nor PYP take | any interest in the Royal visit (!!noted with | incredulity!! during the trial, but not quite correct). | 1954, Jan. 19 (Tues). | *PYP Diary: notes 'everyone' dashing to see the Queen. | 1954, Jan. 20 (Wed). | *H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. the Duke of | Edinburgh attend evensong at Christchurch Cathedral. | 1954, Jan. 21 (Thurs). | *H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. the Duke of | Edinburgh leave Christchurch for Ashburton, NZ. | 1954, Jan. 23 (Sat). | *PYP finally allowed to see JMH again. | 1954, Jan. 25 (Mon). | *PYP Diary: fearsome lecture from Mother over nothing. | 1954, Jan. 28 (Thurs). | *PYP Diary: grapes and prostitutes. | 1954, Jan. 29 (Fri). | *PYP Diary: musings about prostitution as way of making | money; worked out a whole new family for their future. | 1954, Feb. 1 (Mon). |..............Summer holidays end. First Term begins. [Beginning of Fifth Form]

1954, Feb. 6 (Sat). *PYP Diary: celebrated 'Him's Day' in glittering black and went through 'Saints day ritual.'

1954, Feb. 13 (Sat). [*] *PYP Diary: wishes death for HM Parker & HD Rieper.

1954, Feb. 21 (Sun). *PYP Diary: PYP complimented on her 'English' accent.

1954, Feb. 28 (Sun). [*] *PYP Diary: first mention of 'Hollywood' plan.

1954, March. *HM Hulme re-elected as Vice-President of Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council.

1954, March 1 (Mon) or 2 (Tues). *Dr HR Hulme is asked in writing by his colleagues to resign as Rector after Professorial Board debate, nominally about a technical impropriety in communicating a Prof Board report on building to CUC Coucil. [sb,ad]

1954, Mar. 4 (Thurs). *Dr HR Hulme tenders his official resignation as Rector of Canterbury University College.

1954, Mar. 14 (Sun). [*] *PYP Diary: HM Parker says she won't keep PYP in school.

1954, Mar. 19 (Fri). *PYP Diary: "Stew" and HM Hulme intercede to try and keep PYP in school.

1954, Mar. 31 (Wed). *PYP Diary: sneers at ignorance of her family circle.

1954, April 6 (Tues). *PYP Diary: jingles in bed with JMH.

1954, April 7 (Wed). *PYP Diary: glee at having a light-fingered scapegoat.

1954, April 10 (Sat). *PYP Diary: HM Parker goes to see Miss Stewart.

1954, April 11 (Sun). [*] *PYP Diary: "we are so brilliantly clever..."

1954, April 13 (Tues). *PYP Diary: row [argument] with Wendy.

1954, April 15 (Thurs). *PYP Diary: JMH and PYP read their books to each other.

1954, April 16 (Fri). (Good Friday) ..........Easter holidays begin. | *PYP spends Easter Holidys at Ilam, according to | HD Rieper's testimony. | | *PYP Diary: singing and turning into a male. | 1954, April 17 (Sat). | *PYP Diary: sneaking into Mr Perry's flat, then rowdy | behaviour, Ten Commandments listed to be broken. | | [note: The timing of this, and HM Hulme's reaction, are | very suggestive of WAB Perry's housekeeper having been | let go immediately prior, and JMH sneaking around in | WAB Perry's now-more-vacant flat to pry and snoop. She | may have suspected her mother and WAB Perry of having | an affair, and may have been looking for evidence. | Previous analysis (and the trial) put most emphasis | on the 'Ten Commandments' aspect. jp] | 1954, April 19 (Mon). (Easter Monday) |..............Easter holidays end.

1954, April 21 (Wed). [*] *PYP Diary: PYP starts vocational training at Digby's Commercial College after unsuccessful job search with 'the Airways'. [sb]

1954, April 22 (Thurs). [*] *JMH catches HM Hulme and WAB Perry in flagrante in his flat [note: Both HM Hulme and WAB Perry denied this at trial, providing an alternative story. jp]

1954, April 23 (Fri). *PYP Diary: Tosca, then account of HM Hulme & WAB Perry being caught in flagrante by JMH late night 22nd (2am 23rd).

1954, April 24 (Sat). [*] *PYP Diary: Dr HR Hulme discusses with PYP and JMH their plans to go to America. "...what is to be the future now?"

1954, April 25 (Sun). [*] *PYP Diary: divorce! --sympathy, soaring, plunging, vowing to "stick together."

1954, April 28 (Wed). [*] *PYP Diary: 'Digby's,' JMH @ PYP's, girls bathe together, PYP felt suicidal, writes of PYP's desire to "rid myself of this obstacle"--HM Parker--for first time.

1954, April 29 (Thurs). [*] *PYP Diary: PYP states JMH not told of PYP's plans for removing HM Parker.

1954, April 30 (Fri). *PYP Diary: first mention of telling JMH about "intentions" regarding Mother.

1954, May 1 (Sat). *PYP Diary: HM Hulme's "lovely remark"--"Won't it be wonderful when we are all back in England, Gina." PYP and JMH don't sleep together fearing Dr HR Hulme catching them.

1954, May 2 (Sun). First Term [Fifth Form] ends. ..........May holiday begins. | 1952, May 3 (Mon) - 8 (Sat). | *CUC "Capping Festival Week" celebrations and | bacchanalia. | 1954, May 6 (Thurs). | *PYP Diary: gloriously happy, love our new fianc‚s. | 1954, May 8 (Sat). | *Dr HR Hulme again consults Dr Bennett about girls' | relationship. This is exactly 8 weeks prior to the | planned date of departure of Dr HR Hulme and his | children according to the "Second Plan." | | [note: This consultation came after a whole week of | Dr HR Hulme weighing his choices, and his making | observations of PYP and JMH, and of HM Hulme and WAB | Perry. I believe there was disagreement among adults | over the need for a "Second Plan." I believe Dr FO | Bennett told Dr HR Hulme essentially what was in his | later testimony, namely that PYP and JMH's relationship | had become overtly homosexual. Given standard medical | opinion and practise of the day, Dr FO Bennett probably | advised in favour of active intervention, to 'reverse' | or 'stave off' JMH becoming irreversibly homosexual. | I believe it was Dr FO Bennett, in this consultation, | who convinced Dr HR Hulme of the need for separating | JMH from PYP immediately. And this was when Dr HR Hulme | enlisted Dr FO Bennett as an ally. | This was when Dr HR Hulme committed himself to the | "Second Plan." The "Second Plan" was to abandon HM | Hulme and WAB Perry to their own devices, and to take | custody of Jonathon, and to deliver JMH to South Africa | to stay with an aunt (Ina?). | It cannot be coincidence that this is exactly 8 | weeks before the planned departure date. I propose that | Dr HR Hulme bought his passage on May 8. It was | probably necessary for him to book all tickets or pay | a financial penalty he could not afford. This was the | decision he had to make on May 8, 1954: purchase one | passage home to England, or three? | According to conventional medical wisdom at the | time, lesbianism was caused by an overly-close | association between a daughter and her mother [see | G&L], and this could have been used to justify the | "Second Plan" had there been argument from HM Hulme. No | doubt, Dr HR Hulme also used the threat of 'adultery' | on the divorce petition, and the threat of publicity | and courtroom proof of HM Hulme as an 'unfit mother' to | secure the release of Jonathon to his care. At this | point Dr HR Hulme had absolutely nothing to lose, which | probably made him seem desperate and 'dangerous' and | not worth taking on, to WAB Perry and HM Hulme. | It is also possible that HM Hulme and WAB Perry | did not fight too hard to retain custody of JMH and | Jonathon. jp] | 1954, May. | *HM Hulme resigns from Christchurch Marriage Guidance | Council. [note: G&L report that Council was stunned, | so this may have been a pre-emptive resignation, or | the statement historical revisionism. G&L also mention | that Council didn't recover from the scandal of HM | Hulme for years; she managed to break nearly all | charter principles of the Council in her private life | over a very short period of time. The Council still | distances itself from her. jp] | 1954, May ("Around time PYP staying at Ilam after Easter"). | *HD Rieper gave confusing and inconsistent testimony | about the following critical events and especially the | timing of them, indicating he was probably out of the | decision-making loop. It appears as if he may have | been 'concerned' or even annoyed by PYP's behaviour, | but it also seems clear he didn't really perceive a | crisis condition--he just didn't pay close attention. | Clearly, HM Parker got in touch with Dr HR Hulme | again, with new concerns about PYP and JMH's | relationship (HD Rieper's testimony was consistent | about this). Clearly, she was told by Dr HR Hulme | that he would be leaving NZ with JMH in a matter of | weeks (the date of the conversation and length of time | to departure were the most inconsistent parts of HD | Rieper's testimony). And, clearly, it was HM Parker | who made the decision to allow PYP "to see as much of | Juliet as she desired, pending her departure." | | [note: Why did HM Parker approach Dr HR Hulme again? | I think it is possible the Dr FO Bennett may have | contacted HM Parker again after Dr HR Hulme's | consultation, to convince/confirm for her the | seriousness of the situation and to suggest she discuss | the matter with Dr HR Hulme. | When are JMH and PYP told of the "Second Plan?" | This is such a critical question, but there is no clear | answer. The diary record is, unfortunately, incomplete | through most of May. I suspect that the "Second Plan" | was fully discussed between Dr HR Hulme, HM Hulme and | WAB Perry late in the first week of May, and Dr FO | Bennett was consulted as "the final word"--he knew both | Hulmes independently and well. The Riepers were | probably called by Dr FO Bennett on May 8, and HM | Parker probably called Dr HR Hulme the next day, Sunday | May 9, HD Rieper's day off. JMH and PYP were probably | informed simultaneously by their respective parents on | the Sunday night, May 9, or very soon thereafter. | HM Hulme testified that JMH pleaded for PYP to be | taken to South Africa with her. HM Hulme also testified | that both families spent some time explaining to both | girls that PYP could not possibly accompany JMH. There | are no published diary records to support or refute | these statements. jp] | 1954, May 17 (Mon). |..............May Holiday ends. Second Term [Fifth Form] would have begun.

1954, May 23 (Sun). *PYP Diary: Mr Perry taken ill, PYP worried that his death would "spoil everything."

1954, May 26 (Wed). *PYP 16th birthday.

1954, May 27 (Thurs). *PYP Diary: thwarted robbery of safe.

1954, May 29 (Sat). *PYP Diary: Saints' anatomies.

1954, June 3 (Thurs). *Official farewell ceremony for Dr HR Hulme as Rector of Canterbury University College in College Hall.

1954, June 6 (Sun). [*] *PYP Diary: PYP & JMH are 'mad.' So is Dr Hulme.

1954, June 7 (Mon). *PYP Diary: discussion of Saints' having sex while eating.

1954, June 8 (Tues). *PYP Diary: telepathy in dreams.

1954, June 9 (Wed). *PYP Diary: 'Digby's' then disagreement with HM Parker.

1954, June 10 (Thurs). *PYP Diary: sex education and felt close to Deborah.

1954, June 11 (Fri). [*] *PYP begins 'last visit' with JMH @ Hulme residence (Ilam), with HM Parker's blessing, for 10 days before planned JMH departure for South Africa. [HD Rieper testimony]

1954, June 12 (Sat). *Departure date for Dr HR Hulme and children confirmed and "set" for exactly 3 weeks from today, according to HM Hulme testimony.

1954, June 13 (Sun). [*] *PYP Diary: hectic night going through the Saints,

1954, June 14 (Mon). *PYP Diary: discussed spicy ideas and spent a glorious Saintly day.

1954, June 15 (Tues). *PYP Diary: beautiful dreams of Port Levy.

1954, June 16 (Wed). *PYP Diary: hectic night going through the Saints until 5:30 a.m.

1954, June 17 (Thurs). *PYP Diary: didn't misbehave.

1954, June 18 (Fri). *PYP Diary: planned our moiders in our operas.

1954, June 19 (Sat). [*] *PYP Diary: HM Parker moider planned with JMH @ Ilam, and had a simply wonderful time in every posible way.

1954, June 20 (Sun). [*] *PYP leaves Ilam. Driven by HD Rieper with the Rieper family to visit Rosemary Parker at Templeton Farm. (see 3.2.10.1).

1954, June 21 (Mon). *PYP tells HM Parker she will start a new job on following Monday 28th. PYP proposes a trip to Victoria Park to celebrate, and proposes JMH to come with them. HM Parker agrees, and tells HD Rieper of these things. [HD Rieper testimony]

1954, June 22 (Tues). [*] *PYP Diary: "The Day of The Happy Event." [*] 10:30 *JMH collects half-brick from a pile beside Ilam garage. She is driven downtown by HR Hulme, dropped off at Beaths Store, on Cashel St, just east of Colombo St, one block south of Cathedral Square, for "personal" shopping. HM Hulme describes JMH as happy, calm and affectionate that morning. [*] 11:00 *JMH arrives @ Riepers with half-brick. Chat with HM Parker in kitchen. Went up to PYP's room where PYP placed half-brick in stocking, knotting it. PYP placed weapon into school shoulder bag. JMH had pink stone in her pocket, taken from a brooch. [*] 11:45 *HD Rieper arrives home and works in garden. [*] Noon *Lunch, a happy affair, with laughing, jokes. PYP, JMH, HD Rieper, HM Parker, Wendy Parker. HD Rieper and Wendy return to work after lunch, leaving HM Parker, JMH and PYP to clean up. [*] 1:30 *HM Parker, JMH and PYP leave house for Cathedral Square where they catch #2 bus to The Tahake, Victoria Park Terminus in Cashmere Hills. [*] 2:35 *JMH, PYP, HM Parker arrive @ The Tahake, Victoria Park Terminus. Walk uphill to the Tea Kiosk. HM Parker had tea, JMH and PYP had soft drinks (one lemon, one orange). All ate cakes and scones. Chatted to Agnes Ritchie. Two other customers. [*] 3:05 *HM Parker, PYP and JMH leave tea kiosk, enter the Park through a gap in stone wall and set off on a steep path. [*] 3:20 *(approx). 420 yards along they cross a small wooden bridge. JMH drops stone. The three turn back after a few more metres. PYP points out pink stone to HM Parker. Murder of Honora Mary Parker by PYP and JMH. [*] 3:30 *Agnes Ritchie states PYP and JMH arrive at kiosk with bloodsoaked clothing, white-faced and hysterical, screaming that HM Parker was hurt and crying for help. PYP had blood on face and hands, JMH had much blood on her hands.

1954, June 23 (Wed). *HD Rieper identifies HM Parker's body, accompanied by Det Gilles. 9am *Inquest into death of HM Parker opened by Coroner EBE Taylor, adjourned sine die after evidence of identification given by HD Rieper with DetSgt AB Tate representing police. *Det Gilles recovers PYP and JMH clothing, still uncleaned, from Wicks' Drapery. 10am *PYP, unrepresented by counsel, charged with murder of HM Parker on application of DetSgt GW Alty in Christchurch Magistrate's Court before Mr RC Abernethy, S.M. and remanded to appear on July 1. *PYP Returned to Central Police Station and interviewed in Tate's office. PYP stated that she would tell truth if JMH present. Detectives leave for Ilam, leaving PYP in Tate's office. PYP grabs note and tries to burn it but it is partially recovered. Later, PYP remanded in custody to Paparua Prison, Christchurch, until July 1. aft. *Brown and Tate arrive at Ilam. Later, go up to JMH bedroom. JMH interrogated again, gives 2nd statement, implicating herself in the murder. JMH arrested and placed in custody in gaol.

1954, June 24 (Thurs). *body of HM Parker cremated after funeral service at Bromley Methodist cemetery, Christchurch. *JMH, represented by TA Gresson, charged with murder of HM Parker on application of DetSgt Alty in Christchurch Magistrate's Court before Mr R Ferner, S.M. and remanded in custody to Paparua Prison, Christchurch to appear July 1. Both Dr Hulme and Hilda Hulme are present. *Dr Bennett examines PYP and JMH individually for about 3/4 - 1 hour each in Police Station. *Dr Saville interviews JMH and PYP separately. *JMH joins PYP in Paparua Prison. There, they will listen to classical music, take long walks together and write voluminously. Examined by Dr Medlicott within first two or three weeks of arrest, seven hours each. *body of HM Parker cremated after a funeral service at Bromley Methodist cemetary, Christchurch.

1954, June 27 (Sun). *Dr Medlicott interviews JMH separately for 2 1/2 hours at Paparua prison. [sb]

1954, June 28 (Mon). *Dr Medlicott interviews PYP separately for 1 1/2 hours at Paparua prison. [sb]

1954, June 29 (Tues). *Dr Hunter interviews PYP and JMH separately.

1954, July 1 (Thurs). *JMH, PYP due to be released from custody before trial but held over. *Dr HR Hulme meets with JMH in Paparua prison to tell her he is leaving NZ for England. He stated they met for a few minutes and JMH told him, before he kissed her goodbye: "I want you to go."

1954, July 3 (Sat). *Planned date for Dr HR Hulme and JMH departure for England via South Africa, where JMH was to have been left with Aunt Ina (see 7.11). *Dr HR Hulme and son Jonathon apparently sail on schedule [Or around this time, and certainly before July 16. Date not yet confirmed. jp] from NZ on the liner "Himalaya," bound for London via Capetown and Marseilles, where they will disembark and vanish. Dr HR Hulme will never return. During the sea voyage, he states: "The world will just have to think of me as an unnatural father. I cannot say why I decided to leave New Zealand at this time. It would involve too many people. But there is nothing I can do there just now. My only concern now is for my son. I want to spare him all I can. I've told him his sister is mentally ill--as indeed she is."

1954, July (after Dr HR Hulme's departure) *public auction of Hulmes' personal effects held at Ilam. Huge attendance of gawkers. [reported NZ Truth 22 Sept '54. G&L]

1954, July 11 (Sun) and July 12 (Mon). *Dr Medlicott interviews PYP and JMH for c. 2-3 hours total at Paparua Prison. [sb]

1954, July 12 (Mon). *Dr Saville interviews PYP and JMH separately.

1954, July 14 (Wed). *Dr Hunter interviews PYP and JMH separately.

1954, July 16 (Fri). *PYP & JMH committed for trial at sensational inquest, Christchurch Magistrate's Court, where extracts from diaries read. Worldwide publicity begins in earnest. [PYP & JMH incarcerated at Paparua but PYP transported to & from Mt Eden prison in Auckland for exams, according to testimony. G&L claim PYP moved to Mt Eden at the secret insistence of her own counsel, to see what effect there would be upon separation of PYP and JMH. sb,jp,G&L]

1954, July 26 (Mon). *Dr K Stallworthy examines PYP six occasions between now and 19 Aug. at Paparua? or Mt Eden?. (probably JMH also, separately; she is interviewed 4 separate times). *Dr Saville interviews JMH and PYP separately. *Dr Hunter interviews PYP and JMH separately.

1954, July 27 (Tues). *Dr K Stallworthy examines PYP at Paparua. (probably JMH also, separately).

1954, Aug. 2 (Mon). *Dr Hunter examines JMH at Paparua after PYP sent to Mt Eden.

1954, Aug. 6 (Fri). *Dr Bennett examines JMH at Paparua prison for 1 hour.

1954, Aug. 10 (Tues). *Dr HR Hulme and son Jonathon arrive in Marseilles on the liner "Himalaya" and disappear from public view.

1954, Aug. 13 (Fri). *Dr Saville and Dr Hunter together examine PYP and JMH separately.

1954, Aug. 14 (Sat). *Dr Bennett examines PYP at Paparua prison for 1 hour (she had been brought back from Mt Eden by this time).

1954, Aug. 15 (Sun). Second Term ends. August Holidays begin for NZ schools. The trial will occur during the school holidays, guaranteeing a large crowd of spectators and much local interest.

1954, Aug. 19 (Thurs). *Dr K Stallworthy examines PYP at Paparua. (probably also JMH, separately). Also 2 more exams for PYP at Mount Eden Prison, near Auckland, before trial and 1 more exam for JMH before trial, unspecified location. Total psych exams since murder: PYP = 23, JMH = 20.

1954, Aug. 20 (Fri). *Dr Saville and Dr Hunter together examine PYP and JMH separately.

1954, Aug. 23 (Mon). *Trial of PYP & JMH begins. Both plead Not Guilty. Opening arguments by prosecution. Coroner's report read. HM Hulme testifies. HD Rieper testifies. JMH's statements read.

1954, Aug. 24 (Tues). *Second day of trial. HM Hulme recalled to testify. WAB Perry testifies. Close of prosecution case. Opening arguments by defense. Insanity plea entered by defense. Dr Medlicott testifies for defense.

1954, Aug. 25 (Wed). *Third day of trial. Dr Medlicott continues to testify. Dr Medlicott brutally cross examined by prosecution.

1954, Aug. 26 (Thurs). *Fourth day of trial. Dr Medlicott finishes testifying. Dr Bennett testifies for defense. His equivocal & confusing testimony eventually summarized by the judge.

1954, Aug. 27 (Fri). *Fifth day of trial. Crown calls three expert witnesses: Dr Stallworthy, Dr Saville and Dr Hunter. They testify that PYP and JMH were legally sane.

1954, Aug. 28 (Sat). *Sixth day of trial. *Ranfurly Shield rugby match being played in Chch and supporters show up for trial in the morning. *Final addresses by both counsel. JMH sits with fingers plugging her ears during Brown's emotional, vitriolic tirade and famous quote. *Judge gives summing-up for 1 h 20 min. 12:10 *All-male jury retires for 2 h 14 min. 2:53 *HM Hulme sits with her eyes shut, fists clenched as the verdict is read. PYP & JMH are found legally sane and are convicted of murder of HM Parker. Trial ends. *Spectator yells "I object! I protest!" as terms of sentence read out. This becomes rallying cry for public reaction to sentence. He is ejected from Court. *PYP & JMH unemotional, do not look at families as they are led away, back to Paparua Prison. *From his home, HD Rieper states: "I have nothing to say about it." *HM Hulme and WAB Perry retreat to Hulmes' Port Levy holiday home to escape publicity--evicted from Ilam after departure of Dr HR Hulme in July.

1954, Aug. 31 (Tues). *ST Barnett: Imprisonment of PYP and JMH was "the most complex and difficult custodial problem the penal administration has yet faced. ... Hulme is the more dominant personality and the leader of the two. She is likely to present the greater custodial problem. ... Obviously they should be treated equally and my present mind is that they should each have an experience of Mount Eden." [G&L]

1954, Sept. 1 (Wed). *TC Webb: vows that both girls were to have "a taste of Mount Eden." *PYP & JMH sentenced to imprisonment, to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure in separate institutions. There is to be no contact of any sort between them during incarceration. *PYP moved from Paparua Prison, Christchurch, to a Borstal north of Wellington, Arohata Women's Reformatory. PYP will spend most of her incarceration here, some time at Mt Eden and finally back to Paparua. Converts to Roman Catholicism. Completes University Entrance and most of requirements for BA degree while incarcerated. Visited once by HD Rieper. Visited by other members of her family once she is transferred back to Paparua, near the end of her incarceration.

1954, Sept. 3 (Fri). *JMH flown by Air Force plane to Whenuapai, Auckland, met by Superintendent Haywood and taken to Auckland Prison (Mt Eden), to the women's wing. JMH apparently in solitary confinement for the first 3 months. While she was at Mt Eden there were 4 or 5 hangings. On the one hand, she received a certain level of special consideration, on the other she was sent there rather than the lower security Borstal where PYP was sent because she was considered the "more dominant personality and the leader of the two." The whole time she was incarcerated, she received no visits from any member of her family, and "their correspondence with her was infrequent." [sb] JMH will spend most of her incarceration at Mt Eden. Tutored privately, she completes University Entrance. Transferred to Arohata for the final part of her incarceration.

1954, Sept. 5 (Sun). *HM Hulme changes her name to Hilda Marion Perry by deed poll in Christchurch. She will go by the name "Mrs H Marion Perry" from this point onward. [mf,sb]

1954, Sept. 6 (Mon). August holidays end. 3rd term begins for NZ schools.

1954, Sept. 12 (Sun). *HM Perry and WAB Perry leave New Zealand for England. Neither will return. In Sydney, WAB Perry tells the press: "We firmly believe Juliet is mad. ...Mrs Perry is sorry to leave Juliet, but she believes that Jonathon now has the greater need of her." [sb] [note: Not known who ended up with custody of Jonathon. jp]

1954, Sept. 15 (Wed). *Howard League for Penal Reform condemns the Secretary of Justice and Minister of Justice's statements about subjecting JMH and PYP to "a taste of Mt Eden." The intervention of this organization may have had a significant influence on JMH (see dedications to Anne Perry's novels in section 7.11).

1954, Oct. 28 (Thurs). *JMH 16th birthday.

1954, Dec. *PYP enrolled in correspondence courses for English, French, Latin, Mathematics, Drawing and Design. Later, she enrolled for a course in Maori. *JMH studied English, Italian and Mathematics. [note: Three subjects is traditional in English system of 'A'- levels. Also note that Dr HR Hulme was a mathematical physicist. jp]

1954, Dec. 10 (Fri). *JMH reported to now be remorseful, in press. [sb] [note: This would be about the time JMH was released from solitary confinement. Statement actually substantiated by Anne Perry in '94-'95 interviews. jp] *PYP reported to be "trying desperately to find out what has happened to" JMH.

1954, Dec. 12 (Sun). *PYP reported to have tried to smuggle a letter to JMH.

1955. *Dr HR Hulme and HM Perry are divorced. *WAB Perry and HM Perry marry. *Dr HR Hulme (aged 47) marries Margery Ducker, daughter of Sir James and Lady Cooper. *Dr HR Hulme begins appointment at Aldermaston in UK.

1955, Sept. *HD Rieper reluctantly visits PYP but finds the visit "depressing."

1958. *Britain successfully tests thermonuclear Hydrogen-bomb at Christmas Island in the South Pacific, making it a full-fledged, independent nuclear power. Dr HR Hulme is a key member of Britain's H-bomb design team. His scientific role is roughly equivalent to that of Edward Teller's in the US effort.

1959. *Dr HR Hulme becomes Chief of Nuclear Research at Britain's Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston, UK.

1959, Dec. 4. (Fri) *ST Barnett, now NZ Secretary of State for Justice, announces JMH (aged 21) and PYP (aged 21) released in that order some weeks earlier from prison and given new identities. "Neither girl knows where the other is living." *JMH provided with a Department of Justice escort and assistance by the Department to make travel plans. She travels to Sydney, Australia then joins HM Perry and WAB Perry in the UK. JMH assumes the name Anne Perry (revealed '94). Beginning in '79 Anne Perry rejoins the public arena as a published author. *PYP released on probation, about 2 weeks after JMH has left NZ, until '65. PYP provided assistance by Justice Department to assume new identity and find employment. She leads a closely-supervised but anonymous life under terms of her parole. She completes her University education and receives her degree. She has no contact with any of her family after her release. [G&L] *HD Rieper states after learning of his daughter's release: "It still doesn't make up for robbing a person of their life. It was evil between them that did it. Pure evil."

1963, Dec. 11. *Department of Justice letter placed in PYP's file, noting concern by officials about PYP's lesbian associates.

1965. *PYP completes her probation and leaves NZ, destination unknown. She lives her life as a private citizen out of the public arena from this point on.

1973. *Dr HR Hulme, aged 65, retires from Aldermaston.

1981, May 5. *Herbert Rieper dies of pneumonia, Christchurch, NZ, aged 92. [sb]

1991, Jan. 8. *Henry Rainsford Hulme dies, Basingstoke, England, aged 82.

1995. *JMH, now known as Anne Perry, lives in Portmahomack Scotland, a mile from her mother, now widowed from WAB Perry. Ms Perry is a successful author of Victorian mysteries.

7.4Quotes from diaries and writings. [mcw,jp,sb,mf]#

All quotations are authored by Pauline Yvonne Parker unless noted otherwise. Medlicott is abbreviated as "M" when indicated as a source, while Glamuzina and Laurie are abbreviated as "G&L". [jp]

7.4.1Fiction#

Senior Detective Brown testified at the trial that he found fourteen exercise books, a scrap book and a diary in Pauline's room. [actually two diaries. jp]

March 1953. Her fictional family intruded into the diary with bewilderingly frequent and tangled escapades; there were bedroom scenes, highway robberies and often more than one violent death a day. [M]

She was very interested in creative writing, and from March 1953 she began including synopses of her stories in the diary. [G&L]

April 4, 1953. In the diary record within a paragraph Roland slaps Carmelita's face when she turns his proposal of marriage down because she is engaged to Roderick, and in a blazing fury he shoots Roderick. The horse 'Vendetta' kills Gianina the night before her marriage to Nicholas. On the ledge of 'Satan's Hollow' 'Vendetta' crashes down on to Nicholas and with a wild scream turns into the sunset, his revenge complete. [M]

May, 1953. Sudden death, suicide and murder assumed extravagant proportions. They were preoccupied with ideas of great power, especially to murder without reprisal, and vicious characters were greatly respected. Their favourite character Diello was particularly vicious. Death and murders were treated lightly. [M]

The Empress of Volumnia, who was only thirteen, "has a violent temper and when in a tantrum has killed all the people who have incurred her wrath. Also she is very proud and refuses to interview anyone in the lower classes." Her people loved her and would not have had her otherwise. [M]

"Barton...silly bounder...tried to shoot me, and I have a terrible temper when roused and I am afraid I broke his back and put him in the mere (lake)...(stupid blighter). And Linker... poor fellow...you know I really quite liked him...indiscriminate in his choice of friends and is now...alack!...in the mere with Barton." [M]

[A female character]: "I don't kill people...I thought you might like to know since you asked me some time ago. My father hasn't killed anyone for quite a while. I would like to kill someone sometime because I think it is an experience that is necessary to life." [M]

"Sunrise makes the peaks crimson, as if some giant hand had dipped and smeared it with blood." [M]

1954. Pauline's book 'The Donkey's Serenade' was finished by the end of February and she immediately followed it with another. By the time of the murder they had completed or were in the process of writing six books between them, in addition to plays, poetry and an opera. [M]

7.4.2Poetry#

THE ONES THAT I WORSHIP

There are living among(st) two dutiful daughters Of a man who possesses two beautiful daughters The most glorious beings in creation; They'd be the pride and joy of any nation.

You cannot know, nor (yet) try to guess, The sweet soothingness of their caress. The outstanding genius of this pair Is understood by few, they are so rare.

Compared with these two, every man is a fool. The world is most honoured that they should deign to rule, And above us these Goddesses reign on high.

I worship the power of these lovely two With that adoring love known to so few. 'Tis indeed a miracle, one must feel, That two such heavenly creatures are real.

Both sets of eyes, though different far, hold many mysteries strange. Impassively they watch the race of man decay and change. Hatred burning bright in the brown eyes, with enemies for fuel, Icy scorn glitters in the grey eyes, contemptuous and cruel.

Why are men such fools they will not realize The wisdom that is hidden behind those strange eyes? And these wonderful people are you and I.

Note that the punctuation of this version is partly speculative, and is based on a version published in contemporary news articles, on the lyrical content and the known grammatical precision of PYP's writing [G&L]. The punctuation, and a few words, do not match the (largely unpunctuated) version obtained from the trial transcript (which is a secondhand verbal record, after all), or the version transcribed by Medlicott in his paper, although Medlicott noted that 'Goddesses' was capitalized whereas 'heavenly creatures' was not. All published versions approximately contemporary with the case include the term "heavenly creatures." There have been some recent press reports suggesting that the term did not appear in Pauline Parker's writings. [mcw,jp]

See Medlicott's article for his analysis of this poem, and also for comments by PYP and JMH made to Medlicott concerning the poem in response to his questions. Medlicott notes that both girls treated him with open contempt [JMH: "You do think, don't you?"] so their comments to him about "The Ones That I Worship" may have to be taken with a pinch of salt. [jp]

7.4.3Diaries#

"Heavenly Creatures" states that Pauline's Diary for 1953 was a "Whitcombe's New Zealand Handy Diary." On the outside front cover it said "The Handy Diary for 1953." Inside the front cover were advertisements for a pen (left) and Edmond's Quality Products (right). Overleaf were tabulated 'handy facts' and The first page for January 1 was facing, on the right.

These facts have not been independently verified. If accurate, there were no blank pages at the front for the tabulation of the 'Saints' (see below), in which case the table would have had to have been near the front of the '53 diary on an unused regular page.

It has been verified from trial testimony that Pauline's father, Herbert Rieper, gave Pauline her diaries as a present. He was asked if he had ever read them, and he replied that he hadn't because that wouldn't have been honest. [jp]

Police photographer William McDonald Ramage testified during the trial that seven diary pages had been photographed and these photos were entered into evidence. Crown Prosecutor Brown stated that these were the pages which referred directly to murder. Published photographs of Pauline's diary entries reveal that the diary pages were headed:

and that the pages were unlined and unruled. Pauline began writing from the far left, not indenting the first line, level with the 'day#--days left#' and she actually embedded these numbers in the first line of her entry for the day. She did not rule her own margins and they were wavy along the left of the page, but not ragged. She wrote starting close to the left of the page and ran all the way to the right edge of the paper. Pauline's lines were evenly spaced, quite straight, parallel and square with the page, all of which indicates much practice at freehand writing (typists and word processors try it--it's hard. Then try it lying down in bed!). She often continued words rather than waste the space and start them fresh on the next line, breaking them appropriately but not bothering with hyphens at either side of the break. Pauline also used non-standard abbreviations for small words such as "with" and "and" and she edited her sentences as she wrote them to correct grammar or to make ideas clearer, according to the surviving photos. She would cross out words and write corrections above the line, but did not use typographic editing marks to indicate where the corrections should be placed, exactly.

It is clear that Pauline wrote in ink, with a fountain pen. Her writing is even, not changing in size on a page, quite small and remarkably legible overall, once the reader gets used to it. A graphologist could say more about it, no doubt. However, there is some question about Pauline's use of punctuation. In the surviving photos, she does seem to be a little lax when it comes to the use of commas and periods, using them sparingly and, in a way, for emphasis. Pauline does use dashes correctly. Unfortunately, none of the surviving entries contains an interrogatory sentence. All official police transcripts omit question marks completely. It would be an unusual habit for Pauline not to write them, especially since writing a question mark is one of the sensual pleasures of writing with a pen and ink and they form natural pauses in the process of writing and provide dramatic emphasis. I have tended to place question marks in the quotations assembled below, but the reader is warned that the issue is not a clear-cut one. [jp]

According to NZ law enforcement and Department of Justice officials, Pauline Parker's diaries do not exist anymore and haven't for many years. [mf]

Glamuzina & Laurie give the following information about the diaries in their book (abbreviated G&L in this section, see 7.7): (p. 76)

Medlicott's article in Brit. J. Med. Psych. (abbreviated M in this section, see 7.8.1) contained many diary entries, though obviously obtained from notes made from the official diary transcripts and/or the trial transcript. The chapter by Gurr and Cox (see 7.7) contains photographs of the actual diary entries for June 21, 1954 and June 22, 1954. [jp]

Here are some statements about the diaries made by Jackson in an interview with David Lyman: "The Man Behind Heavenly Creatures: An Interview with Peter Jackson" printed on the WWW by Film.com/Point of Presence Company:

The quotations from Pauline Parker's diaries given below have been gathered from a large number of sources; all sources are listed somewhere in section 7 but rigorous referencing has not been followed in this section because it would be extremely cumbersome. Often, quotes from different sources vary in content and syntax. In combining quotations, they have been weighted, based on the 'quality' of the source. Conflicts in grammar have been resolved by noting that Pauline Parker was described as a gifted writer by several authorities, though it is apparent she had her own pet idiosyncrasies, too. The events surrounding these quotations can be obtained from the time line, section 7.3.

The dates of some entries are not known precisely. Verbal testimony may have introduced some errors; newspaper transcripts of the verbal testimony sometimes disagree about dates; there may have been errors in the 'official' police transcripts of the diaries; there may have been errors in the notes made by Medlicott from the transcripts and likewise in Bennett's notes. Uncertainty in dates has generally been noted below.

When the principal source for a quote is the "Heavenly Creatures" voiceover, a note has been made. This is because, where comparisons with other sources can be made, it is clear that the "Heavenly Creatures" voiceover tends to be heavily edited for dramatic effect, often to the point of changing the meaning or context of the quote, unfortunately.

Medlicott's article, Glamuzina & Laurie and the published diary photos revealed that Pauline Parker invariably capitalized her 'Mother,' (see especially the entry for June 21, '54) her 'Father,' many of her generic references to JMH's parents, their 'Saints' (though see June 21 '54) and their 'Gods.' Henry Hulme was almost invariably 'Dr Hulme' and Hilda Hulme was most often 'Mrs Hulme,' though there are a few intriguing and important entries where Pauline refers to them possessively as 'Mother' and 'Father.' There are entries where 'the Hulmes' become 'we' and their possessions become 'ours.' Ilam is usually referred to by name but, again, it is sometimes 'home.'

'Family' is a flexible concept in Pauline's diaries, sometimes referring to imaginary persons, but this is usually clear from the context, counter to the impression given by contemporary press articles. Wendy is referred to by her proper Christian name, as are the boarders, even though some were much older than Pauline. Miss Stewart is 'Stew' in some places. Trial testimony indicated that Mr Perry was 'Mr Bloody Perry' in many places, though this seems to have been edited out of published accounts. Pauline often used numerals to abbreviate numbers, especially with regard to time, and she used the numeral to refer to the '4th World.' She and Juliet referred to it as 'Paradise' by 1954. She did not hyphenate 'to-day' or 'to-morrow' unlike the official transcripts and the press reports of the day. In fact, it seems most likely that the diary transcripts were made by stenographers recording the flat, monotone verbal record of a person reading the diary entries.

>From the context of several entries, it would seem that Pauline most often used euphemisms to refer to or to describe sexual or erotic events or ideas. The label 'Saints,' in particular, apparently took on double-entendre connotations as time went by, though this is obviously open to interpretation. Some imaginary characters seem to have had very specialized physical characteristics [thought: I wonder if the Ilam library had any collections of Aubrey Beardsley's cartoons. Anne Perry says Oscar Wilde was a favourite author. jp] and so references to them and their names may also have been used as erotic euphemisms. [jp]

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1953, Diary inside front:

1953, Jan. 1 (Thurs). "New Year's Resolution: To be lenient with others."

1953, Jan. 5 (Mon). "This morning I got up at seven o'clock and did some washing before Nana came down for breakfast. I worked hard all morning and did some baking."

1953, Jan. 10 (Sat). "...never before have I hit so many creatures so hard for so little reason..."

1953, Jan. 14 (Wed). (while staying at a farm on a holiday) "..[two men] put a note in my diary to say that they found it very interesting. I got a terrible fright when I read it."

1953, Jan. 31 (Sat). "...Mother says she is going to have Training College boarders..."

1953, Feb. 9 (Mon). "...Harry arrived today. He seems quite nice and is about 35. He is very polite so far..."

1953, Feb. 10 (Tues). "...I do hope Ross turns out to be nice. I have been looking forward to his coming so much that I will probably be disappointed..."

1953, Feb. 13 (Fri). "...Mother was not well so I got up and prepared Harry's breakfast and had my own..."

1953, Feb. 18 (Wed). "...Ron, the new boarder arrived. He is quite nice and about 25..."

1953, Feb. 20 (Fri). "...Ross was up late this morning. Out for dinner and by the time I got home so I have not seen him all day."

1953, Feb. 22 (Sun). "...This evening after tea we decided to go to the beach. Mother and Nana did the dishes. Ron came with us. Ross was out to tea so naturally he did not come. We went to Brighton. Ron, Wendy and I went for a swim. Mother bought some chocolate and bicuits which we had in the car on the way home... A Man called to buy Ross's motor-bike."

1953, Mar. 4 (Wed). "...Today many people came about board. We may be getting a Frenchman. I hope very much that we are..."

1953, Mar. 9 (Mon). "...John helped me with my homework for about an hour. He says Damn a lot. I did a lot of homework..."

1953, Mar. 11 (Wed). "...Ross and John were home for dinner, to which Juliet came..."

1953, Mar. 15 (Sun). "Mrs Hulme was very grateful for the cigarettes and kissed me twice..."

1953, Mar. 18 (Wed). "We have decided how sad it is for other people that they cannot appreciate our genius. But we hope the book will help them to do so a little, though no one could fully appreciate us."

1953, Mar. 20 (Fri). An extract for March 20 showed they were taken to Lancaster Park, but when there they looked for a quiet spot where they could write poetry, as neither was interested in the school sports. When Parker went home she wrote another poem.

1953, April 3 (Fri). "Today Juliet and I found the key to the 4th World. We realise now that we have had it in our posession for about 6 months but we only realized it on the day of the death of Christ. We saw a gateway through the clouds. We sat on the edge of the path and looked down the hill out over the bay. The island looked beautiful. The sea was blue. Everything was full of peace and bliss. We then realized we had the key. We now know that we are not genii, as we thought. We have an extra part of our brain which can appreciate the 4th World. Only about 10 people have it. When we die we will go to the 4th World, but meanwhile on two days every year we may use the key and look in to that beautiful world which we have been lucky enough to be allowed to know of, on this Day of Finding the Key to the Way through the Clouds." [punctuation M, G&L]

1953, April 4 (Sat). In the diary record within a paragraph Roland slaps Carmelita's face when she turns his proposal of marriage down because she is engaged to Roderick, and in a blazing fury he shoots Roderick. The horse 'Vendetta' kills Gianina the night before her marriage to Nicholas. On the ledge of 'Satan's Hollow' 'Vendetta' crashes down on to Nicholas and with a wild scream turns into the sunset, his revenge complete. [Medlicott]

1953, April 6 (Mon). "The days I spent at Port Levy were the most HEAVENLY ones I have ever experienced... Mrs Hulme did my hair. She calls me her foster daughter."

1953, April 18 (Sat). The entry for April 18 shows the spending of hours out of doors at night. There are a number of references in the diary to nocturnal activities in the garden at Ilam.

1953, April 23 (Thurs). "Mrs Hulme says she wished I was her daughter, too..."

1953, May 15 (Fri). "Mrs Hulme told me they had found out today that Juliet has tuberculosis on one lung. Poor Giulietta! It is only now I realise how fond I am of her. I nearly fainted when I heard. I had a terrible job not to cry. It would be wonderful if I could get tuberculosis, too."

1953, May 16 (Sat). "I spent a wretched night. It was a relief to see Juliet looking so well. ... We agreed it was a great pity I had not TB too and it would be wonderful if I could catch it. We would be in the sanatorium together and would be able to write a lot. ... We have decided we are the most incredible optimists."

1953, May 23 (Sat). Honora and Wendy attend the 'Christchurch Competitions.' PYP was apparently not interested.

1953, early in JMH confinement in TB sanatorium. She records that she had a brain wave that Juliet and she should write to each other as Charles and Lance.

1953, May 29 (Fri). "...a girl who sat at the same table as us in a milkbar [said] how beautifully I spoke English, that I almost had an Oxford accent, what a refreshing change it was, and several other very pleasing things..."

1953, June 12 (Fri). "The school went to see the film 'A Queen is Crowned'. I thought the picture was rather boring as a picture, but I picked up useful information for Charles' Coronation."

1953, June 14 (Sun). "Juliet and I decided the Christian religion had become too much of a farce and we decided to make up one of our own."

1953, July. From court transcripts: "According to the diary the boy was in bed with her to 3 a.m.?" "Yes." "And the following night he was in bed with her again and was caught by Mr Rieper?" "That is so." "There are other references to them attempting intercourse?" "That is so."

1953, Aug. 9 (Wed). The diary entry for August 9, 1953 makes it clear that Parker visited Hulme at the sanatorium and they discussed these imaginary characters and had a play acting scene. They appeared to have discussed Diello's various females.

1953, Aug. 30 (Sun). PYP wrote that Mrs Hulme gave Pauline several presents and also gave Honora a powder compact upon her return from abroad.

1953, Sept. 9 (Wed). "It was wonderful returning with Juliet... it was as if she had never been away... I believe I could fall in love with Juliet."

1953, late September, a Thursday. PYP and Nicholas attempt to have sex but halt because it is too painful for PYP.

1953, early October. "Nicholas was pleased that I was so early. We sat around and talked for an hour and then went to bed. I declined the invitation at first but he became very masterful and I had no option. I discovered that I had not lost my virginity on Thursday night. However, there is no doubt whatsoever that I have now."

1953, Oct. 8 (Thurs). After a 'disagreement' with a boy PYP wrote "...not that I mind at all, it is so nice to think that Juliet and I could continue our friendship unmolested, with no outside interests." This was followed significantly enough in the same day by their discussing the people they would wipe out.

1953, Oct. 28 (Wed). (Juliet's Birthday) "...told Nicholas this evening that I was no longer very much in love with him because of my imaginary characters."

1953, Nov. 2 (Mon). "To-day I felt thoroughly, utterly and completely depressed. I was in one of those moods in which committing suicide sounds heavenly."

1953, Nov. 28 (Sat). Parker and Hulme are planning a Coronation which is to take place in a fortnight.

1953, Dec. 10 (Thurs). The entry for December 10 says that Friday is Coronation day for Diello of Borovnia and they are busy setting imitation stones in a crown. They appear to be studying ritual for the ceremony.

1953, Dec. 14 (Mon). "I did not go to sleep last night, and I went to see Nicholas at 12:30. I was very tired and dozed off while I was there. Nevertheless I felt extremely tired this morning and work I would have considered dreadful had it not been that I was living in a daze waiting to see Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Mother carted me off to see a doctor after work, which was a half-witted imbicile thing to do, especially as I feel perfectly well. The doctor was a bloody fool. I felt very tense and then we saw Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. It is the most perfect story I have ever known. The best picture (easily) that I have ever seen. Pandora is the most beautiful female imaginable and Him is far too wonderful to attempt to describe. I feel depressed and will probably cry tonight."

1953, Dec. 20 (Sun). [After Dr Bennett's examination, HM Parker threatened that if 'Pauline's health did not improve,' she could never see JMH again. Medlicott's note, paraphrased. jp]

1954, Dec. 24 (Thurs). Parker records on December 24, 1953 that she does not feel very Christmassy.

1954, Jan. 1 (Fri). "I rose at about 9 this morning, and spent until 2 working very hard helping mother."

1954, Jan. 2 (Sat). "I rose at about 9 this morning, and worked hard about the house which was not [as] unpleasant as it sounds as I truly enjoy housework."

1954, Jan. 10 (Sun). "We went to Coes Ford. I was furious when we first arrived. There were dozens of people there."

1954, Jan. 12 (Tues). "During the morning a boy came to see Mother about board... he arranged to come for two months and he arrived to stay this evening. He is tall and slim with glasses and fair hair. He seems to regard me as the maid-help aged 10."

1954, Jan 15 (Fri). "Val and I went down to the river. She said she liked the country but hated the people. As this is my sentiment exactly we pulled them to pieces for some time."

1954, Jan. 19 (Tues). "I did a great deal of housework today as Mother and everyone else seemed to be dashing off to see the Queen all the time."

1954, Jan. 25 (Mon). "This morning Mother gave me the most fearsome lecture because I started to wash the kitchen floor in my house coat."

1954, Jan. 28 (Thurs). "We procured bunches of grapes from the hothouse. We discussed various amusing topics. If we were prostitutes how much we should charge the various bods."

1954, Jan. 29 (Fri). "I went over to Deborah's room early this morning about 7:30. It suddenly occurred to me that we had not celebrated He's day so we decided to today. In He's honour we ate some birthday cake, drank He's health, played all He's records and made a little edifice of He. We have shifted His to the Gods now. We worked out how much prostitutes would earn and how much we would make in such a profession and 'should' gradually changed to 'shall.' We have spent a really wonderful day messing around and talking over how much fun we will have in our profession. We have worked out some glorious plans and worked out a whole new family for our future."

1954, Feb 6 (Sat). On the sixth of February they celebrated Him's day in glittering black and went through what they termed the 'Saints Day' ritual. [M paraphrasing diary].

1954, Feb. 13 (Sat). "As usual I woke at 5 and managed to write a considerable amount. I felt depressed at the thought of the day. There seemed to be no possibility of Mother relenting and allowing me to go out to Ilam. This afternoon Mother told me I could not go out to Ilam again until I was eight stone and more cheerful. As I am now seven stone there is little hope. Also one cannot help recalling that she was the same over Nicholas. She said I could not see him again until my behaviour improved, and when it did she concluded it was not having his influence that caused it. She is most unreasonable. I also overheard her making insulting remarks about Mrs Hulme while I was ringing this afternoon. I was livid. I am very glad because [the] Hulmes sympathise with me and it is nice to feel that adults realise what Mother is. Dr Hulme is going to do something about it I think. Why could not Mother die? Dozens of people are dying all the time, thousands, so why not Mother and Father too? Life is very hard."

1954, Feb. 21 (Sun). PYP records with delight that another passenger on a bus asked her how long she had been out from England.

1954, Feb. 28 (Sun). First mention of the 'Plan.' Pauline was at Ilam. "Deborah and I started discussing our quest for 'Him.' We have now decided to hurry things up terrifically, in fact to start now. We had a marvellous time planning the life and the flight and how we will obtain all the money and what we will do." The plan was to get to New York together, where they would find someone to publish their books and then they would go to Hollywood where they expected to be hailed as actresses. [Medlicott]

1954, Mar. 14 (Sun). "Mother came out and said that I was not going back to school as she did not see why she should keep a horrid child like me [in school a moment longer]... The absolutely ironical part of it all is that I want to leave school terrifically but my pride would not let me ask."

1954, Mar. 19 (Fri). "Mrs Hulme has put her foot in it. She has tried to talk me into going back to school. Apparently Stew rang her as she was worried about my leaving. This is all very flattering but nevertheless a bloody nuisance."

1954, Mar. 31 (Wed). PYP sneers at the ignorance of the people in her family circle, and comments that Honora "talked a lot of rot."

1954, April 6 (Tues). "I pretended to go to my own bed, but of course did not. We spent most of our time in the dark making up dirty little jingles."

1954, April 7 (Wed). "Mrs X is known to be light fingered. This pleases us very much as we will be able to take things and Mrs X will be blamed. She will be the scapegoat." Parker also referred to trying to get to Hollywood and getting into films that way.

1954, April 10 (Sat). PYP wrote that her mother "went to see Miss [Stewart] before tea."

1954, April 11 (Sun). "I rose at 5:30 this morning and did all the housework before 8 o'clock, including taking Wendy her breakfast in bed. I feel very pleased with myself on the whole. And also the future. We are so brilliantly clever, there probably isn't anything we couldn't do."

1954, April 13 (Tues). "...Father came and told me that Mother was not well so I got up and prepared the breakfast. I did all the housework and had a row with Wendy this morning."

1954, April 15 (Thurs). "We read our books to each other. We are so impressed with each other's genius."

1954, April 16 (Fri). (Good Friday) "We decided singing was the only branch of art we are not good at. We practised singing. We were both astoundingly good."

1954, April 17 (Sat). "Mrs Hulme was perfectly beastly to Deborah. She made her apologise for taking a record from Mr Perry's flat. This made us feel very cross and childish in a sort of I'll-show- them-so-there-and-that-will-make-'em-sorry feeling. We went for a walk in a field and sat on a log, shouting nasty jeering remarks to every rider that passed. About fifty did. This cheered us greatly, and we came back and wrote out all the Commandments so that we can break them."

1954, April 21 (Wed). PYP records that she began instruction at Digby's Commercial College after applying unsuccessfully for jobs "with the Airways."

1954, April 23 (Fri). "I rose about 8 and helped Mother a little before going to Digby's. This afternoon I played Tosca and wrote before ringing Deborah. Then she told me the stupendous news. Last night she woke at 2 a.m. and for some reason went to her mother's room. It was empty, so she went downstairs to look for her. Deborah could not find her, so she crept as stealthily as she could into Mr Perry's flat and stole upstairs. She heard voices from inside his bedroom, and she stayed outside for a little while, then she opened the door and switched the light on in one movement. Mr Perry and Mrs Hulme were in bed drinking tea. Deborah felt an hysterical tendency to giggle. She said, 'Hello' in a very [illegible] voice. She was shaking with emotion and shock, although she had known what she would find. They goggled at her for a minute and her Mother said, 'I suppose you want an explanation?' Yes, Deborah replied, I do. Well, you see we are in love, Mother explained. Deborah was wonderful. But I know THAT she exclaimed, her voice seemed to belong to someone else. Her Mother explained that Dr Hulme knew all about it, and that they intended to live as a threesome. Anyway, Deborah went as far as telling about our desire to go to America in [illegible], six months, though she could not explain the reason of course. Mr Perry gave her 100 [pounds] to get permits. Everyone is being frightfully decent about everything and I feel wildly happy and rather queer... I am going out to Ilam tomorrow as we have so much to talk over."

1954, April 24 (Sat). "I rose very early, did all the housework and prepared breakfast. It rained cats and dogs (panthers and wolves). I biked out to Ilam and nearly froze on the way. Deborah was still in bed when I arrived and did not get up until some time afterwards... Then Dr Hulme came upstairs and asked us to come into the lounge to have a talk with him. He said we must tell him everything about our going to America so we told him as much as that we wanted [illegible] for acting characters to act each part. He was both hope-giving and depressing. We talked for a long time and then Deborah and I were near tears by the time it was over. The outcome was somewhat vague. What is to be the future now? We may all be going to South Africa and Italy and dozens of other places or not at all. We none of us know where we are and a good deal depends on chance."

1954, April 25 (Sun). "Dr and Mrs Hulme are going to divorce. The shock is too great to have penetrated in my mind yet. It is so incredible. Poor Father. Mrs Hulme was sweet and Dr Hulme absolutely kind and understanding... Deborah and I spent the day soaring between hell and heaven... Such a huge amount has happened that we do not know where we are. Dr Hulme is the noblest and most wonderful person I have ever known of. But one thing, Deborah and I are sticking [to] through everything (We sink or swim together)."

1954, April 28 (Wed). "I felt rather tired to-day, but fortunately the time at Digby's went rather quickly. Mother went out this afternoon so Deborah and I bathed for some time. However I felt thoroughly depressed afterwards--and even quite seriously considered committing suicide. Life seemed so much not worth the living and death such an easy way out. Anger against Mother boiled up inside me, as it is she who is one of the main obstacles in my path. Suddenly a means of ridding myself of this obstacle occurred to me. If she were to die... I spent the evening writing and managed to finish my chapter."

1954, April 29 (Thurs). "I did not tell Deborah of my plans for removing Mother. I have made no [illegible. definite plans?] yet as the last fate I wish to meet is one in Borstal. I am trying to think of some way. I do not [illegible. want?] to go to too much trouble, but I want it to appear either a natural or an accidental death."

1954, April 30 (Fri). "Mrs C. came to tea and was thoroughly objectionable. Her ghastly attitude towards the Japanese has made me fonder than ever of them. I did not write this evening but I sat up and talked to Mother. I told Deborah of my intentions and she is rather worried but does not disagree violently. It is now 10:30."

1954, May 1 (Sat). "[Mrs Hulme] made a lovely remark. She said Won't it be wonderful when we are all back in England. Do you think you will like England Gina. I was delighted. ... We did not sleep together as we were afraid Dr Hulme might come in."

1954, May 2 (Sun). "We rose about 10. We sat in the park and discussed odd sods and who we should leave alive if we could rule the world."

1954, May 6 (Thurs). "We are feeling gloriously happy and we love our new fianc‚s so much."

1954, May 23 (Sun). "Deborah rang to say that Mr Perry was taken suddenly ill. I do hope he does not die. It would spoil everything."

1954, May 27 (Thurs). An entry for May 27 shows that Parker rose early and went to her father's shop with the intention of getting money from her father's safe, but that was thwarted because a policeman was on watch.

1954, May 29 (Sat). "We did not get up early as we were feeling so tired. We did the Saints and played records. We were very truthful about the Saints, especially their figures. This was not hard as we decided that we like a large amount of man."

1954, June 3 (Thurs). "...there was a wonderful photo of a portrait of Dr Hulme in the paper, so wonderful that I have cut it out and pinned it on cardboard on my wall..."

1954, June 6 (Sun). "...We went to sleep at 4:30 tomorrow morning after talking all night. We were discussing at first how we sometimes had a strange feeling that we had done what we were doing before. We realized why this was, and why Deborah and I have such extraordinary telepathy, and why people treat us and look at us the way they do, and why we behave as we do. It is because we are MAD. We are both stark, staring, raving mad. There is definitely no doubt about it and we are thrilled by the thought. (Proof n'est capos!) All the cast of the Saints except Nino are mad, too. This is not strange as it is probably why we love them. We have discussed it fully. Dr Hulme is MAD, as MAD as a March hare. We are feeling thrilled and scared by the thought."

1954, June 7 (Mon). "We rose realising how mad we are. Dr Hulme knows and he is mad, too. ... We wrote a great deal into the Saints' book and discussed Him. We realize now that we cannot be revolted. We can discuss the most unsavory subjects. (Such as whether the Saints sanitary habits are prevented by sex) during a meal..."

1954, June 8 (Tues). "I dreamt about He for the second time and Deborah about This, also for the second time. We behaved exactly the same way in each other's dreams, so have put it down to telepathy."

1954, June 9 (Wed). "I was feeling particularly mad today. I raved quite a lot at Digby's and terrified the girl next to me... Mother and I had a disagreement as I wished to see 'Trent's Last Case' tonight and the bloody bitch would not let me... I have come to bed all scented and sweet (physically)."

1954, June 10 (Thurs). "Mrs Hulme has told Deborah a great deal about the old subject and we have discussed it fully. We know a great deal more now." Other entries suggest the the 'old subject' refers to sex. [G&L]

1954, June 11 (Fri). "...we were then driven out to see It in 'Trents Last Case.' It was the first time I had ever seen It. Deborah had always told me how hideous he was, and I had believed her, though from his photos he did not look too bad. 'It' is appalling. He is dreadful. I have never in my life seen anything that, so... in the same category of hideousness, but I adore him (S'queer). We returned home and talked for some time about It, getting ourselves more and more excited. Eventually we enacted how each Saint would make love in bed, only doing the first seven as it was 7:30 a.m. by then. We felt exhausted and very satisfied..."

1954, June 12 (Sat). "We came to bed quite early and spent the night very hectically. We went to sleep after getting almost through. We had a simply marvellous time and we definitely are mad but very pleasingly so..."

1954, June 13 (Sun). "We gave ourselves two new Saints. 'Onward Heel' and 'Buster.' Of all people, my god. We had very amusing discussions about God, Christ and the Holy Ghost. In fact the whole day was very amusing and exciting... We spent a hectic night going through the Saints. It was wonderful! Heavenly! Beautiful! and Ours! We felt very satisfied indeed. We have now learned the peace of the thing called Bliss, the joy of the thing called Sin."

1954, June 14 (Mon). "...We were feeling absolutely exhausted which was scarcely surprising. We discussed which Saints we wished to have about us at such a time and found very few. We talked of Him's new character a little and loved it. We discussed the spicy ideas whom (s'queerly) we have grown to love... Two more spicy ideas became Saints... We intend to decorate the Cathedral. I am very happy. We have both spent a glorious Saintly day."

1954, June 15 (Tues). "...I had the most beautiful dream about That and Gay and Boinard and Deborah and myself at Port Levy. It was so heavenly that I am determined to make it come true. We came home late and we intend to sleep. It is a glorious night, very similar to the one at the island at Port Levy."

1954, June 16 (Wed). "...We came to bed late and spent a very hectic night. It was wonderful. We only did 10 Saints altogether but we did them thoroughly. I prefer doing longer ones. We enjoyed ourselves greatly and intend to do so again. We did not get to sleep until about 5:30. Obviously I am writing this to- morrow."

1954, June 17 (Thurs). "...confessed we were disappointed in the Saints so we had an absolute clean up and threw out 8 of them. We discussed the ones left fully and felt very happy over them. We did not misbehave last night."

1954, June 18 (Fri). "...We had several brilliant ideas to write an opera each, to produce our own films and to murder all odd wives who get in our way. We went to town and bought books to paste our characters in. We planned our various moiders and talked seriously as well..."

1954, June 19 (Sat). "We practically finished our books to-day and our main idea for the day was to moider Mother. This notion is not a new one, but this time it is a definite plan which we intend to carry out. We have worked it out carefully and are both thrilled by the idea. Naturally we feel a trifle nervous, but the pleasure of anticipation is great. I shall not write the plan down here as I shall write it up when we carry it out (I hope). We both spent last night and the one before having a simply wonderful time in every possible way. We also planned a few odd pictures and recast most of the "Saints' Christmas." We burnt all our film books this evening."

1954, June 20 (Sun). "... I tidied the room and messed about a little. Afterwards we discussed our plans for moidering mother and made them a little clearer. Peculiarly enough I have no (qualms of) conscience (or is it peculiar, we are so mad.)"

1954, June 21 (Mon). [sb,mk] "I rose late and helped Mother vigorously this morning. Deborah rang and we decided to use a rock in a stocking rather than a sand-bag. We discussed the moider fully. I feel very keyed up, as though I were plan ning a surprise party. Mother has fallen in with everything beautifully and the happy event is to take place tomorrow afternoon. So next time I write in this diary Mother will be dead . How odd -- yet how pleasing. I have discussed various odd saints w her today as I thought it would be interesting to have her opinion . She loathes That & It. I washed my hair this afternoon. I came to bed at 1/4 to 9."

1954, June 22 (Tues). [sb,mk] "The Day of The Happy Event." "I am writing a little of this up in the morning before the death. I felt very excited and 'The night before Christmas ish' last night. I did not have pleasant dreams though. I am about to rise. |"

Other references and quotations not dated (though probably all come from the period Feb. - June 1954, from their content):

----------------------------------

During her interrogation at the police station, a piece of paper was confiscated from Pauline. Later, during a subsequent interrogation session, she grabbed it and threw it into the fire. It was only partly recovered. Courtroom speculation was that Pauline intended to put the piece of paper into her diary later that day. She herself never made a public statement about the paper. It was enormously important in terms of defining the course of the investigation, of course. On it had been written the following:

The detective stated that the note commenced with a reference to Pauline finding herself in an unexpected place. She then made reference to having committed her 'moider'. She then went on to write about the treatment she had received: "All the Hulmes have been wonderfully kind and sympathetic. Anyone would think I've been good. I've had a pleasant time with the police talking 19 to the dozen and behaving as though I hadn't a care in the world." There were then several sentences he couldn't remember but the final sentence was: "I haven't had a chance to talk to Deborah properly but I am taking the blame for everything." [Medlicott]

7.5Statements and testimony#

**Testimony in this section is taken principally from the Hearing and Inquest held in Magistrate's Court on Friday July 16, 1954. This is because this is the 'freshest' version of events, and none of the witnesses had yet heard any of the statements of the others. Similarly, the public, though intrigued by rumours and the little that had been given in the press prior to this date, was largely ignorant of the details. However, the psychological testing had begun, and much of the interviewing by the defense team had been completed, so Hilda Hulme and Walter Perry were aware of the coming defense strategy; their testimony is interesting in the light of this perspective. As is the public behaviour of Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme. Their actions and attitudes were widely reported, even in the conservative press, and did much to erode any public sympathy they may have otherwise generated. If it was a deliberate attempt to prepare the ground for the coming defense strategy, it backfired terribly. The Press (Christchurch), extremely sober, conservative and even-handed in its coverage of the whole matter, opened its story on July 17, 1954 with the sentence: "Showing no sign of emotion, Pauline Yvonne Parker, aged 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, aged 15 years and nine months, left the dock in the Magistrate's Court at 5:25 p.m. yesterday after Mr Raymond Ferner, S.M., had committed them to the Supreme Court for trial on a joint charge of murdering Honora Mary Parker at Christchurch on June 22." Three paragraphs later: "Each accused girl was seated on a chair in a separate small dock in the middle of the Courtroom, the docks being pushed close together. After they were charged, counsel asked permission for them to be seated. While they were waiting for chairs to be brought, they leaned on the edges of the docks, facing the public and smiling and chatting. During the hearing they frequently smiled and whispered to each other." There were no statements read into evidence nor testimony recorded from Dr Henry Hulme. He was not present at either the Hearing on July 16 or the trial in August.

7.5.1Ritchie, Agnes#

**Agnes Ritchie, a married woman (as she was described in The Press) gave the following testimony at the July 16 Hearing:

Agnes Ritchie identified herself as the Proprietress of the tearooms at Victoria Park. There were several customers on Tuesday, June 22. A woman and two girls (the accused) came in around 2:35 or 2:40 pm. The woman ordered afternoon tea, one girl asked for a flat soft drink and one chose orange, the other lemon. Mrs Ritchie held general conversation with the three and with the woman in particular. They were a quiet group, but appeared perfectly at ease and quite normal. She did not see them leave, but found them gone when she returned to the tearoom soon after 3 pm. Almost 1/2 hour later, Mrs Ritchie was serving ice creams to someone when the girls rushed to the bottom of the steps. The girls were very agitated, breathless and gasping, both speaking together, and it was difficult to make out what they were saying.

"As near as I can remember the first thing said was" 'Please can somebody help us? Mummy has been hurt.' The girl Parker said: 'It is mummy. She's been terribly hurt. I think she's dead.' The girl Hulme said: 'It's her mother. She's hurt. She's covered with blood. Can somebody help?' I think something was said at that stage that the woman had slipped, but I'm not certain. The girl Hulme was almost hysterical; the girl Parker was quieter and very white. They both had blood on their clothes, but particularly on their hands. The girl Parker had blood splashed on her face."

The girls were wearing coats similar to the ones produced in evidence, but Mrs Ritchie couldn't remember which girl wore which coat. She sent for her husband. She tried to find out where it had happened but both girls were upset. The girls said it happened in the bushes down the track and they pointed, and Mrs Ritchie went over to try to see something, knowing there was a dangerous spot in that direction. Seeing nothing, she went back and questioned the girls. They said:

"Don't make us go down there again." She said: "Never mind. You needn't go back."

Mrs Ritchie's husband, KN Ritchie, arrived. He told his wife to send for an ambulance then he went down the track. The blood on the girls and their clothes worried her a good deal [note: = greatly. HD Rieper uses the same phrase. jp]. The girls wanted to wash the blood off straight away. Mrs Ritchie got hot water for them and both washed. Both wanted to go home, but particularly Juliet Hulme. Both asked her to telephone their fathers. She phoned H Rieper first, but the line was engaged. She then phoned Dr Hulme, and then made a cup of tea for the girls and sat with them as they drank their tea.

"I asked them how it happened and the girl Hulme said: 'Oh, don't talk about it.' The girl Parker said they had been down the track and were returning when somehow her mother had slipped on a plank. She said her mother hit her head on a brick and her head kept bumping and banging as she fell. The girl Hulme kept saying 'Don't talk about it. I'll always remember hearing her head banging.' Both girls remarked that it seemed like a dream and they would wake up soon, and odd remarks like that. The girl Parker remarked during the conversation: "Mummy, mummy she's dead.' I said she might not be so badly hurt, and the girl Parker just looked at me. They said that after she fell they tried to pick her up and carry her, but she was too heavy, and they dropped her. The girl Parker said: 'Perhaps we didn't do the right thing. Perhaps we shouldn't have tried to carry her.' They both remarked several times that they wanted to go home. The girl Hulme said several times 'Will my daddy be long? I wish he would hurry.' The girl Parker was quiet and calm and I thought she appeared to be dazed. The girl Hulme was still almost hysterical and appeared to be holding herself back. Dr Hulme arrived and took the girls away in his car. The police arrived shortly after that. About 4 pm I telephoned Mr Rieper and he telephoned me about 4:30 pm. I told him what I knew and he arrived at Victoria Park later."

7.5.2Ritchie, Kenneth Nelson#

**Kenneth Nelson Ritchie, husband of Agnes Ritchie (as he was described in The Press) gave the following testimony at the July 16 Hearing:

Kenneth Nelson Ritchie was identified as the Caretaker of Victoria Park and husband of Agnes Ritchie. After being summoned by his wife, he asked the girls where the accident had happened, but they seemed confused and could not tell him. He also asked them what had happened, and they said the mother had slipped and hit her head on a rock. The clothing of Juliet Hulme was covered in blood. One hand of Pauline Parker was smothered in blood and her face was spattered with blood. He took Pauline Parker through the gap in the stone wall at the plantation and asked her again where accident had happened. She pointed vaguely down the plantation. Mr Ritchie went about 1/4 mile down the track with his assistant Eric McIlroy and found the body of the woman. She was dead and was on her back, her feet pointing up the hill.

"Her head was pretty well knocked about. There was blood all over the place and there was blood on the path. I saw the brick and the stocking which are shown in one of the photographs. I went back to the tearooms and telephoned the police. The ambulance arrived as I got to the top of the path. The two accused seemed still agitated. I asked them to come into the sitting room and they did. The girl Hulme said: 'I wish daddy would come.' The ambulance driver and the police went down the track. Dr Hulme arrived, left his address with an ambulance driver, and took the accused away in his car."

The path where the body found was just clay, and there were no outcrops of rock anywhere nearby. At week-ends the paths were used a lot by the public, but not during the week; on a week day the spot where the body was found was a secluded one.

7.5.3Rieper, Herbert Detlev#

**Herbert Rieper, a company manager (his description in The Press) gave the following testimony at the July 16 Hearing:

Up to June 22 he had lived at 31 Gloucester St with Honora Parker and their children. They had lived together for 23 years and had 3 children, Pauline Parker being the second. Pauline was an average child. She had osteomyelitis when she was 5 and spent 8 or 9 months in hospital. She recovered after 3 years, but couldn't take part in sports. She took up modelling in plasticine and wood and was very good at it. She went to High School when she was 14. Up to that time she was very happy in the home and was good friends with him. She used to help him with his hobbies. She went to the Girls' High School where she became friendly with the girl hulme. This friendship became very intense and its effect was that Pauline cut him out of her life. This worried him and Pauline's mother. Dr Hulme called at the house and had a discussion with Pauline's mother. As a result, Pauline was taken to see Dr Bennett by her mother. In 1953 Pauline bought a horse, but he did not know about it until months afterwards. When she told him she had arranged grazing for the horse he agreed to her keeping it, for he thought it would make the friendship with Juliet Hulme less intense. Pauline had gone to a riding school for years. She lost interest in the horse. She used to go to Ilam, the home of Juliet Hulme, on occasions and stayed for weekends.

"Pauline has done a terrible lot of writing for some months. She has been writing novels. During this year it began to interfere with her school work. As far as I know her mother and she agreed that Pauline should leave school. She then went to a commercial school. The association with Juliet Hulme continued. Last Easter holidays Pauline stayed with Juliet Hulme at Ilam. Pauline's mother got in touch with Dr Hulme again about the friendship. Dr Hulme said he was leaving New Zealand in 3 weeks and taking Juliet with him. We were very pleased about that, as the association would be ended. Pauline's mother decided she would let Pauline see as much of Juliet as she desired, pending her departure. Last month Pauline stayed for 10 days with Juliet and we picked her up in the car and brought her home the Sunday before the tragedy. Pauline was brighter and joined in the conversation more than she usually did. She sat in front of the fire writing and said she was writing an opera. When I went home on the Monday I was pleased when her mother said what bright company Pauline had been and how much work she had done. She said that they were going out together the next day because Pauline would begin work the following Monday. I learned that Juliet Hulme was going with them. When I went home at lunch time on the Tuesday Juliet Hulme was there and it was quite bright. The girls were happy and joking."

Rieper said her returned to work and was away from his office on business in the afternoon. There was a message from Mrs Ritchie when he returned and he phoned Victoria Park. He was driven to Victoria Park by a friend and spoke to Sergeant Hope there.

"I did not know anything about Pauline being anxious to accompany Juliet Hulme to England. Her mother had occasion to remonstrate with Pauline at times because of her attitude to us-- she would just ignore us. She was never given physical punishment."

The diary produced was a present from him to Pauline. The writing in it was Pauline's writing. He gave the police permission to interview Pauline after the tragedy.

7.5.4Hulme, Hilda Marion#

**Hilda Marion Hulme, a married woman (according to her description in The Press) gave the following testimony under subpoena at the July 16 Hearing:

[note: I have not edited, condensed or re-organized this testimony very much. As it comes, it gives some insight into Hilda Hulme's mental and emotional state in this period. Remember, she was a very accomplished and polished public speaker, accustomed to performing smoothly in formal situations, including live radio broadcasts and debates. jp]

Juliet Hulme was her daughter and was born in England on October 28, 1938. When she was 2 years old she suffered bomb shock and had nightmares. Mrs Hulme said she had periods of illness after her second child was born, and as a result of that and War conditions she was separated from Juliet for a time. When Juliet was 5 her father, Dr Hulme had to go to America. Juliet became seriously ill and was away from school for 2 years. Mrs Hulme said she and her husband came to New Zealand in 1948 and were joined by Juliet, who had previously come to New Zealand after staying in the Bahamas. Juliet went to the Christchurch Girls' High School when she was 13 and remained until May 1953, when she had to go to Cashmere Sanatorium. Juliet had undergone an intelligence test and had been rated very high. She had previously attended a private school in the North Island, but was brought home because she was unhappy. She was not robust physically and didn't make many friends, being shy and reserved. At home, she was a demanding child.

"I and my husband were very fond of her, and gave her every care."

Juliet became friendly with Pauline Parker in the second term at High School. The friendship was welcomed and Mrs Hulme was glad to have Pauline visit their home. It seemed a perfectly normal friendship at first. Juliet was in the sanatorium for about 3 1/2 months and was then allowed to go home, but was not discharged cured. Dr Hulme decided in April this year to leave his position at Canterbury College and return to England. The first arrangement was for Mrs Hulme to stay in New Zealand because of Juliet's health and Dr Hulme was to go on alone. That was changed and Juliet was to go with her father because it had been discovered that Juliet and Pauline Parker planned to go to America. Mrs Rieper had asked that Juliet stay at her home but this was prevented by Juliet having to go into the sanatorium. Juliet was a patient in the Cashmere Sanatorium while Mrs Hulme was in England but was allowed to go home upon her mother's return to Christchurch. The friendship between the two girls had developed in the meantime and Mrs Rieper was concerned about it. Mrs (stet) Hulme advised her to seek medical advice about Pauline. The girls under persuasion said they had planned to go to America to have their books published and put into films but she and Dr Hulme thought they had got the girls to put that idea out of their heads. When it was decided that Dr Hulme was to return to England he was to take Juliet as far as South Africa with him. Juliet pressed her parents to allow Pauline Parker to accompany her but they explained that it was quite out of the question. On the afternoon of Monday June 21, Juliet received a telephone call from Pauline Parker inviting her to lunch on the Tuesday and Mrs Hulme understood Mrs Rieper was taking them to Victoria Park.

"I agreed that she should go. Juliet left home about 11 a.m. on June 22 with her father. She seemed very happy and very calm. If anything, she was more affectionate than before." "On Tuesday afternoon my husband brought the two girls home. They were both white and trembling. I prepared a hot bath for them. Mr Perry, who has a flat at our home, came in. He took their clothing to the cleaner. The girls were put to bed, treated for shock and given a meal."

Senior-Detective Brown and Detective-Sergeant Tate came to the house that night. Pauline Parker told them that her mother had slipped and hit her head on a stone again and again. Mrs Hulme was present the following day when a statement made by Juliet was read to Juliet and signed as being true. Just after Christmas the girls stopped calling each other by their own names. Juliet became Deborah and Pauline Parker became Gina.

"Juliet has written 2 novels as far as I know and they are among the other books produced [as evidence in Court]." To Mr Gresson, Mrs Hulme said: "I am giving evidence on subpoena. Juliet's early life was spent in London and the North of England under bombing and War- time conditions. When she was five she developed serious chest trouble and I was advised that her life was in danger and she should be taken to a warmer climate. That is why she was sent to the Bahamas and a reason for us coming to New Zealand. She has always been an exacting and difficult child and long before the tragedy we were anxious about defects in her personality and temperament. When we returned to New Zealand after an absence of 3 months I noticed a marked change in her disposition. She seemed more withdrawn and her friendship with Pauline seemed to be the only thing that mattered. This friendship seemed to dominate my daughter. "In September she began to write a great deal. Portions have been read to me and it is grandiose and unreal. In the second book, parts are unpleasant and unbalanced. On the night of Tuesday, June 22, I slept with Juliet in my arms. Her one repeated sentence was she didn't want to talk about it. She wanted to go to sleep and forget about it. She wanted noise on the radio. She seemed elated and removed from the tragedy. That night before she went to sleep she was reciting poetry, also the following morning. I have seen her in recent weeks and she seems quite removed from the reality of the situation."

7.5.5Perry, Walter Andrew Bowman#

**Walter Andrew Bowman Perry, an industrial consultant (according to his descrption in The Press) gave the following testimony at the July 16 Hearing:

Perry said he came to Christchurch on June 22, 1953 (stet). [note: An obvious Freudian slip on Perry's part or the reporter's. Perry arrived July 2, 1953. jp] He went to live in a flat attached to the Hulme's house, at Christmas last year and had a housekeeper. When Pauline Parker visited the house, Juliet and she kept much to themselves. When Pauline Parker left Ilam to return home after visits Juliet Hulme became morose and inclined to seek her mother's company, which she had not wanted during Pauline's visit. A visit by Pauline was usually followed by Juliet spending a day or two in bed. Juliet wrote voluminously.

"I started to read one book. It was innocuous and the adventure type teenagers would read. I heard the plots of other stories which showed a change in their trend of thought. Certain amoral tendencies seemed to be creeping in. About March last Juliet asked me if I could sell her horse for her as she wanted money to go home. I purchased the horse myself for 50 (pounds) and gave her father the money. I knew that the girls were planning to amass enough money to go to America together. I also knew that there was a proposal that Pauline accompany Dr Hulme and Juliet to South Africa. Juliet asked me the fare by air, and I said about 150 (pounds). Juliet said: 'Oh good. That means we only have to get another 50 (pounds). We have about 100 (pounds).' On the forenoon of Tuesday June 22, Juliet was excited and more gay than usual. I returned home that afternoon just in front of Dr Hulme, who had the two girls in the car. Mrs Hulme came to my flat and said Mrs Rieper had fallen on some stones, was very seriously injured and perhaps dead. I was told later that the two girls wanted to see me. That was most unusual. I went to the bedroom. Pauline seemed very shocked and almost in a coma. Juliet was badly shocked and trembling but able to talk. We had a discussion on generalities. When it was realized that the police would have to come into it, Dr Hulme, Mrs hulme and I had a discussion. It was arranged that I speak to Pauline and that Mrs Hulme speak to Juliet. Pauline told me her mother had tripped on a piece of wood, had fallen and hit her head on a stone, and seemed to keep hitting it. Pauline demonstrated in mime how her mother had done it. I asked her what sort of stone it was and Pauline said she did not know, but it might have been a brick. I asked her if her mother had had a fit, and she said she did not know. Pauline became very distressed. I asked her if her mother had fallen down a ravine and she said no. She said they had tried to pick her mother up, and might have hurt her when they dropped her. She said she did not know whether her mother was alive when she had gone to the tearooms for help. She said she had felt for heart beats, but could not feel any. Pauline became very distressed indeed. I asked Pauline if there had been a quarrel and if her mother had attempted to hit her. She said: 'My mother has never struck me.' It was agreed that I be present with the Hulmes when the police interviewed the girls. Juliet Hulme gave the police her version of what had happened, and it did not differ from what Pauline had told me earlier. I thought there was more to be told, but I thought it had been an accident. Senior-Detective Brown had given me an indication of Mrs Rieper's injuries, and I told Juliet to be very careful to tell the truth. She said she had not told the truth before because her mind was confused. She made a statement to Detective-Sergeant Tate and signed it. Pauline Parker was arrested that night and Juliet went to bed. The following morning I went with Senior-Detective Brown to Juliet's bedroom and he told her he had information that she was present when the alleged accident happened. Juliet had said the night before that she had not been present. Juliet told Senior- Detective Brown that she preferred to say notheing at the moment. I had another talk with Juliet, and she told me the story which she later told to the police as her second statement. I did not gather from her story that the affair had been planned. When Mrs Hulme came home I told her of my second talk with Juliet, and I asked Mrs Hulme if I could be present when the detectives interviewed Juliet. She agreed and I was present when the second statement was made, read to her and agreed by her as being true." To Mr Gresson: "Right from the time the girls arrived home Mrs Hulme, Dr Hulme and I urged them to tell the truth."

7.5.6Parker, Pauline Yvonne#

**Pauline Parker's statements were taken in an upstairs bedroom at Ilam on the evening of June 22, 1954.

Pauline Parker had been sent to bed by Hilda Hulme after having been bathed, fed and calmed down and, perhaps significantly, given a sedative by William Perry, under Hilda Hulme's care. Pauline was interviewed a number of times that evening by Senior-Detective Macdonald Brown and Detective-Sergeant Tate. Herbert Rieper had earlier been persuaded to permit questioning of his daughter without the presence of counsel. He was not present when his daughter was questioned. The first interrogation was held in the presence of Hilda Hulme. Senior-Detective Macdonald Brown presented the following testimony:

Pauline Parker said she and her mother and Juliet Hulme were returning up the path at Victoria Park when her mother slipped and hit her head on a rock, or stone or something. She said Juliet Hulme was six or seven feet ahead, then came Pauline Parker and Mrs Parker last. She said her mother's head kept banging and they tried to lift her up but could not do so. She said she saw a half-brick lying there. When asked how she knew her mother was dead she said: "Blood. There was a lot of blood." I asked her if she had seen a stocking there. She showed surprise then said: "We did not take mother's stockings off. I was not wearing stockings. I was wearing sockettes. I had a stocking with me in my bag and I wiped blood with it."

The second interrogation was made after having interrogated Juliet Hulme, separately, in another part of Ilam. Brown was alone this time. He testimony was:

I returned to the girl Parker and said: "We believe the girl Hulme was not present when the fatality occurred." She looked surprised. I then said: "You are suspected of the murder of your mother." She made no reply. I told her she need not say anything then, but she could make a statement if she wished. She said: "No. You ask me questions." I asked her questions and put them and her answers down as her statement."

Pauline Parker's official statement was:

"I am 16 years of age and an ex-pupil of the Christchurch Girls' High School. I left school about March of this year after passing into form 5S [sic]. I live with my parents at 31 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. I have been informed that I am suspected of murdering my mother today. I have been informed that I am not obliged to say anything and that if I do it would be taken down in writing and used as evidence. I do not wish to tell you what happened. You ask me questions.

Q: Who assaulted your mother? A: I did.

Q: Why? A: If you don't mind, I won't answer that question.

Q: When did you make up your mind to kill your mother? A: A few days ago.

Q: Did you tell anyone you were going to do it? A: No. My friend did not know anything about it. She was out of sight at the time. She had gone on ahead.

Q: What did your mother say when you struck her? A: I would rather not answer that.

Q: How often did you hit her? A: I don't know, but a great many times, I imagine.

Q: What did you use? A: A half-brick inside the foot of a stocking. I took them with me for that purpose. I had the brick in my shoulder bag. I wish to state that Juliet did not know of my intentions and she did not see me strike my mother. I took the chance to strike my mother when Juliet was away. I still do not wish to say why I killed my mother.

Q: Did you tell Juliet that you killed your mother? A: She knew nothing about it. As far as I know she believed what I told her, although she may have guessed what had happened, but I doubt it, as we were both so shaken that it probably did not occur to her.

Q: Why did Juliet tell the same story as you to the lady in the tea kiosk? A: I think she simply copied what I said. She might have suspected what I had done and she would not have wished to believe it nor to have got me into trouble. As soon as I had started to strike my mother I regretted it but I could not stop then."

Senior-Detective Brown concluded his testimony:

We decided to take the girl Parker into custody. As we were leaving I said: "Where did you get the brick?" I had understood she had said she got it at Ilam. Mrs Hulme, who had been present at the interview, said: "No. She didn't get it here." The girl Parker said she took it from home.

Dr FO Bennett testified in court that Pauline Parker had the following to say to him, concerning her feelings toward Juliet Hulme:

PYP: "Juliet is not a friend, she is much closer."

Bennett: "Isn't that love?"

PYP: "I don't know. I care for her more than anyone else in the world."

7.5.7Hulme, Juliet Marion#

**Juliet Hulme made several statements to police at Ilam. On the evening of June 22, 1954, Juliet Hulme was first interviewed by Senior-Detective Macdonald Brown and Detective- Sergeant Tate in the presence of Henry Hulme, Hilda Hulme and Walter Perry. Her answers to police questioning were along the lines of Pauline Parker's first statement. Walter Perry then spoke privately with Juliet Hulme, advising her to "tell the truth," apparently with the agreement of Henry and Hilda Hulme. Juliet Hulme then made an official statement to Detective-Sergeant Tate, called her 'First Statement' in trial testimony:

"I am 15 years of age and live at home with my parents. For the last two years I have been very friendly with Pauline Yvonne Parker Rieper. The friendship arose through being in the same form at school. She has often stayed here with me. I have also stayed at her place. We telephone each other daily, and yesterday Pauline rang and invited me to accompany her and her mother to Victoria Park. We had never been there together before. I had been there myself about five years ago. I do not know if Pauline had been there before. I went to Pauline's place for lunch. I got there shortly after 11 a.m. Pauline and Mrs Rieper were there when I arrived. Relations were normal between Mrs Rieper and Pauline when I arrived. I mean that they were pleasant to each other. I know that Pauline and her mother frequently had rows and I know that Mrs Rieper resented the fact that Pauline was friendly with me. We had lunch some time after 12 noon. Mr Rieper and Pauline's sister, Wendy, were also there for lunch. Pauline and I did the washing up with Mrs Rieper after lunch. Mr Rieper had gone with Wendy by that time. About 20 minutes after Mr Rieper left the house, Mrs Rieper, Pauline and I left to go to Victoria Park. We walked to the Square. We waited for a bus which went to the Hills terminus. I do not know at what time the bus left the Square. When we arrived at the Takahe we left the bus and walked to Victoria Park by way of the rough metal road. When we arrived at the Park we entered the tea rooms and Mrs Rieper had a cup of tea. Pauline and I had soft drinks and some cakes and scones. Afterwards we all walked down the track on the side of the hill where the plantation is. It was decided before we left Mrs Rieper's home that we intended to walk down this track. I don't know who suggested it first. It was not my suggestion. We went down the track for quite a long way. I found a small pink stone. We were all walking together. I picked it up and talked about it. I still have it. We went on down for quite a long way. Pauline and I left Mrs Rieper on the track for about three minutes and went further down. It may have been a shorter time. We went just out of her sight. She did not think she wanted to go on and we thought we would like to go to the end if she didn't mind. We decided to come back and we rejoined Mrs Rieper. We all three of us walked up the track. I was in front nearly all the way. I dropped behind once, but caught up again and got ahead once more. I found that we were getting near the place where I had found the pink stone. I told the others that I would go to the place where I had found the stone. I went on ahead and left them behind. I searched for a setting from which I thought the stone might have come. I spent some minutes looking for this. While I was looking around in this spot I heard a voice call out. I cannot say now whether it was Pauline's voice or her mother's. I did not return immediately. I called out and told them I would come soon or something to that effect. I had to go back along the track to reach Pauline and her mother. I have no idea of the distance. I came upon both of them. I found Mrs Rieper lying on the ground. Pauline was there. Pauline was hysterical. There was blood all around Mrs Rieper's head. I was shocked. I took her head in my lap. Mrs Rieper did not speak to me. I think she was unconscious. She seemed to be, to me. I think Pauline helped me. That was when I tried to nestle her head on my lap. I do not remember seeing a stocking with a knot in it. I did not take any particular notice of a brick. I do not know how long we stayed with Mrs Rieper. It might have been five minutes. It could have been any time. I asked Pauline what had happened. She said that her mother had slipped and banged her head against a stone. I beleived her at that time. I felt that we had to get help. Pauline and I hurried up the path towards the tea kiosk. When we got there we told the story between us as to what had happened. The story we told was that we had been together when Mrs Rieper had fallen and had obtained her injuries when she had fallen on some stones. I knew when I said this it was not true that I had been present when Mrs Rieper had got her injuries, but I said I was there because the idea occurred to me that they may have quarrelled but I thought that she probably had slipped. However I thought that it would be better for Pauline if I said I was there and supported her story that Mrs Rieper had obtained her injuries accidentally. We waited at the kiosk for my father to come and fetch us. He was summoned by telephone. He brought us home. I told my mother and Mr Perry the story that I was present when the accident occurred. I also told the police the same story when I first saw them. I told that story because I wanted to be loyal to Pauline and did not want to see her in any trouble. Mrs Rieper had no quarrel within my hearing or to my knowledge at any time at Victoria Park today. Pauline and I have been engaged in writing novels for some time. In the plots of these books the question of murder has arisen. We often discuss murders in this connexion and might well have done so at Pauline's place today before we left home. I cannot remember exactly what we talked about."

[note: "The Square" is Cathedral Square, the origin of the #2 bus, a few blocks from the Rieper's home. "The Takahe" is a landmark at the terminus of the #2 bus in the Cashmere Hills. By "rough metal road" Juliet Hulme meant a road that was paved but with a surface covering of small stones; it was necessary to walk a short distance from the bus terminus up the hill to the tea kiosk in Victoria Park. The reference to the stocking and brick was probably in response to previous questions from Senior-Det Brown, not out of the blue. jp]

The following day, June 23, 1954, Senior-Detective Brown and Detective-Sergeant Tate returned to Ilam on the strength of a statement made to them by Pauline Parker in Tate's office and because of the diary entry/note Pauline Parker had written and tried to burn. Brown testified:

"I told the girl Hulme we had reason to believe her first written statement was not correct and that she was present when the assault took place. I then said: "You are suspected of taking part in the death of Mrs Rieper. You are not obliged to say anything, but if you do make a statement, it will be taken down in writing." She asked me questions, and I told her the girl Parker had said we were to ask Deborah, and what she said would be right. I asked her for information but she said she would rather not say anything then. Later she made a statement which Detective-Sergeant Tate took down."

Detective-Sergeant Tate testified:

He returned to Ilam on June 23 and saw Juliet Hulme. She was quite composed. She apologised to him for misleading him the previous night and said she now wished to tell him the truth. She said she now wished to make a statement. He gave her the usual warning. She made a statement (labelled her 'Second Statement' in trial testimony), as follows:

"Pauline wanted to come with me to South Africa. I wanted her to come, too. My father and I were booked to leave New Zealand on July 3 next. Pauline and I had discussed the matter. We both thought that Mrs Rieper might object. We decided to go with Mrs Rieper to Victoria Park. We decided that it would be a suitable place to discuss the matter and have it out. I knew that it was proposed that we should take a brick in a stocking to the park with us. Pauline rang me recently and gave me the invitation to go with Pauline and her mother to Victoria Park. I knew this was the trip we had planned. It may have been the day before yesterday that she rang. I left home with my father at about 10:30 a.m. yesterday. I had a part of a brick which I wrapped in a newspaper. I had got it from near the garage. My father left me near Beaths. I made some personal purchases there and then walked to the Rieper's house. I arrived there still carrying the brick. I gave it to Pauline. I know the brick was put into the stocking at Rieper's [sic] house. I did not put it there. Mrs Rieper, Pauline and I left their place after lunch to go to Victoria Park. Pauline carried the brick and stocking in her shoulder bag. We went to Victoria Park together and had tea as I have previously stated. There had been no conversation on the subject of the South African trip up to this time. We walked together down the tracks among the trees. There was a pink stone on the path. I dropped it there myself. We went to a spot well down the paths and Mrs Rieper decided to come back. On the way back I was walking in front. I was expecting Mrs Rieper to be attacked. I heard noises behind me. It was loud conversation and anger. I saw Mrs Rieper in a sort of squatting position. They were quarrelling. I went back. I saw Pauline hit Mrs Rieper with the brick in the stocking. I took the stocking and hit her, too. I was terrified. I thought that one of them had to die. I wanted to help Pauline. It was terrible. Mrs Rieper moved convulsively. We both held her. She was still when we left her. The brick had come out of the stocking with the force of the blows. I cannot remember Mrs Rieper saying anything distinctly. I was too frightened to listen. We both went back to the tea kiosk and told the woman there that Mrs Rieper had fallen and had got her injuries in that way. My father was called and took us back home. I have always known Pauline's mother as Mrs Rieper. I am sure that Pauline would have told me, if she had known, that her parents were not married and that her mother's name was Parker. I was not quite sure what was going to happen when we went to Victoria Park yesterday. I thought we may have been able to frighten Mrs Rieper with the brick and she would have given her consent then for Pauline and I to stay together. After the first blow was struck I knew it would be necessary for us to kill her. I was terrified and hysterical. The three pages of this statement have been read to me. they are true and correct."

7.6Press articles contemporary with the "Parker Hulme" murder#

**These articles come primarily from 'non-tabloid' broadsheet international press:

The articles give a reasonably sober, representative and complete (in terms of timeline) view of the world-wide publicity given to the case--this is how the world learned of the murder and followed the case. The case was sensational in British Australasia, was followed intently in the United Kingdom, and made a small impact in North America.

Articles have not been edited for length or content, so there is some repetition and there are inconsistencies &/or inaccuracies. These have generally not been noted except in the case of important typographical errors or ambiguities.

This set of articles tells a compelling story, and it illustrates how evidence often has to be filtered and collected piecemeal from many secondary sources. It is interesting to compare these straightforward press reports with the sometimes-sensational (and often inaccurate) book chapters in the next section.

Articles are arranged in order of their filing date. [jp]

The Press (Christchurch), Wednesday June 23, 1954. p. 10. [mk] "WOMAN'S BODY FOUND // Police Called to Victoria Park // MURDER CHARGE LAID" The body of a middle-aged woman was found in a hollow in Victoria Park, below the tearooms, about 4 p.m. yesterday. An arrest has been made and a charge of murder will be preferred in the Magistrate's Court this morning. The woman was Honora Mary Parker, aged 45, of 31 Gloucester street. Her body was found by the caretaker at Victoria Park. He reported the discovery to the police. Officers of the uniformed brance were sent to Victoria Park, and Detective-Sergeant A.B. Tate with Detective G.F. Gilles, of the Criminal Investigation Branch, and Constable A. Griffiths, of the women's division, arrived about 5 p.m. to make further inquiries. An hour later Inspector D. McKenzie took charge of the investigations with Senior Detective McDonald (sic) Brown. Police inquiries were continued until early this morning. The Coroner (Mr E.B.E. Taylor) and a pathologist (Dr C.T.B. Pearson) were among those to visit the scene. Photographs were taken in the area by the police photographer, Constable W.M. Ramage.

The Times (London), Thursday June 24, 1954. p. 5. [jp] "SCHOOL GIRLS CHARGED WITH MURDER" Christchurch, New Zealand, June 23.--Police here today charged a 16-year-old school girl with the murder of her mother and soon afterwards arrested her 15-year-old school friend on the same charge. The police said that the two girls went walking with Mrs. Honore (sic) Parker, aged 45, at Cashmere Hills, a suburb of Christchurch, yesterday, and that afterwards her body was found on the hillside with a bloodstained brick near by. Her daughter, Pauline Yvonne Parker, was remanded at the magistrates' court this morning. Juliet Marion Hulme, aged 15, will appear in court to-morrow.--Reuter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday June 24, 1954. p. 1. [sb] "Schoolgirls On Charge of Murder" Wellington (N.Z.), Wednesday [June 23]--Two schoolgirls have been charged with the murder of Mrs. Honora Mary Parker, 45, whose body was found near Christchurch yesterday, badly battered about the head and face. One of the girls--Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, the daughter of the dead woman--was arrested late last night and remanded in the Magistrate's Court this morning. The other girl, Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, was arrested to-day and will appear in court to-morrow. The two girls went walking with Mrs. Parker yesterday afternoon in the Cashmere Hills. They later reported to a nearby teashop that Mrs. Parker had been injured in a fall. The shopowner called the police, who found a blood-stained brick near the body.--A.A.P.-Reuter

The Press (Christchurch), Thursday June 24, 1954. p. 12. [mk] "MURDER CHARGE // Woman's Death In Christchurch // GIRL REMANDED TO JULY 1" Pauline Yvonne Parker, a student, aged 16, was charged in the Magistrate's Court yesterday with the murder of Honora Mary Parker at Christchurch on June 22. On the application of Detective-Sergeant G.W. Alty she was remanded to appear on July 1. Mr. Rex C. Abernethy, S.M., was on the bench. Parker was not represented by counsel. "// SECOND GIRL ARRESTED //" Juliet Marion Hulme, a schollgirl, aged 15, was arrested by Chief-Detective Macdonald Brown and Detective-Sergeant A.B. Tate at her home in Ilam road yesterday afternoon. She will appear in the Magistrate's Court this morning on a charge of murdering Honora Mary Parker at Christchurch on June 22. "// INQUEST OPENED //" An inquest into the death of Honora Mary Parker was opened before the Coroner (Mr E.B.E. Taylor) at 9 a.m. yesterday. Detective-Sergeant A.B. Tate represented the police. The inquest was adjourned sine die after evidence of identification had been given by Herbert Rieper, a company manager, of 31 Gloucester street.

Daily Mail (London), Thursday June 24, 1954. (from clipping) [sb] "GIRL, 15, ACCUSED OF MURDER // Friend, 16, is also charged: Woman dead under pines" Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday [June 23].--Juliet Marion Hulme, 15-year-old daughter of Dr H.R. Hulme, the British scientist, was charged today with the murder of Mrs. Honora Mary Parker, 45. Earlier Pauline Yvonne Parker, aged 16, Mrs. Parker's daughter, had also been charged with murder. Police say that Mrs. Parker, also known as Mrs. Herbert Rieper, was found dead under pine needles in the Cashmere Hills, near Christchurch. A doctor inspected the body. Later, detectives were called and a bloodstained brick and knotted stocking were found near by. Pauline Parker was arrested subsequently at Dr Hulme's residence in Christchurch. She appeared in court and was remanded until July 1. Juliet Hulme will appear in court tomorrow. Dr Hulme, 46, was director of Naval Operational Research during the war. He was to have returned to England in a few days.--from Daily Mail Correspondent.

The Manchester Guardian, Friday June 25, 1954. p. 7. "GIRL, 16 (stet), CHARGED WITH MURDER // Parents in Court" Wellington (New Zealand), June 24.--Juliet Marion Hulme, 16-year- old (stet) daughter of a former Director of Operational Research at the British Admiralty, was charged here to-day with murdering Mrs Honora Mary Parker (45), mother of one of her school friends. Her parents, Dr and Mrs Henry Rainsford Hulme, were in the crowded courtroom when Juliet was remanded until July 1. Dr Hulme is a former lecturer at Liverpool University, chief assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and scientific advisor at the Air Ministry. He recently resigned as Rector of Canterbury University College here to take Juliet to South Africa for three months. She had just been discharged from a tuberculosis sanatorium. Dr Hulme planned to return later to England. Mrs Parker's daughter, Pauline Yvonne, who is also sixteen, was charged with murder yesterday morning. According to the police, the two girls went walking with Mrs Parker in Cashmere Hills, a Christchurch suburb, on Tuesday. Her body was later found on a hillside, with a bloodstained brick near by.--Reuter.

The Press (Christchurch), Friday June 25, 1954. p. 12. [mk] "MURDER CHARGE // Woman's Death In Christchurch // SECOND GIRL REMANDED" Juliet Marion Hulme, aged 15 years 8 months, a student, the second of two girls to be charged with the murder of Honora Mary Parker at Christchurch on June 22, was remanded to July 1 when she appeared in the Magistrate's Court yesterday before Mr Raymond Ferner, S.M. Hulme was escorted into the dock by a uniformed policewoman. She was represented by Mr T.A. Gresson, and Detective- Sergeant G.W. Alty appeared for the police.

The Times (London), Saturday July 17, 1954. p. 5. "TWO GIRLS ON CHARGE OF MURDER // DIARY EXTRACTS READ" Christchurch (N.Z.), July 16.--Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, a former Liverpool schoolgirl, were committed to-day for trial in the Supreme Court on a charge of murdering Mrs. Honora Mary Parker, 45, whose body was found in Victoria Park, a Christchurch suburb. Both girls were alleged to have admitted in statements to the police, read in court, that they took a part in hitting Mrs. Parker with a brick carried in a stocking. On April 28, Pauline had written in her diary that anger against her mother was boiling up inside her. "It is she who is one of the main obstacles in my path," she wrote. "Suddenly the means of ridding myself of this obstacle occurred to me. If she were to die." A detective read another diary extract, dated June 19, in which she wrote of a plan to "moider"(sic) mother. "We have worked it out carefully and both are thrilled with the idea. Naturally, we feel a trifle nervous. But the pleasure of anticipation is great." On June 21, she recorded: "We decided to use a rock in a stocking rather than a sandbag. We discussed the 'moider'(sic) fully. I feel very keyed up as though I was planning a surprise party. Mother has fallen in with everything beautifully and the happy event is to take place to-morrow afternoon. Next time I write mother will be dead. How odd, yet how pleasing." On June 22--headed "day of a happy event"--Pauline noted: "In the morning before the death I felt very excited. Last night I didn't have pleasant dreams, though." According to a post mortem report, Mrs. Parker had received 45 injuries. Death was due to shock, associated multiple head wounds, and a fractured skull.--Reuter.

The Manchester Guardian, Saturday July 17, 1954. p. 5. "TWO SCHOOLGIRLS FOR TRIAL ON MURDER CHARGE // New Zealand Court Told of Attack with Brick" Christchurch (N.Z.), July 16.--A sixteen-year-old girl accused of murdering her mother by beating her about the head with a brick is alleged to have headed an entry in her diary for that day: "The happy event." This was part of the evidence given in a magistrate's court here to-day when Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, were committed for trial before the Supreme Court on a charge of the murder of Honora Mary Parker, Pauline's mother, in Victoria Park, a Christchurch suburb, on June 22. Juliet is the daughter of Dr Henry Rainsford Hulme, a former director of operational research at the Admiralty in London, who recently resigned as Rector of Canterbury University College, New Zealand. He has also lectured at Liverpool University and was a scientific advisor at the Air Ministry. Evidence was given of the intense friendship which had developed between the two girls. Herbert Rieper, a company manager, who stated that he had lived with Mrs Parker for 23 years, said that Pauline met Juliet Hulme at a girls' high school, and that he and Mrs Parker became worried about the friendship which developed between them. Dr Hulme also discussed the subject with him, and as a result Pauline was taken to a doctor by her mother. Pauline was always anxious to go to the Hulmes's home to be with Juliet, he added. Gasps arose in the crowded court when Detective Brown gave evidence of a diary found in Pauline's bedroom. Among the extracts read to the court were the following: February 14: "Why could not mother die? Dozen (sic) of thousands of people are dying, so why could not mother and father, too? Life is hard." April 28: "Anger against mother is boiling inside of me as she is the main obstacle in my path. Suddenly the means of ridding myself of the obstacle occur to me. If she was to die. ..." Also on the same day: "I wish to make it appear accidental." June 19: The entry mentioned "a plan to 'moider'(sic) mother," and added: "We have worked it out together and both are thrilled with the idea. Naturally, we are a trifle nervous, but the pleasure of anticipation is great." June 20: "... Afterwards we discussed our plans for 'moidering' (sic) mother and made them clear, but peculiarly enough I have no qualms of conscience. Or is it peculiar?" June 21: "We decided to use a rock in a stocking rather than a sandbag. We discussed the 'moider' (sic) fully. I feel very keyed up as though I was planning a surprise party. Mother has fallen in with everything beautifully and the happy event is to take place to-morrow afternoon. Next time I write mother will be dead. How odd, yet how pleasing." June 22: The entry headed "The happy event" read: "In the morning before the death I felt very excited. Last night I didn't have pleasant dreams, though." //"Blood on Clothes"// The story of how Mrs Parker died was told by two witnesses. The first was Mrs Agnes Ritchie, owner of a tearoom in the park. She told how she served Mrs Parker and the two girls with tea, and then how all three set off along one of the park's winding paths. An hour later, she said, the girls rushed back, agitated and breathless. Pauline told her: "Mummy--she's terribly hurt. She slipped. I think she is dead." Both girls had blood on their clothes and also on their hands, and after they had washed this off, Pauline told her: "We were returning and somehow she slipped on a plank." She said that her mother hit her head on a plank and that her head kept bumping and banging as she fell. Both girls told her that it seemed like a dream and that they would wake up soon. The other story of how Mrs Parker died was told, according to the police, by Juliet Hulme herself in a statement which she made to the police. This went, in part: "I left home with the brick wrapped in newspaper. I arrived at the Riepers' (Parkers') house with the brick and gave it to Pauline. ... Pauline wanted to come to South Africa with me. I wanted her to come, too. We both thought Mrs Rieper (Mrs Parker) might object and we decided to go with her to Victoria Park to discuss the matter and have it out. I knew it was proposed that we should take a brick in a stocking to the park with us." //"Expecting Attack"// In the park, the alleged statement said, she was expecting Mrs Parker to be attacked. It went on: "I heard noises behind me. It was a loud conversation and an angry one. I went back and saw Pauline hit Mrs Rieper with a brick in the stocking. I took the stocking and hit her too. I was terrified. "I thought one of them had to die. I wanted to help Pauline. It was terrible. Mrs Rieper moved convulsively. We both held her. She was still when we left her. The brick had come out of the stocking with the force of the blows." Mrs Hilda Marion Hulme, Juliet's mother, said that her daughter suffered bomb shock at the age of two. She and Dr Hulme had discovered "a very distressing plan" this year. Both girls intended to go to America together "to have their books published." The two girls seemed unconcerned as they were committed for trial. They left the dock chatting together at the end of the hearing. Neither was asked to plead.--British United Press and Reuter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday July 17, 1954. p. 1. [sb] "Strange Diary Of Girl Read At Murder Hearing" Christchurch, N.Z., Friday [July 16]-- Extracts allegedly from a 16-year-old girl's diary, describing plans for her mother's "moider," and adding "I have no qualms of conscience" were read in the Christchurch Magistrate's Court at a murder hearing today. At the end of the hearing two girls, Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, were committed for trial on a charge of having battered to death Honora Mary Parker, 45, in Victoria Park, Christchurch, on the afternoon of June 22. Both girls smiled and whispered together unconcernedly at intervals throughout today's hearing. Twice they were rebuked by a police orderly and matron. Senior Detective Macdonald Brown told the court he had taken possession of a diary from Pauline Parker's bedroom. Among the extracts he read to the Court were:-- February 13, 1954: "Why could not mother die? Dozens of thousands of people are dying. Why could not mother and father, too?" April 28: "I felt rather tired to-day, but fortunately the time at Digby's went rather quickly. Mother went out this afternoon so Deborah and I talked (stet) for some time." [Mrs. Hulme's evidence showed that Deborah was Pauline's pet name for Juliet Hulme.] //SUICIDE THOUGHT// "However I felt thoroughly depressed afterwards--and even quite seriously considered committing suicide. Life seemed so much not worth living and death such an easy way out. "Anger against mother boiled up inside me, as it is she who is one of the main obstacles in my path. "Suddenly a means of ridding myself of this obstacle occurred to me. If she were to die..." April 29: "I did not tell Deborah of my plans for removing mother. "I have made no ----- (stet) yet and the last fate I wish to meet is one in a Borstal. "I am trying to think of some way. "I do not ----- (stet) to go to too much trouble, but I want it to appear either a natural or an accidental death." June 19: "We practically finished our books to-day and our main 'Ike' (stet) for the day was to moider mother. "This notion is not a new one, but this time it is a definite plan which we intend to carry out. //"THRILLED"// "We have worked it out carefully and are both thrilled by the idea. "Naturally, we feel a trifle nervous, but the pleasure of anticipation is great. "I shall not write the plan down here as I shall write it up when we carry it out (I hope). June 20: "Afterwards we discussed our plans for moidering mother and made them a little clearer. "Peculiarly enough, I have no qualms of conscience (or is it peculiar, we are so mad?)" June 21: "I rose late and helped mother vigorously this morning. "Deborah rang and we decided to use a rock in a stocking rather than a sandbag. "We discussed the moider fully. "I feel very keyed up as though I were planning a surprise party. "Mother has fallen in with everything beautifully and the happy event is to take place to-morrow afternoon. "So next time I write in this diary mother will be dead. "How odd, yet pleasing: I have discussed various saints with her to-day as I thought it would be interesting to have her opinion." June 22: "The Day of the Happy Event: I am writing a little of this up in the morning before the death. "I felt very excited and the 'Night before Christmassy.' "Last night, I didn't have pleasant dreams though. I am about to rise." Detective-Sergeant A.B. Tate said accused Pauline Parker after being taken to the police station wrote something on a piece of paper, something she probably intended to put in her diary the next day. She threw it in the fireplace but a police matron retrieved it. The only decipherable part was: "They have questioned Deborah, but I have taken the blame." //WROTE NOVELS// In one of the strangest stories heard in a New Zealand courtroom, evidence was given of the intense affection of the girls for each other, the concern of the parents for this intensity, and how the girls faced a separation because Juliet Hulme was going to South Africa. Evidence was given that the girls had written novels and an opera, in some of which the murder was mentioned. They were planning to save up to go to the United States together to publish their books. Reading of the diary brought gasps from the crowded court. The date for the Supreme Court hearing has not yet been fixed. --From a Special Correspondent.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday July 17, 1954. p. 6. [sb] "Mention Of "Murder" Novels As Girls Committed For Trial" Christchurch, N.Z., Friday [July 16]-- Two girls, aged 15 and 16, were committed for trial from the Christchurch Magistrate's Court to-day on a charge of battering the mother of one of them to death. In an alleged statement, which police read to the Court, one girl said: "Pauline and I have been engaged in writing novels for some time. In the plots of these books, the question of murder has arisen. We often discuss murders in this connection." During the day's hearing the Court heard the story of a passionately affectionate friendship between the two girls. Showing no signs of emotion, both girls left the dock chatting together at the end of the daylong hearing. //"ONE OF THEM HAD TO DIE"// At the end of the day's hearing, the magistrate, Mr. R. Ferner, committed the two girls, Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, for trial in the Supreme Court. The girls are alleged to have killed Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker, also known as Rieper, in Victoria Park, Christchurch, on June 22, a few minutes after having afternoon tea with her in the park kiosk. //BRICK IN BAG// Senior Detective Macdonald Brown told the magistrate that Pauline Parker, in her statement, said she had made up her mind to kill her mother a few days previously. She had not told anyone and Juliet Hulme took no part in the killing. He quoted from her alleged statement that she had used a half-brick inside the foot of a stocking. The alleged statement continued: "I took them with me for that purpose. I had a brick in my shoulder bag. I wish to state that Juliet did not know my intentions, and she did not see me strike my mother. I took the chance to strike her when Juliet was away. I still do not wish to say why I killed my mother. "As soon as I had started to strike my mother, I regretted it, but I could not stop then." Christchurch police gave evidence that Juliet Hulme had made two statements when interviewed. In the first she said that on the visit to Victoria Park she went ahead at one stage and was separated from Pauline and her mother. She heard one of them call out. She returned and found Mrs. Rieper lying on the ground with blood all around her head. Pauline, who seemed hysterical, had told her that her mother had slipped and banged her head against a stone. This alleged statement added: "Pauline and I have been engaged in writing novels for some time. In the plots of these books the question of murder has arisen. We often discuss murders in this connection and might well have done so at Pauline's place to-day before we left home." //AFRICAN VISIT// Police said the next day Juliet made her second statement in which she said the girls had decided to take Mrs. Rieper to Victoria Park to discuss taking Pauline to South Africa. The girls wanted Pauline to accompany Juliet and her parents to South Africa, but the parents had said it was out of the question. In this alleged statement Juliet said she knew it was proposed they should take a brick in a stocking. She had taken a brick from near her garage, wrapped it in newspaper, and carried it the Riepers' for lunch. She gave the brick to Pauline and she knew it was put in a stocking. //"HIT HER TOO"// This alleged statement detailing the incidents at Victoria Park, continued:-- "I heard noises behind me. It was loud conversation and anger... "I went back. I saw Pauline hit Mrs. Rieper with the brick in the stocking. "I took the stocking and hit her too. "I was terrified. I thought that one of them had to die. "I wanted to help Pauline. "It was terrible. Mrs. Rieper moved convulsively. "We both held her. She was still when we left her. "The brick had come out of the stocking with the force of the blows... "I was not quite sure what was going to happen when we went to Victoria Park. "I thought we may have been able to frighten Mrs. Rieper with the brick and she would have given her consent then for Pauline and I to stay together. "After the first blow I knew it would be necessary for us to kill her. I was terrified and hysterical." //WORRIED BY FRIENDSHIP// Herbert Rieper, company manager, gave evidence that he had lived with the dead woman for 23 years and she was known as Mrs. Rieper. Three (stet) children had been born to them and the accused, Pauline Yvonne, was the second (stet). She was an average child, but she had osteomyelitis at the age of five, spent several months in hospital and took more than three years to recover. //INTENSE AFFECTION// Rieper said Pauline became friendly with Juliet Hulme at Christchurch Girls' High School. They were in the same form. The friendship became very intense and their affection for each other increased. He said Dr. Hulme, Juliet's father, had called at his house and discussed with Mrs. Parker the question of the girls' friendship. [Dr. H.R. Hulme was formerly rector (sic) of Canterbury University College, Christchurch.] As a result Mrs. Parker had Pauline to a doctor. Mr. Rieper said that in the last year Pauline had bought a horse without telling him. When he found out about it some months later he agreed she should keep the horse. He believed it would make her friendship with Juliet less intense. Pauline was always anxious to go to the Hulme home "Ilam," so she could be with Juliet. //WRITING OPERA// Lately Pauline had been doing a "terrible lot" of writing--books, novels. It was interfering with her school work this year. One night sitting in front of the fire, she said she was writing an opera. As far as he knew Pauline and her mother had agreed she should leave school and go to another school, and this had been done. Dr. Hulme again saw Mrs. Parker and told her he was leaving New Zealand in about three weeks and taking Juliet with him. This meant that the friendship between the two girls would be broken. Rieper said he was very pleased at this. He allowed Pauline to see Juliet pending her departure. He could not remember if Mrs. Parker ever refused Pauline permission to see Juliet. //HAPPY LUNCH// Mrs. Parker sometimes remonstrated with Pauline. One cause was the way Pauline just ignored her parents. On June 22 Juliet came to their house for lunch before the Victoria Park trip. Lunch was a very bright and happy affair. //"REMOVED FROM TRAGEDY"// Mrs. Hilda Marion Hulme in evidence said her daughter, Juliet, was born in England in October, 1938. She suffered bomb shock at the age of two. Later, while Dr. Hulme was in America during the war, Juliet became ill and spent two years away from school. Mrs. Hulme said she and her husband came to New Zealand about six years ago. //"DEMANDING CHILD"// Last year Juliet spent three and a half months in Cashmere Hills Sanatorium with TB. (Cashmere Hills is a suburb of Christchurch.) Juliet's rating in an intelligence test was very high. She was always a demanding child. "I and my husband were always very fond of her and gave her every attention," Mrs. Hulme said. She said that at first the friendship between Pauline and Juliet seemed a normal, happy one. The friendship increased considerably after Juliet was discharged from the sanitorium. Mrs. Hulme said that when her husband decided to leave New Zealand it was first agreed that she and Juliet should stay to avoid the English winter. This was altered because of a "very distressing plan" she discovered. The plan was that both girls should go to America together to have their books published. When this was discovered, Dr. Hulme decided to take Juliet as far as South Africa. Juliet pressed her parents to let Pauline go with her. //TWO NOVELS// Mr. (sic) Hulme said she knew Juliet had written two novels. The girls lately had not used their Christian names in addressing each other. Juliet became "Deborah" and Pauline became "Gina." Questioned by Mr. T.A. Gresson (for Juliet), Mrs. Hulme said that Juliet was always a difficult girl to bring up. After her return from the sanatorium, the friendship with Pauline seemed to dominate Juliet's thoughts. Mrs. Hulme said Juliet's writings struck her as grandiose and unreal. Parts of her second book appeared unpleasant and unbalanced. The night after the tragedy she slept with Juliet in her arms. Mrs. Hulme said: "One repeated sentence of Juliet's was she didn't wish to talk about it. She wanted to go to sleep and forget it. "She seemed elated and removed from the tragedy. "Before she went to sleep and the next morning she recited poetry." Mr. Gresson: Does she appear to you over recent weeks to have realised her position? Mrs. Hulme: She seems quite removed from the seriousness or the reality of the situation altogether. Walter Andrew Bowman Perry, industrial consultant, said he went to live in a separate flat in the Hulme's home at Christmas. He was aware of the girls' writing and would describe it as voluminous. Their first novel was innocuous, something like "The Prisoner of Zenda." However, in the plots of later books there was a certain amount of amorality. The girls play-acted among themselves. //"THINK SHE'S DEAD"// Mrs. Agnes Ritchie, proprietress of the tea rooms at Victoria Park, said the woman and two girls appeared perfectly normal and quite at ease at afternoon tea. Half an hour later the girls burst into the tea room. They were very agitated, breathless, gasping, and speaking almost incoherently. One girl said: "Mummy, she's terribly hurt. I think she's dead." One, whom she later found was Juliet, was almost hysterical. The other, Pauline was very white. Both girls had a lot of blood on their clothes and particularly on their hands. Pauline had a blood splash on her face. They were worried about the blood, which they washed off in the servery right away. She asked the girls how it happened. Pauline said: "Somehow she slipped on a plank. Her head kept bumping as she fell." Juliet then told her she would always remember the woman's head banging. Both girls said it seemed like a dream. They would wake up soon. //45 WOUNDS// Dr. Colin Thomas Busby Pearson, pathologist, said he examined the body of Mrs. Parker on the path, and later carried out a post- mortem. Cause of death was shock associated with multiple wounds to the head, and a fractured skull. Dr. Pearson listed 45 injuries, some minor, but many serious. There were 24 lacerated wounds to the face and scalp, some of which penetrated to the bone.--A.A.P-Reuter

Daily Mail (London), Saturday July 17, 1954. p. 3. (incomp) [sb] "PLAN FOR MURDER--IN A GIRL'S DIARY // Court told of entry: 'Next time I write, mother will be dead--how odd'" Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday July 16.--Sixteen-year-old Pauline Parker wrote in her diary "Day of a happy event." That afternoon she and her 15-year-old friend, Juliet Hulme, battered Pauline's mother to death. So it was alleged in Christchurch today. The two girls were sent for trial, accused of murder. They were in court for seven and a half hours. During that time, they giggled, whispered, yawned and scribbled notes. During that time, too, they heard a detective read six extracts from a diary alleged to have been written by Pauline. These were the extracts: [material missing]...--from Daily Mail Correspondent and Agencies.

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday July 18, 1954. p. 2. [sb] "Music in Gaol For N.Z. Girls" Christchurch, (N.Z.), Saturday July 17.--Pauline Parker, 16, and Juliet Hulme, 15, who are in a women's prison waiting trial on a charge of murdering Parker's mother, listen to classical music for an hour each morning and afternoon. The mother was found battered to death in a bush-clad valley in a Christchurch suburb June 22. The girls are in the modern cottage-type Paparua prison, 10 miles from Christchurch. The cell block, built two or three years ago, has four bedroomed cells which are shared by seven women prisoners there at the moment. The girls are kept apart from the others. They spend much of their time on the block's sun verandah. The girls are free to write and they write voluminously. They are very happy when together, and seem completely unconcerned at the seriousness of their position. They commented to the police Matron at the end of Fridays' daylong Magistrate's Court hearing that it was "all very boring." Psychologists have been to the prison to examine the girls.

Time, 64:24, Monday July 26, 1954. "New Zealand: Collaborators" As schoolmates in Christchurch, Juliet Hulme, 15, and Pauline Parker, 16, often collaborated in the writing and production of amateur plays--plays which, according to equally amateur critics, were "not bad at all." They both liked detective stories, and as if to strengthen their status as best friends, both had been visited by similar misfortune: each had missed long periods at school through illness. They also both wanted to go to America "to have novels published and filmed," but their parents would not let them. One day three weeks ago, Pauline and Juliet, like many other fashionable New Zealanders, sat taking tea with Pauline's mother at a restaurant in lofty Victoria Park. After tea the two girls and Mrs. Parker took advantage of the brisk, sunny afternoon to stroll down the park's winding hillside tracks. A few minutes later, Pauline and Juliet came racing back to the restaurant. Mrs. Parker, they said, had fallen and was desperately injured. When the doctor arrived, Pauline's mother, her face and head cruelly cut and bruised, was already dead. It was a shocking end to an afternoon of quiet enjoyment, but for respectable Christchurch a worse shock was still to come. That evening the police stopped by at Ilam, the official residence of Dr. Henry Hulme, rector of staid Canterbury University College, and arrested Pauline Parker on suspicion of murder. Next day they came back and picked up Dr. Hulme's daughter Juliet on the same charge. Near the blood-soaked ground where Pauline's mother had lain, police found a brick and near it a bloodstained stocking in which the brick had been inserted and swung like a bludgeon. Last week, in several grisly hours at the Christchurch lower court, the police charged that Juliet and Pauline had killed Mrs. Parker with the brick-filled stocking. Their principal evidence: confessions from both girls, and excerpts from Pauline's own diary, in which Mrs. Parker's death was listed as the "Day of the Happy Event." Dozens of people die every day, sometimes thousands, said the schoolgirl's diary: so why not Mother too? [Only reference to either Parker, Pauline or Hulme, Juliet in "Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature" found in Apr. 1953 - Feb. 1955, p. 1764. jp]

The Times (London), Tuesday August 24, 1954. p. 5. "ALLEGED MURDER OF MOTHER // TWO GIRLS CHARGED" Christchurch (N.Z.). Aug. 23.--Juliet Hulme, aged 15, formerly of Liverpool, and her friend, Pauline Parker, aged 16, were accused to-day of the murder of Pauline's mother, Mrs. Honora Mary Parker, aged 45, on June 22. Both pleaded Not Guilty. The court was told that there were 69 (stet) injuries to the head and hands of Mrs. Parker and that she died of shock after being beaten with a blunt instrument. Juliet's mother, Mrs. Hilda Marion Hulme, and Pauline's father, Mr. Herbert Rieper, spoke of an "intense devotion" that sprang up between the two girls while they attended Christchurch Girls' High School. Juliet's father is Dr. H.R. Hulme, former director of operational research of the Admiralty. Mrs. Hulme said that Juliet was born in England and suffered shock from bombing when she was two years old. Nightmares and illness kept her from school for two years. After they came to New Zealand in 1948 Juliet went to Christchurch Girls' High School. But she was in a sanatorium for four months in 1953 and was not described as "cured" when she was discharged. Mrs. Hulme said she discovered that the girls had been planning to go to America to have their writing published. Both girls spent much time writing. Dr. Hulme had intended to go to England in March, leaving Juliet in New Zealand, but when the girls' plan was discovered it was decided to take Juliet to South Africa. //LAUGHS AND JOKES// Mr. Rieper said that he and Mrs. Parker had been pleased that Juliet was going away because then the friendship would end. Pauline went to stay with Juliet for 10 days and the two of them came back to Pauline's home on the morning of the day of the killing. They were laughing and joking at lunch when he came home. It was that afternoon when the girls hurried into the teashop of Mrs. Agnes Ritchie, at Victoria Park, covered in blood. Pauline said, "Mummy. She's been terribly hurt," Mrs. Ritchie said. The prosecutor, Mr. A.W. Brown, read a statement, alleged to have been made by Juliet, which said that Pauline had hoped to go to South Africa with her. They thought Mrs. Parker would object, so they decided to discuss it with her during a farewell visit to Victoria Park. According to the alleged statement, Juliet knew that it was planned to take a brick wrapped in a stocking. It continued: "I was not sure what was going to happen when we went to the park. I thought we may have been able to frighten Mrs. Rieper with the brick to have given her consent to Pauline and I staying together. After the first blow was struck I knew it would be necessary for us to kill her. I was terrified and hysterical."--Reuter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday August 24, 1954. [sb] "Teenagers On Trial Called "Dirty-Minded"" Christchurch, Monday [Aug. 23]--The battering to death of a woman on June 22 was described in the Christchurch Supreme Court to-day as "a premeditated murder conducted by two dirty-minded little girls." Parents of the girls gave evidence that they had suffered severe illnesses, one of them having been bomb-shocked in England. The girls, Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15 years and 10 months, were charged with having murdered Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker. Both girls pleaded not guilty, and sat quietly throughout the day's proceedings. Juliet Hulme is the daughter of Dr. H.R. Hulme, who retired recently as rector (sic) of Canterbury University College to take up a post in England. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr. Alan W. Brown, who had described Parker and Hulme as "dirty-minded little girls," said that Mrs. Parker was known as Mrs. Rieper. She had lived with Herbert Rieper and nobody knew that they were not married. //No Place for Sentiment// Mr. Brown said that the motive for the murder was that Mrs. Parker opposed the plans of the girls to go overseas together. He said the friendship of the girls was one of intense devotion. They spent a good deal of time in each other's beds and scribbled what they called novels. Mr. Brown said: "You may feel pity for these girls, but pity and sentiment have no part in British justice." Mr. Brown told the Court that the Crown believed it had been planned that Hulme was to have gone ahead of Mrs. Parker in Victoria Park with Pauline behind her mother. //Plan To Visit America// Hulme was to have placed a pink stone in a convenient spot and Mrs. Parker asked to examine the stone. Then Pauline would have hit her on the back of the neck with a stocking containing the brick. "There was no evidence that Rieper and Mrs. Parker had not been good parents," said Mr. Brown. "The circumstances in Dr. Hulme's home were unhappy. "The girls planned to go to America together, and later, Parker wanted to go to South Africa with Dr. Hulme and Juliet Hulme. "They knew Mrs. Parker would protest and they decided to kill her. "The girls coldly and calculatingly desired to kill Mrs. Parker and they decided on a farewell outing to the Hills at Victoria Park. "Shortly after 2:30 p.m. that day, Mrs. Parker and the two girls arrived at the park and had drinks at the tea kiosk. "The girls later came running up the steps of the tea rooms, their hands and clothing covered in blood, and said that mummy was hurt. "Parker said that her mother had hit her head on a board. "Close to the dead woman's head was part of a brick, and further away, a bloodstained portion of a stocking." Mr. Brown said that on the day Mrs. Parker was killed, Juliet Hulme made a statement to Senior Detective Macdonald Brown. //Part Of Brick In Newspaper// He said that Juliet had said she did not see any blow struck and that Pauline told her that Mrs. Parker had slipped and hit her head against a stone. Mr. Brown said that next day police interviewed Hulme again and she made another statement after apologising for misleading police the previous night. After describing plans for the visit to the park, the second alleged statement said: "I knew this was the trip we had planned. "I left home about 10:30 a.m. I had part of a brick which I wrapped in a newspaper. I had got it from near the garage. "I gave it to Pauline. I know the brick was put into a stocking at the Rieper's house. I did not put it there... "I saw Pauline hit Mrs. Rieper with the brick in the stocking. "I took the stocking and hit her, too." "I was not quite sure what was going to happen when we went to Victoria Park. "I thought we may have been able to frighten Mrs. Rieper with a brick and she would have given her consent for Pauline and me to stay. (stet) "After the first blow was struck I knew it would be necessary for us to kill her. I was terrified and hysterical." In an alleged statement by Pauline Parker she said that she had killed her mother and had made up her mind to do it a few days previously. //Hit "Great Many Times"// Mr. Brown said that when asked what her mother said when she was struck, Pauline replied "I would rather not answer that." He said that when she was asked how many times she had hit her mother, Pauline replied, "I don't know. A great many times, I imagine." Mr. Brown then read the following extracts from a diary found in Pauline Parker's room:-- February 13, 1954: "Why could not mother die? Dozens, thousands of people are dying; why not mother, and father, too? Life is very hard." April 28: "Anger against mother boiling inside me as she is the main obstacle in my path. Suddenly means of ridding myself of the obstacle occur to me. If she was to die..." //Diary Plan To "Moider Mother"// April 29:--"I did not tell Deborah of my plans for removing mother. The last fate I wish to meet is one in a Borstal. I wish to make it appear a natural or accidental death." [Deborah was Pauline's pet name for Juliet Hulme.] An entry in the dairy for June 19 referred to a plan "to moider mother" and said "naturally we are a trifle nervous but elation is great." June 20.--"Deborah and I talked for some time. Afterwards we discussed our plans for moidering mother and made them clear. But peculiarly enough I have no qualms of conscience. Or is it peculiar? We are so made (sic)." June 21.--"Deborah rang and we decided to use a brick in a stocking rather than a sandbag. Mother has fallen in with plans beautifully. Feel quite keyed up." June 22.--"I felt very excited last night and sort of night- before-Christmas, but I did not have pleasant dreams. I am about to rise." Mr. Brown said the diary for that day was headed "The day of the happy event." //Had Several Operations// Herbert Rieper, company manager, said he had lived with Mrs. Parker for the last 23 years and they had three children, Pauline being the second. She had been a normal child, but suffered from osteomyelitis when she was five and had spent eight or nine months in hospital. He said that at lunch time on the day Mrs. Parker was killed, Pauline and Juliet were laughing and joking. Rieper said that Pauline had several operations. He had seen her with other girls but very seldom. She had treated him personally with disdain and was easily upset. Rieper said that Pauline had been interested in a boy who had stayed with them during 1953, but the boy had been sent away. Hilda Marion Hulme, mother of Juliet, said her daughter was born in England on October 28, 1938, and the family came to New Zealand in 1948. //Bomb Shock As Two-year-old// When two years old Juliet suffered bomb shock and had nightmares. At one time Juliet had been very ill and was away from school for two years. Juliet had been in a sanatorium at Cashmere, outside Christchurch. She was there for about four months during 1953. She was not discharged cured. Mrs. Hulme added: "We loved Juliet dearly and did all we could for her." Reason for the girls going to America was to have their books published. "Juliet had to spend a lot of time resting on her bed and Pauline would keep her company," said Mrs. Hulme. It became increasingly difficult to draw them into the family circle." Mrs. Hulme said that on June 21 "Juliet was radiantly happy" over the proposed outing to Victoria Park. //Resentment For Brother// About Christmas time the girls changed their names. Juliet was called Deborah and Pauline was called Gina. To Mr. T.A. Gresson, for Juliet Hulme, Mrs. Hulme said Juliet was very sensitive and demanding. "Juliet appeared to resent her brother and this was a problem," she added. Mrs. Hulme said she had read one of Juliet's books. It was quite ordinary, not overexciting. On one occasion she had talked to Juliet and asked her not to be so extreme in her views. The hearing was adjourned until 10 a.m. to-morrow.--A.A.P.- Reuter.

The Times (London), Wednesday August 25, 1954. p. 5. "MURDER CHARGE AGAINST GIRLS // PLEA OF INSANITY" Christchurch (N.Z.), Aug. 24.--A plea of insanity was submitted by defence counsel to-day on behalf of Juliet Hulme, aged 15, formerly of Liverpool, and her friend Pauline Parker, aged 16, who are accused of the murder of Pauline's mother, Mrs. Honora Mary Parker. Mrs. Parker was found dead in Victoria Park, Christchurch, on June 22. It is alleged that Pauline and Juliet beat her to death with a brick in a stocking. Their alleged motive was fear that she would stop Pauline going to South Africa with Juliet, her inseparable companion, who was being taken abroad by her father. A psychiatrist, Dr. R.W. Medlicott, told the court that a "reversal of the moral sense" was apparent in both girls. They suffered from "paranoia--a form of delusion--of an exalted type, in a setting of folie a deux," a term used to describe "communicated insanity." Opening the defence, Mr. T.A. Gresson said it would be shown that the girls were insane at the time of the crime. They were not ordinary dirty-minded little girls, as the prosecution alleged, but were mentally ill and not legally responsible for their actions. Insanity, he said, was often accompanied by a high degree of intelligence. "The barbarity and hopelessly irrational confidence of the accused, their youth, and Parker's diary, in which is reflected the deterioration of the two girls like an evil mirror, might already have raised doubts in the jury's mind as to their sanity." The court adjourned until to-morrow.--Reuter.

The Manchester Guardian, Wednesday August 25, 1954. p. 5. "TRIAL OF TWO SCHOOLGIRLS ON MURDER CHARGE // Court Hears Evidence of Insanity" Christchurch (N.Z.), August 24.--Two girls charged with murdering the elder's mother were said in court at Wellington to-day to have had "their own paradise, their own god and religion, and their own morality." The diary of the elder, Pauline Parker, 16, spoke of their having discovered "the key to the fourth world." Only about ten people, it claimed, had this key. Pauline's mother, Mrs Honora Mary Parker, 45, was found battered to death in Victoria Park, Christchurch, on June 22. It is alleged that Pauline and her 15-year-old friend Juliet Hulme murdered her with a brick wrapped in a stocking. According to the prosecution the motive for the murder was the girls' fear that Mrs Parker would stop Pauline from going to South Africa with Juliet, her inseparable companion, who was being taken abroad by her father, Dr H.R. Hulme. A psychiatrist, Dr R.W. Medlicott, said that a "reversal of the moral sense" was apparent in both girls. They suffered from "paranoia--a form of delusion--of an exalted type, in a setting of folie a deux," a term used to describe "communicated insanity." The prosecution case closed to-day. Mr T.A. Gresson, opening the case for the defence, said it would be shown that the girls were insane at the time of the crime, and not legally responsible for their actions. Dr Medlicott had stated that when he interviewed them the girls "exulted over their crime" and showed no reasonable emotional appreciation of their situation. Both girls, Dr Medlicott went on, had had a difficult adolescence and their association proved tragic for them. There was no proof it was a physical relationship, but "there is a lot of suggestion in their diaries that a physical relationship occurred." Pauline's young sister was an imbecile, and her baby sister died shortly after birth. Both girls were sensitive, selfish, and imaginative, and showed an inability to tolerate criticism. It seemed clear, he added, that they always wrote to each other as imaginary characters. Mr Gresson said that insanity was often accompanied by a high degree of intelligence. He continued: "The barbarity and hopelessly irrational confidence of the accused, their youth, and Parker's diary in which is reflected the deterioration of the two girls like an evil mirror, might already have raised doubts in the jury's mind as to their sanity." Juliet's mother, Mrs Hilda Marion Hulme, who gave evidence when the trial was resumed this morning, was questioned about an entry in her daughter's diary. She told the Court how she had prepared a cup of tea for Walter Perry, an engineer who occupied part of the Hulmes' home, who was ill at the time. Mrs Hulme said that it was while she was in Perry's bedroom, and also having a cup of tea, that Juliet appeared and laughingly said something like: "The balloon has gone up." Asked to explain, Juliet said: "I hoped I'd catch you out." Mrs Hulme said she felt that Juliet's sense of humour was in bad taste. //Question of Divorce// Walter Perry told the Court that Mrs Hulme's account of the incident was correct. "In fact," he said, "I was admitted to hospital the next week. Juliet discussed the fact that she was going to blackmail me on the night she found Mrs Hulme giving me tea." Perry admitted that he had fallen in love with Mrs Hulme, but at no time had there been any deception with Dr Hulme about their state of affairs. Mrs Hulme had told the Court that the question of divorce was under discussion. An entry in Juliet's diary alleged that when Juliet asked for an explanation of the incident Mrs Hulme said: "Well, you see, we are in love." According to the diary, Mrs Hulme further explained that Dr Hulme knew all about it and that they intended to live "as a threesome." The Court adjourned until to-morrow.--Reuter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday August 25, 1954. p. 4. [sb] "INSANITY PLEA FOR GIRLS CHARGED WITH MURDER" Christchurch (N.Z.), Tues. [Aug. 24]--Two doctors would say that two teenage girls were insane when they killed the mother of one of them, the Supreme Court was told to-day by counsel for one of the girls. Counsel said it was "clear beyond dispute" that the girls had killed the woman, and that the "vital and all-important" question was their sanity or otherwise. //DISCUSSION OF DIVORCE// "We must prove they are insane by competent evidence," he said. A psychiatrist said the girls were suffering from paranoia (a form of delusion) of an "exalted type." The girls are Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15. They are charged with having murdered Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker, known as Mrs. Rieper, 45, at Christchurch on June 22 last. Juliet is the daughter of Dr. H.R. Hulme, former Rector of Canterbury University College, Christchurch, who sailed to take up an overseas appointment some weeks ago. During to-day's hearing, Juliet's mother, Mrs. Hilda Marion Hulme, said that divorce had been "under discussion." Walter Andrew Bowman Perry, who last Christmas went to live in a flat which was part of the Hulme's home, told the Court he had fallen in love with Mrs. Hulme. Mrs. Hulme and Perry denied an entry in Pauline's diary that Juliet had said she had found them in bed together one night. At the trial, Pauline Parker is represented by Dr. A.L. Haslam, with Mr. J.A. Wicks, and Juliet Hulme by Mr. T.A. Gresson, with Mr. B. McClelland. The Crown Prosecutor is Mr. A.W. Brown, with Mr. P.T. Mahon. Mr. Justice Adams is on the bench. Mr. Gresson told the jury: "Neither Dr. Haslam nor I would advance a defence of insanity if there were no competent medical evidence to support it. "The Crown has referred to the girls as ordinary, dirty- minded little girls. Our evidence will show they are mentally ill. "Their interest in sexual and homosexual matters will show they are not ordinary, but ill." He said the girls were suffering from paranoia of an exalted type and folie a deux (a term used to describe communicated insanity). Dr. Reginald Warren Medlicott, superintendent of Ashburn Hall private psychiatric hospital, Dunedin, said: "Both girls are sensitive, selfish, imaginative, and show an inability to tolerate criticism. Pauline has ruled her friendships by bursts of temper." //FORM OF INSANITY// Dr. Medlicott said he considered the girls were suffering from paranoia of an exalted type. In a setting of folie a deux, paranoia was a form of systematised insanity. It was not unusual for adolescents to become arrogant. They frequently went through a stage of forming passions for members of their own sex. There was no proof that there was a physical relationship, he said, adding that homosexuality was love for a member of one's own sex. Dr. Medlicott added: "On my second visit on the second week- end, they could not be bothered giving up a walk in the sun to talk to me. "There was a gross reversal of moral sense. They admired what was evil, and condemned that which the community considered good. "They said they had their own god and religion." After a short time with them, he was convinced they were insane. Each girl would have sudden spells of intentness. They would "click into gear"; they showed a conceit which was quite out of the world of normality; they were prepared to accept their books as world-shattering; their arrogance, like their conceit was not normal; they persistently abused him. //ENTRY IN DIARY READ// Dr. Medlicott said Pauline's younger sister was an imbecile. Juliet's ill-health and separations from her parents would tend to break normal associations. Both girls had a difficult adolescence, and their association had proved tragic for them. When he interviewed them, the girls exulted over their crime, and showed no reasonable emotional appreciation of their situation. When the trial resumed to-day, Mrs. Hulme re-entered the witness box. //"SECRET JOKE"// Asked by Dr. Haslam about an entry in Pauline's diary for April 23, Mrs. Hulme said: "One night Mr. Perry took ill. "I heard a disturbance in the house and went to the dividing door which leads to his flat, and called out to him. He was in obvious pain." She made him a cup of tea and sat on the side of his bed and drank a cup of tea, too. She heard the door move and Juliet appeared. Mrs. Hulme added: "Juliet seemed amused at a secret joke of her own. Asked why she was laughing, Juliet said something like 'The balloon has gone up.' "Asked to explain, she said, 'I hoped to catch you out.' "I felt Juliet's sense of humor was in bad taste, and I was upset with her." Mr. Brown (for the Crown) read the entry from Pauline's diary about the incident on the night of April 23, as follows:-- "This afternoon I played Tosca and wrote before ringing Deborah (her name for Juliet). "Then she told me the stupendous news. Last night she woke at 2 a.m. and for some reason went to her mother's room. "It was empty, so she went downstairs to look for her. Deborah could not find her, so she crept as stealthily as she could into Mr. Perry's flat. "She heard voices from inside, and she stayed outside for a little while, then opened the door and switched on the light. //BEDROOM INCIDENT// "Mr. Perry and Mrs. Hulme were in bed drinking tea. Deborah felt an hysterical tendency to giggle. She said, 'Hello.' She was shaking with emotion and shock, although she knew what she would find. They giggled at her for a minute and her mother said, 'I suppose you want an explanation?' "'Yes,' Deborah replied, 'I do.' "'Well, you see we are in love,' her mother explained. Deborah was wonderful. Her mother explained that Dr. Hulme knew all about it, and that they intended to live as a threesome." Mr. Brown (to Mrs. Hulme): Had you told Dr. Hulme of the incident of the night? Mrs. Hulme: Yes. The diary states, "Dr. and Mrs. Hulme are going to divorce." Was that so?--Do I have to answer that? Mrs. Hulme then said it was under discussion. Mr. Brown: Why should Dr. Hulme talk to the girls about divorce? Mrs. Hulme: Because of the incident in Perry's bedroom the night before. Walter Andrew Bowman Perry, engineer, said he went as a guest to Dr. Hulme's home at Christmas, 1953, and lived in part of the house. He, Dr. Hulme and Mrs. Hulme were very friendly. Perry said he had read Pauline's 1954 diary. Mrs. Hulme's version of the incident in his room was correct. Perry said he had fallen in love with Mrs. Hulme. Mr. Gresson: Has there at any time been any deception with Dr. Hulme about that state of affairs? Perry: Definitely not. The Hearing was adjourned until to-morrow.--A.A.P.-Reuter.

The Times (London), Thursday August 26, 1954. p. 5. "GIRLS ON MURDER CHARGE // EVIDENCE ON INSANITY" Wellington (N.Z.), Aug. 25.--Dr. R.W. Medlicott, medical superintendent of Ashburn Hall psychiatric hospital, to-day continued evidence for the defence in the trial of the two girls, Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Marion Hulme, who are charged with the murder of Mrs. Parker (mother of one of the accused girls.) He said that both girls, in his opinion, were certifiably insane. They knew what the law was but did not acknowledge that their action was morally wrong; they thought killing Mrs. Parker was morally right--by their own standards, not the standards of the community. The Crown prosecutor (Mr. A.W. Brown) asked: "Why then did they try to escape detection?" Dr. Medlicott replied: "Because they had a plan and they knew that being caught would prevent their carrying it out. They considered they were unique geniuses. ..." Mr. Brown: Why then are the accused insane? Dr. Medlicott: Because all these actions were done inside a delusional setting. Mr. Brown: The killing of Mrs. Parker was carefully planned, was it not? Dr. Medlicott: Yes. Mr. Brown: Then where was the delusion? Dr. Medlicott.--Simply this: if they had not been suffering from delusions they would not have wished to do that. //TERRIFIC EXALTATION// Mr. Brown spent some time cross-examining Dr. Medlicott about poetry found in the back of Parker's diary and asked in what way it convinced Dr. Medlicott that the girls were insane. Dr. Medlicott said: "Because of its terrific exaltation." Mr. Brown thereupon recited more poetry without informing Dr. Medlicott who wrote it: but later he informed the witness that the poetry was a Shakespeare sonnet and a poem of Walter de la Mare. Mr. Brown.--Is there not evidence of exaltation in these? Dr. Medlicott replied that he could not regard these on their own as evidence of the writer's insanity. A description of a vision was then read to Dr. Medlicott, who was invited by Mr. Brown to comment upon it. He answered that he could not agree that insanity was a reasonable inference from the description of the vision. Mr. Brown then informed the court that the quotation was from the Fourth Chapter of the Revelation of St. John. The court adjourned with Dr. Medlicott still giving evidence.--from our correspondent. // Christchurch (N.Z.), Aug. 25.--Dr. Medlicott to-day read several alleged items from Pauline Parker's diary to the court trying the two girls for murder. --Reuter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday August 26, 1954. p. 5. [sb] "Girls On Murder Charge Had A "Fourth World"" Christchurch (N.Z.) Wed. [Aug. 25]--A leading psychiatrist said to-day that two teenage girls charged with having murdered the mother of one of them, had told him of their "fourth world," and their own gods, religion and paradise. The psychiatrist told Christchurch Supreme Court that the girls were insane at the time of the killing, and he would have no hesitation in certifying them. The girls, Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, are charged with having murdered Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker (known as Mrs. Rieper), 45, at Christchurch on June 22. Juliet is the daughter of Dr. H.R. Hulme, former Rector of Canterbury University College, Christchurch. The psychiatrist, Dr. Reginald Warren Medlicott, of Dunedin, told the Court to-day that Juliet Hulme had told him that "in their own religion they went to paradise." Pan was their favorite god. Juliet had also said that they had discovered the "fourth world" at Port Levy. She had said that the "fourth world" was definitely there, and added: "Our god is a more powerful version of the humans' God. He has the same powers, only greatly magnified." Another time Juliet had said: "I do not want to place myself above the law; I am apart from it." Pauline had said: "We don't believe God could be satisfied with the world and be omnipotent." Dr. Medlicott said the girls believed that what they had done was morally right, by their own standards. Even now, they showed no remorse. Pauline had told him: "We are both sane. Everybody else is off the mark. Our views are much more logical and sensible." He said the nearest he got to remorse with Pauline was when she said that when she slept on her right side, her mother seemed to come back. She could not stand this, and immediately turned on her left side. //DEVELOPED T.B.// An entry in Pauline's diary had referred to Juliet having developed tuberculosis, and added: "I spent a wretched night. We agreed it would be wonderful if I could get tuberculosis, too." Another entry in Pauline's diary for January 29 was: "We have worked out how much prostitutes should earn, and how much we should make in this profession." The "should" gradually changed to "shall," said Dr. Medlicott. The entry continued: "We have spent a really wonderful day messing around and talking over how much fun we will have in our profession." A diary entry for June 6 read: "Eventually we enacted how each saint would make love in bed, only doing the first seven, as it was 7:30 a.m. by then. We felt exhausted and very satisfied." //"CAREFULLY PLANNED"// To the Crown Prosecutor, Mr. Alan W. Brown, Dr. Medlicott said that Juliet had told him if she were running the country, she would make laws for others to stick to but, "as king, of course, the laws would not apply to her." He said both girls knew what the law was but did not recognize it. They considered their action in killing Pauline's mother to be morally right by their own standards, not by the standards of the community. They had tried to escape detection because of their plans for the future. [According to earlier evidence the girls had wanted to go abroad together, but their parents would not agree.] "They considered they were quite unique geniuses, with their own paradise and could do exactly as they liked," said Dr. Medlicott. "It was quite right for them to indulge in shoplifting and to steal, because they were merely raising money to further their own plans." //AFFAIR WITH BOY// Dr. Medlicott agreed with Mr. Brown that the killing had been carefully planned. After the killing the girls knew intellectually that they were in trouble, but never realised it emotionally, he said. Mr. Brown: Was it not a fact that Pauline had sexual intercourse with a boy? Dr. Medlicott agreed, but said the fact that a person had sexual relations with a member of the opposite sex did not disprove homosexuality. Mr. Brown: But she had sexual intercourse over and over again? Dr. Medlicott: No, only once. That is what she told me. Mr. Brown quoted extracts from Pauline's diary, referring to nocturnal visits by Pauline to a boy named Nicholas. Mr. Brown: Was she not in Nicholas's bed as far back as July, 1953, and was she not there from 11:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Dr. Medlicott: That is so. //"NOT HAPPY"// Mr. Brown read later diary references to visits paid by Pauline to Nicholas at his new address after he left the Rieper household. Dr. Medlicott said he thought Pauline was not happy in these relationships. She attempted to break away, but went back, and described all these events to Juliet. Mr. Brown asked if there could not be several explanations for the ending of Pauline's relations with Nicholas. One might be that they were caught. Dr. Medlicott replied: "The visits to Nicholas continued for a long time after that." In earlier diary references it was Nicholas who was "making the pace," he said. Mr. Brown suggested it could be that Nicholas grew cool, possibly realising the implications of Pauline being under the age of consent. Dr. Medlicott said that, according to her diary, Pauline sat on a chair most of the night during her later visits to Nicholas in his bedroom. //"MOIDER"// On June 19 the diary entry read: "Our main idea (stet) for the day is moider. We have worked it out clearly." Dr. Medlicott said: "The diary rises to a quite fantastic crescendo as it goes on. "Evil becomes more and more important, and one gets the feeling that they became helplessly under its sway." Mr. Brown referred Dr. Medlicott to a diary entry for April 17, which read: "Mrs. Hulme was perfectly beastly to Deborah (nickname for Juliet). "She made her apologise for taking a record from Mr. Perry's flat. [Walter Andrew Bowman Perry, an engineer, lived in a flat at Hulme's home. He has told the Court that he fell in love with Mrs. Hulme.] "This made us feel very cross and childish in a sort of I'll-show-them-so-there-and-that-will-make-'em-sorry feeling. "We went for a walk in a field and sat on a log, shouting nasty jeering remarks to every rider that passed. About fifty did. "This cheered us greatly, and we came back and wrote out all the Commandments so that we can break them." Dr. Medlicott was still being cross-examined when the Court adjourned until to-morrow.--A.A.P.-Reuter.

The Times (London), Friday August 27, 1954. p. 5. "GIRLS ON MURDER CHARGE "INSANE" " Wellington (N.Z.), Aug. 26.--Dr. Francis Bennett, a witness for the defence at the trial of Pauline Parker, aged 16, and Julian (stet) Marion Hulme told him that she had no regrets whatever. Dr. Bennett said that the girls once wrote out the 10 Commandments and then set out to see how many they could break. Hulme told him that not only was the murder of Mrs. Parker justified, but other murders might be justified if anyone threatened the girls' association. Dr. Bennett added: "To us the murder was bestial, filthy, treacherous. On the occasion of the murder these girls were insane and they never will be sane." The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow.--from our correspondent.

The Manchester Guardian, Friday August 27, 1954. p. 7. "ALLEGED MURDER OF MOTHER // Girls' "Night Orgies" " Christchurch (New Zealand), Aug. 26.--It was stated in court here today that Pauline Parker, happily doing housework with her mother, broke off to discuss by telephone with her school friend how they should kill the mother next day. The defence is seeking to prove that Pauline (16) and her friend, Juliet Marion Hulme (15), accused of murdering Mrs Parker with a brick in a stocking, are insane. Dr. Francis Bennett said: "There was the happy harmony of mother and daughter on Monday, the slaughter on Tuesday. To us, who are sane, I hope, it was a murder that was bestial, treacherous, filthy. It is outside all the kindly limits of sanity. It is a thousand miles away from sanity." The prosecutor, Mr Alan Brown, objected to what he called "this prose poem," but the Judge allowed it as a legitimate statement of the grounds for the doctor's opinion. Dr Bennett said that the girls had a wild infatuation for each other and spent as much time as possible together, discussing their gods, their books, "bathing and bedding together, and photographing each other in fancy and party dresses and in the nude." They had "nightlong verbal orgies." They did not hate people but despised them. After the murder both Pauline and Juliet told him that they had no regrets whatever, Pauline adding: "Of course I did not want my family to get involved in this; but we have been terribly happy since it happened, so it has all been a blessing in disguise." In their own opinion, Dr Bennet (sic) went on, this crime of matricide was right. They knew the nature and quality of their act but did not think it wrong. They believed that Pauline's mother would be in "heaven" but that they would go to "paradise." Juliet said there was no hell--"the idea is so primitive." They had their own "saints," based on film stars. The girls used to get up in the night and act on the lawn, he added. They made a little cemetery and later turned it into a temple, where a dead mouse was buried under a cross. They also put up crosses for "dead ideas." The Crown will call three witnesses to rebut the medical evidence of insanity. The case was adjourned until tomorrow.-- Reuter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday August 27, 1954. [sb] "INSANITY PLEA AT N.Z. MURDER TRIAL" Christchurch, Thurs. [Aug. 26]--Dr. Francis O. Bennett told the Supreme Court to-day that two teenage girls on trial for murder "were not sane then, are not sane now and never will be sane." Dr. Bennett is the second doctor called by the defence to testify that the girls are insane. To-morrow the Crown will call three witnesses to rebut the defence's medical evidence. //"MATRICIDE WAS RIGHT"// The girls are charged with battering to death the mother of one of them with a half-brick in a stocking. Dr. Bennett said, "In their opinion this crime of matricide was right. They knew the nature and quality of their act but did not think it wrong. "The girls knew what they did was wrong in the community's eyes but I doubt whether that entered into their considerations." The Crown Prosecutor, Mr. A. Brown: But is not that the outlook of all criminals? Dr. Bennett: Yes, but these happen not to be criminals. Mr. Justice Adams: That is for the jury to decide. Dr. Bennett: Yes, your Honor, I should not have said that. Dr. Bennett said the day before the murder one girl was helping her mother with the housework when the telephone rang and she broke off her work to discuss "moider plans" with the other girl. He added, "There was the happy harmony of mother and daughter on Monday: the slaughter on Tuesday. "To us--sane, I hope--it was a murder that was bestial, treacherous and filthy. It is outside all the kindly limits of sanity; it is a thousand miles away from sanity. Mr. Brown: Your Honor, I object to this prose poem. Mr. Justice Adams: I think it is a legitimate statement of the grounds for his opinion. Dr. Bennett said the girls were suffering from paranoia. They lived in a world of their own--a world of delusions that had no reality or values, as the community knew values. To-day was the fourth day of the trial. Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15 years and 10 months, are charged with the murder of Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker (known also as Mrs. Rieper), 45, at Christchurch, on June 22. Mrs. Parker and the two girls went for a walk on Cashmere Hills. Later, the girls returned alone and said Mrs. Parker had slipped and fallen to her death. The Crown alleges that the girls planned to murder Mrs. Parker and beat her to death with a half-brick swung in a stocking. Mr. Justice Adams and a jury are hearing the case in the Supreme Court. Dr. A.L. Haslam and Mr. I.A. Wicks are counsel for Pauline Parker, and Mr. T.A. Gresson and Mr. B. McClelland are appearing for Juliet Hulme. The Crown Prosecutor is Mr. Alan W. Brown. //Necessary To Give Full Picture// Dr. Haslam, opening the defence case for Pauline Parker, told the jury, "Both girls were insane on the day of the murder to such a degree that they did not know what they were doing. "We are not here to waste your time with flimsy medical opinions. We ask you give due weight to our medical evidence. "It is necessary for doctors to give the full picture, but it is the overall picture you must consider and weigh." Dr. Haslam then called Dr. F.O. Bennett, who, he said, would give evidence agreeing with that of Dr. Medlicott earlier, that the girls were suffering from paranoia and folie a deux. Dr. Bennett said he had been consulted by Dr. Hulme on December 9 last regarding the association of the girls and again on May 8. On December 14, he saw Mrs. Parker and Pauline at his surgery. Dr. Hulme was worried about the unhealthy association of the girls. Mrs. Parker was worried about Pauline's weight. The interview was not a success. Pauline would answer only "Yes" or "No." Pauline said her mother frequently nagged at her, her only friend was Juliet and she thought other girls silly. He could not get beyond that. He had told Mrs. Parker that he thought there was a homosexual relationship between the girls. Dr. Bennett said that the next time he saw Pauline was at the police station on June 24. He saw each girl separately for about an hour. On August 6 he saw Juliet at Paparua Prison and Pauline on August 13. He had read both Pauline's diaries and a large part of her novel. The girls' recent activities, he said, could be explained only on the basis of mutual insanity. "I agree with Dr. Medlicott that they are suffering from paranoia," he said. "They follow delusion wherever it is and become antisocial and dangerous. "They think they are superior to the general race of man. They have written a great deal, but I do not consider it of outstanding literary merit. "Intellectually they are a little higher than girls of their own age, but they are not intellectual giants." //Delusions of Grandeur// Dr. Bennett said the two girls had delusions of grandeur. They formed a "society" of their own and lived in it. In this new society they were no longer under the censure and nagging of mothers. "They fill it out with their 'saints' and fictional characters," he said. //"FOURTH WORLD" OF OWN// Dr. Bennett read extracts from Pauline's diaries. One, dated April 3, 1953, read:-- "To-day Juliet and I found the key to the fourth world. We realise now that we had it in our possession for six months but we only realised it today. "We saw a gateway through the clouds. We sat on the edge of a path and looked down a hill out over a bay. The island looked beautiful, the sea was blue and everything was full of peace and bliss. "We then realised we had the key. We know now that we are not genii, as we thought. We have an extra part of our brain which can appreciate the fourth world." //Had Left This World Behind// After reading other extracts, Dr. Bennett said: "These illustrations show the wild infatuation of these two for each other and their grandiose ideas. "They bathed and went to bed together. They dressed up. They got up at night and went onto the lawn and acted, ignoring other people. "They made a little cemetery and later turned it into a temple where a dead mouse was buried and a cross put up. They put up other crosses for dead ideas. "They had no friends of their own age and never read newspapers." During the Royal visit to Christchurch the girls made no attempt to see the Queen or the decorations. There was increasing elation as the story approached its climax. They had the impression that they had left this world behind them. "The girls have assured me that they don't hate people individually but that they despise them," Dr. Bennett said. "They believe in survival after death. Juliet said there is no hell--the idea is so primitive." //No Regret Over Murder// Dr. Bennett said Juliet Hulme had told him, "The day we killed her I think she knew beforehand what was going to happen and she did not bear any grudge." He had asked Juliet if she had any regret and she replied, "None whatsoever." At one stage the girls wrote out the Ten Commandments and set out to see how many they could break. They claimed Pauline had broken 10 and Juliet only nine. The girls, he said, always spelt the word murder as "moider." It was a "murder" that was bestial, treacherous and filthy. Dr. Bennett added, "It is outside all the limits of sanity." Mr. Brown: This is comment, not evidence. Mr. Justice Adams: I do not think one can object to such terms. Dr. Bennett said that had the girls never met they might at least for some years have lived difficult lives before paranoia occurred. But they met. They lived in a world of elation and despised the lowly world around them. "They took a delight in breaking its conventions," he said. "In my opinion they are both folie a deux homosexual paranoics of the elated type. "They are definitely certifiable. "They knew they were killing a woman, who she was and the nature of their act. They did not think their act was wrong. They knew it was against the laws of the country but they had a loyalty to their delusion." Mr. Brown: Did they know what they were doing? Dr. Bennett: They did. Mr. Brown: You know they are liars? Dr. Bennett: Not all the time. Is their relationship homosexual physically?--I don't know. I am inclined to think not. They don't like being called that?--They have no holds barred. Dr. Bennett said that in his first interview with Juliet Hulme she had no idea what he was talking about when homosexuality was mentioned. Mr. Brown: Didn't the girl Parker have sexual relationships with a number of boys? Dr. Bennett: Not over a long period. //Film Characters Were Used// Dr. R.W. Medlicott, psychiatrist, earlier concluded his evidence for the defence under cross-examination by the Crown Prosecutor, Mr. Brown. The girls' "saints," he said, were fictional characters, constituting their "families." They used characters from films to personify their characters. Mr. Brown: These characters represented not only the faces of film stars, but other parts of their anatomy, didn't they? Dr. Medlicott: That might have been so. Mr. Brown read an entry from Parker's diary written on May 29, 1953, which stated, "We did not get up early as we were feeling so tired. We did the saints and played records. "We were very truthful about the saints, especially their figures. This was not hard as we decided that we like a large amount of man." Dr. Medlicott said the girls "played" with these characters. Mr. Brown: You think they played like innocent little children then? Dr. Medlicott: There is no suggestion that they played like innocent little children. How did they act among themselves?--There were love scenes. Love is a mild word. These two people, we will assume, are homosexuals in the physical sense?--There is no proof of that. I am doubtful if they were telling me the truth. //All The "Saints" Were Males// Dr. Medlicott said the "saints" were all males. He thought the girls were homosexual. Mr. Brown: You agree that references in the diary on May 29 refer to the physical characteristics of various saints? Dr. Medlicott: They were figures from the films. Real life figures?--Yes. "He" at one stage is Mario Lanza?--Yes. Mr. Brown then read from a diary entry written on June 12, "We returned home and talked for some time about it (sic), getting ourselves more and more excited. Eventually, we enacted how each saint would make love in bed, only doing the first seven as it was 7:30 a.m. by then. We felt exhausted and very satisfied." Dr. Medlicott, after further questioning about Pauline's diary, agreed that the girls behaved "over and over again as normal human beings." Mr. Brown: You said earlier that they were both insane and readily certifiable? Dr. Medlicott: They were both insane and certifiable. Are you disconcerted to know three competent psychiatrists do not consider them certifiable?--It does not disturb me. The hearing was adjourned until to-morrow.--SMH staff reporter.

The Times (London), Saturday August 28, 1954. p. 5. "ALLEGED MURDER OF MOTHER // MEDICAL EVIDENCE OF GIRLS' SANITY" Wellington (N.Z.), Aug. 27--Evidence was continued in the fifth day of the trial of the two girls, Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Marion Hulme, who are charged with the murder of Parker's mother. The Crown called three medical witnesses in rebuttal of the expert evidence of the defence. Dr. Kenneth Robert Stallworthy, senior medical advisor at Avondale Mental Hospital at Auckland, told the Crown prosecutor, Mr. A.W. Brown, that he had examined both girls and it was his opinion that neither had any disease of the mind. They had written down what was going to happen and had given clear accounts of what they had done. Both knew the nature and quality of their act. After the killing of Mrs. Parker both had full realization of their predicament and a very sane desire to get out of it. He did not consider either girl to be paranoic, but admitted to the presence of delusions. Dr. James Edwin Saville, the second Crown expert, who is medical officer at Sunnyside Mental Hospital, gave evidence that in several interviews the girls tried to make out that they were insane, arguing that by the time they became 18 or 19 they would be released from a mental hospital, whereas they could not see themselves getting out of prison if found sane as early as that. Dr. James Dewar Hunter, superintendent of Sunnyside hospital, said he would not certify the girls because he believed both to be quite sane. Addresses of counsel are to be heard to-morrow.--from our correspondent.

The Manchester Guardian, Saturday August 28, 1954. p. 5. "ACCUSED GIRLS "BOTH SANE" // N.Z. Murder trial" Wellington, Aug. 27.--Three experts to-day told a Wellington court trying Juliet Marion Hulme (15) and Pauline Yvonne Parker (16) for the murder of Pauline's mother that both girls were sane. Yesterday two defence witnesses contended that they were and always would be insane. The first witness to-day, Dr Kenneth Stallworthy, superintendent of Auckland Mental Hospital, told the Court that Pauline had said: "We knew we were doing wrong. We knew that we would be punished if we were caught and we did our best not to be caught. I would have been an absolute moron not to know that murder was against the law." Dr Stallworthy said that his conclusion was that neither girl had any disease of the mind. After quoting Pauline, he said that Juliet had told him: "I knew it was wrong to murder, and I knew at the time that I was murdering somebody." The prosecutor: Do you know of any paranoiacs who went through the various stages the girls did--lying, cheating, blackmailing, and thieving? Dr Stallworthy: No. I have seen sane murderers show such a callousness as has been commented on in this case. In my experience, liking for games of bloodshed and violence are exceedingly common among adolescents. The type of literature in such demand to-day by adults, and embodying just these things, shows this, I think. Is there any connection between homosexuality and paranoia?- -There is, in my opinion, no relation between active homo- sexuality and paranoia. I do not know of any practising homo- sexual who is a paranoiac. I do not consider homosexuality, which is by no means uncommon, as any indication of insanity. Are these girls homosexual?--I think there is no doubt that the girls have been engaged in some form of physical homo- sexuality. It is usual for adolescents to outgrow that stage. There is, I think, clear evidence that Parker was sufficiently interested to let members of the opposite sex make love to her, one way or another. Dr Stallworthy's evidence was supported by the two other medical witnesses, Mr D.D. Hunter, superintendent of Sunnyside Mental Hospital, and Mr J.E. Saville, a Sunnyside medical officer. Mr Saville told the court that he would not certify either girl insane, emphasising that he did not know of any crime committed by two insane people in combination. Pauline and Juliet are accused of murdering Mrs Parker by hitting her with a brick enclosed in a stocking while they were walking through a Christchurch park. The evidence was ended to- day, and the court adjourned until to-morrow, the sixth day of the trial, when counsels' final addresses and the judge's summing-up will be heard. It will be the first time for many years in New Zealand that a murder trial has continued on a Saturday.--British United Press.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday August 28, 1954. [sb] "Doctors' Conflict On Sanity As N.Z. Murder Trial Nears End" Christchurch, Friday [Aug. 27]--Three medical witnesses called by the prosecution in the Christchurch murder trial to-day gave evidence that the two accused girls were sane now and had been sane when Honora May (sic) Parker was battered to death. Evidence in the case concluded in the Supreme Court to-day. The trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. to-morrow for counsel's addresses and the jury will retire, probably about the middle of the afternoon, to consider its verdict. The public gallery was crowded to-day for the fifth day of the trial, which has held New Zealand's attention throughout the week. The Court had been expected to adjourn until Monday, but at the conclusion of the evidence to-day, Mr. Justice Adams consulted the jurors, who said they preferred to sit to-morrow. It will be the first Saturday sitting of a New Zealand Court in a murder trial for many years. The accused, Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15 years and 10 months, are charged with the murder of Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker (known also as Mrs. Rieper), 45, at Christchurch, on June 22. Mrs. Parker was found dead with her head battered in Cashmere Hills, a suburb of Christchurch, after going for a walk in the park with the two girls. Two medical witnesses called for the defence had previously described the girls as insane. To-day's medical witnesses were called by the Crown. //"Clear Accounts," Says Specialist// Dr. Kenneth Robert Stallworthy, senior medical adviser to Avondale Mental Hospital, Auckland, told the Court he examined Pauline Parker at Paparua prison on July 26 and 27, and on August 19. He had also examined her twice at Mount Eden prison. He had examined Juliet Hulme at Paparua prison four times. He did not consider that either had any disease of the mind. The Crown prosecutor, Mr. Alan W. Brown: What were the factors that made you think the girls knew what they were doing? Dr. Stallworthy: That they had written down what was going to happen and their clear accounts of what they had done. Dr. Stallworthy said they knew the nature and quality of their act. They both knew at the time that their action was wrong, and that they were breaking the law. He read an entry from Pauline Parker's diary dated April 29, which said: "I have made no definite plans yet as the last fate I wish to meet is one in Borstal." He said that was a very clear indication of her awareness that she was running the risk of such punishment. He said Pauline Parker had told him at their last interview: "We knew that what we were doing was wrong; we knew we would be punished if we were caught, and we did our best not to be caught." At the second interview with Juliet Hulme she had told him: "I knew it was wrong to murder and I knew at the time that I was murdering somebody. I would have to be an absolute moron not to know murder was against the law." He had no doubt that they knew the nature and quality of their act and that it was against the law and the moral code. Mr. Brown: Do you consider they, or one of them, insane when they killed Mrs. Parker? Dr. Stallworthy: I do not. They were carefully weighing in their minds the prospects of concealing the crime. He said both girls had told him they had at least an even chance of escaping detection. The girls wanted to be found insane because if convicted they could regain their liberty earlier. He had dealt with dozens of paranoiacs and their behaviour was entirely different from that displayed by the girls. A primary requisite for paranoia was the presence of delusions. He did not admit to delusions with these girls. //"Commonly A Conceited Age"// Dr. Stallworthy continued: "The presence of conceit does not constitute a delusion of grandeur. I have seen on many occasions criminals with conceit who felt justified in breaking the law. "Adolescence is commonly a conceited age. Often in the diaries of adolescents are to be found the most conceited opinions without the adolescent's having a firm belief in what has been written." He said the girls had some justification for conceit. Juliet Hulme in interviews had displayed the vocabulary and shrewdness in answering difficult questions of a highly intelligent person of much greater age. Pauline Parker was considerably above average intelligence. //"Thrill" Of Shoplifting// Dr. Stallworthy said there was no relationship between expressed homosexuality and paranoia. Homosexuality in this case was not repressive. There was no doubt the girls had been engaged in some form of physical sexual activity with each other. But the girls dreamt of members of the opposite sex and always pretended they were making love to members of the opposite sex. For those reasons he felt homosexuality in the situation had been rather overstressed. There was evidence of Pauline Parker's interest in the other sex. The fact that she wrote of having received no satisfaction with her intercourse with Nicholas was no indication of homosexuality. There was no relation between their shoplifting and insanity. The girls had shoplifted because of the fun of it and the thrill of it. They were not devoid of moral sense. The fact that they were pleased with themselves was not exaltation in the sense that a psychiatrist would use the word. //"Apparently Lucid Thinking"// The theme of bloodshed and violence in the evidence was in no way abnormal or evidence of insanity. Dr. James Edwin Saville, medical officer at Sunnyside Mental Hospital, gave evidence that he had examined the girls separately on five occasions. At the first two examinations the girls were inclined to make out that they were insane, but at the last three interviews they wished to be regarded as sane. Dr. Saville said: "Juliet told me--I think it was on the third occasion--that if they were found insane they would probably be out of the mental hospital by the time they were 18 or 19. They could not see themselves getting out of prison as early as that if they were found sane and convicted." He said he was satisfied they understood the nature of their act. They knew it was wrong in law and wrong morally. He would not certify them as insane. They were sane now and they had been sane when they killed Mrs. Parker. Dr. James Dewar Hunter, superintendent of Sunnyside Mental Hospital, said he examined the girls on five occasions. In his considered opinion they were sane when they killed Mrs. Parker and sane now. //Nicholas "Not A Real Friend"// Earlier yesterday Dr. Francis Oswald Bennett, medical witness for the defence, continued his evidence under cross-examination by Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown: Might these girls not have found some foundation to think that they were approaching genius? Dr. Bennett: I must reject that. Why do you say they had no friends of their own age?--It depends on what they meant by friends. What about Nicholas?--He was not a real friend. You say they believed in survival after death; is that an insane belief?--No. Was removing Mrs. Parker a delusion?--Part of a delusion. She was a threat to their remaining together?--Yes. There was no delusion about that?--No. Dr. Bennett said the girls showed no contrition or remorse whatsoever. //"Desperate" At Separation// Mr. Brown then read a sentence from Pauline Parker's diary, dated June 17. It was: "We didn't misbehave last night." He asked Dr. Bennett if the girls had not told him they meant by that extract that they did not raid the pantry, and whether he believed that. Dr. Bennett: Yes. Mr. Brown: You said they always spelt the word "murder" as "moider," they often did that with funny words? Dr. Bennett: They just altered them round for whim or fancy. Is it not a common spelling in many American crime books?--I did not know that. Mr. Brown asked which was the dominant personality and had the stronger mind. Mr. Brown suggested Juliet Hulme. Dr. Bennett: I am not very sure, and I doubt if it would ever be decided. At the conclusion of evidence the Court adjourned to the Judge's chambers for legal argument, and then adjourned until 9:30 a.m. to-morrow.--A.A.P.-Reuter.

The Times (London), Monday August 30, 1954. p. 5. "NEW ZEALAND GIRLS FOUND GUILTY // "KNEW MURDER WAS WRONG" " Wellington (N.Z.), Aug. 29.--After two hours' (stet) retirement the jury at Christchurch found Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Marion Hulme Guilty of the murder of Pauline's mother, Mrs. Honora Mary Parker. Mr. Justice Adams sentenced the girls to be detained during her(sic) Majesty's pleasure. Under New Zealand law this is the sentence passed on persons under 18 years of age who are convicted of an offence punishable with death. In summing up the Judge said that two doctors expressed the opinion that the accused were insane and three doctors had sworn that they were sane. To some extent, in some way their minds were abnormal. Did it amount to disease of the mind? "All the doctors have sworn the accused did know the nature and quality of their act. As I have understood the case, that has not been disputed." Both knew the act was wrong and contrary to the moral code of the community. The accused showed no emotion when sentence was passed.-- from our own correspondent.

San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday August 28, 1954, p. 1. "2 Girls Convicted For Killing Mother" Aukland (sic), New Zealand (Saturday), Aug. 28. (AP)--Two teen- age girls, Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Yvonne (stet) Hulme were found guilty today of murdering Pauline's mother by battering her with a brick. During the closing speech by Prosecutor Alan Brown, who described the defendants as "two dirty-minded little girls," Juliet sat with her fingers in her ears. As both girls are under 18, their crime is not punishable by death but by imprisonment. Neither Pauline, 16, nor Juliet, 15, showed any emotion when the verdict was returned after the 12-man jury had deliberated for 90 (stet) minutes.

The Oakland Tribune, Saturday August 28, 1954, p. 2. "THRILL KILLERS // 2 Teen-Age Girls Guilty Of Murder" Christchurch, N.Z., Aug. 28.--(UP)--An all-male jury found two sullen teen-age girls guilty of a "thrill" killing today, but their age saved them from the hangman's noose. Pauline Parker, 16, and Juliet Hulme, 15, sat staring woodenly at the floor as the jury brought in its verdict after only two hours and 14 minutes (stet) deliberation. They showed no emotion as they heard their sentence to an indefinite period of imprisonment for clubbing Pauline's mother, Mrs. Honora Mary Parker, with a brick wrapped in a stocking. "This was a coldly, callously planned and carefully committed murder by two precocious and dirty-minded girls," Crown Prosecutor A.W. Brown said in his final statement to the jury. "They are not incurably insane but incurably bad." Juliet held her fingers in her ears as Brown lashed out at the girls for killing Mrs. Parker because she wanted to separate them. Both girls admitted killing Mrs. Parker in a plot to make her death look like an accident. Pauline noted in her diary that she was "very excited" on the eve of the killing. Defense Atty. Terence Gresson pleaded that the girls were latently homosexual and irresponsible. "These are two mentally sick girls who should not be treated like ordinary people," Gresson said. "Their true crime was appalling but at the time they committed it they didn't appreciate what they were doing."

Los Angeles Times, Saturday August 28, 1954. p. 6. "Jury Convicts Girl Slayers, 16 (stet)" Auckland, New Zealand (Saturday) Aug. 29 (stet). (U.P.)--Two teen-aged girls were convicted today of murdering the mother of one of them because she sought to part them. Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Marion Hulme, both 16 (stet), showed no emotion when the jury's verdict was announced. Sentence will be pronounced later. The girls were tried on charges of fatally beating Mrs. Mary (stet) Parker, 45, while on an outing in the nearby Cashmere Hills. Mrs. Parker was bludgeoned with half a brick in a stocking. The prosecuting attorney said the girls planned to kill Mrs. Parker after they decided she was going to separate them by refusing to allow Pauline to accompany Juliet and her parents to South Africa.

The New York Times, Sunday August 29, 1954. p. 30. "Girl Guilty of Slaying Mother" Auckland, New Zealand. Aug. 28. (AP)--Pauline Parker, 16 years old, was convicted today of killing her mother last June. Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, was also convicted. They were sentenced to indefinite prison terms. Since they are under 18, the girls cannot be punished by death.

San Francisco Examiner, Sunday August 29, 1954. p. 44. "Girl, 16, Convicted of Thrill Murder of Mother; Sent to Prison With Pal" Auckland (New Zealand), Aug. 28.--(AP)--A stocky 16-year-old girl who wrote in her diary she felt "very night-before-Christmas" on the eve of the thrill killing of her mother was convicted of the murder today. A teen-age accomplice also was convicted. An all-male jury found Pauline Parker and 15-year-old Juliet Marion Hulme guilty in the brick beating of Mrs. Honora Mary Parker last June. They were sentenced to indefinite prison terms. Prosecutor Alan Brown told the jury that the slaying was "coldly premeditated murder, committed by two dirty-minded little girls." The defense did not deny the crime, but contended the pair were insane. Since they are under 18, the girls cannot be punished by death. Instead, they were ordered "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure"--a British legal device often used in cases involving adolescents, where there is a chance conditions may change later and a review would be warranted. It took the twelve-man jury only ninety (stet) minutes to reach a verdict. The girls left the dock for their prison cells solemn and dejected. Juliet, tall and blue-eyed, had sat with her fingers in her ears as the prosecutor made his closing statement at the end of a six-day trial. The body of Mrs. Parker was found in a Christchurch public park last June 22 with forty-five (stet) head, face and hand injuries. The girls claimed at first she had slipped and hit her head.

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday August 29, 1954. p. 1. [sb] "JURY FINDS TWO N.Z. GIRLS SANE" "Tense Murder Verdict Scenes" Christchurch, Saturday [Aug. 28]-- In a dramatic, tense atmosphere, a jury to-day found that Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, were sane when they murdered Pauline Parker's mother. Mr. Justice Adams sentenced the girls to be detained during her Majesty's pleasure. //Minimum of Five Years' Gaol// //Law authorities said to-night that this could mean a minimum of five years' gaol, or a maximum of at least 25 years.// As sentence was passed a middle-aged man in the public gallery jumped to his feet and shouted, "I protest! I object!" The Court crier called "silence," and police rushed into the gallery and hustled the man out of the court. Honora Mary Parker (known as Mrs. Rieper), 45, was found battered to death on June 22 in a picnic reserve outside Christchurch. The girls' trial lasted six days. Neither showed any emotion as sentence was passed. //Air Of Calm// Throughout the trial they had maintained an air of calm, contemptuous detachment. The two girls are likely to be placed in separate prisons. One of them will probably go to Paparua prison near Christchurch and the other to Mt. Eden prison, Auckland. "During her Majesty's pleasure" means that the two girls will be kept in prison for an indefinite period and only released at the discretion of the Prisons Department and by order of the Executive Council. New Zealand law provides that where a convicted murderer is under 18 years the sentence shall be detention at her Majesty's pleasure instead of the death sentence. Juliet Hulme's mother sat with her eyes closed and hands tightly clenched as sentence was passed. Earlier, while the jury was out, she had walked about near the courthouse smoking cigarettes and looking nervous and tense. The jury was out for two hours 13 minutes. Immediately it returned the two girls were led into the courtroom by a police matron. They smiled and laughed at each other as the jurymen took their places. The girls were standing when Mr. Justice Adams asked the jury foreman what verdict they had reached. They showed no emotion whatever when he replied, "Guilty," thus rejecting the insanity plea. Parker, however, glanced quickly up in surprise as the man in the public gallery jumped to his feet and cried out. //No Reply// The man was a stranger who had no connection with anyone concerned in the trial. During discussion on the girls' ages, the Crown Prosecutor, Mr. A.W. Brown, appeared upset and several times had to stop as though he was finding it difficult to speak. The girls were the only ones in the court who did not seem to be affected. They looked straight ahead at the Judge as he asked each of them in turn whether there was anything they wished to say before sentence was passed. Neither replied, but their counsel told the Court they had nothing to add to the evidence already given. Mrs. Hulme sat only a few feet away from the girls, but neither looked at her. After Mr. Justice Adams had passed sentence, he said: The prisoners may now be removed." The two girls walked out looking straight ahead and were taken through a side door to a prison van. Immediately after the trial, Mrs. Hulme left the court accompanied by Mr. Walter Perry, an engineer, who lived in a flat at the Hulme home. During the trial Perry told the Court he had fallen in love with Mrs. Hulme. Mrs. Hulme is believed to be staying at a seaside resort about 35 miles from Christchurch. Pauline Parker's father, Mr. Herbert Rieper, was not in court. "I have nothing to say about it," he said later at his home. //Tired, Pale// Juliet Hulme's father, Dr. Henry Hulme, left New Zealand with his 10-year-old son, Jonathan (sic), soon after her arrest. He left the liner Himalaya at Marseilles and London newspapers since have been unable to trace him. When the trial resumed this morning, Hulme and Parker looked a little tired and pale as they were led into court by a police matron. They stared intently at the jury before sitting down to hear their defence counsel attempt to prove them insane. At the outset to-day Dr. A. Haslam (for Parker) said there was no disputing the fact that Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker had killed Mrs. Parker but they were insane to a degree that excused them. The atmosphere was tense as Mr. Brown rose to address the jury. Even the two girls, who had been whispering and smiling to each other, were silent as he began to speak. The accused were depraved, but not insane, Mr. Brown said. //Bowed Head// "They were not incurably insane, but incurably bad." At this stage Juliet Hulme bowed her head and blocked her ears with her fingers. The girls sat pale-faced in silence as the Judge told the jury that if they accepted the evidence that the girls had known the murder was against the law and moral code of the community they were bound to find them guilty. In the morning, football fans wearing striped caps and team ribbons had queued with housewives and teenagers for admission to the grey stone court building.--A.A.P. and Special Representative.

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday August 29, 1954. p. 2. [sb] "GIRLS 'INCURABLY BAD'--CASE PUT BY CROWN" Christchurch, Saturday [Aug. 28]--The two girls charged with the Christchurch murder were "not incurably insane, but incurably bad," the Crown Prosecutor said to-day. The prosecutor, Mr. Alan W. Brown, was addressing the Supreme Court jury which later found the girls guilty. //"Callously Planned"// The girls are Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16--she will be 17 on May 26 next--and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15--she will be 16 on October 28. They were tried on a charge of murdering Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker, 45, on June 22. Mrs. Parker was found dead with her head battered in Cashmere Hills, a suburb of Christchurch, after going for a walk in the park with the two girls. Defence counsel asked for a verdict of not guilty on the grounds of insanity. Mr. Brown said the Crown had called three doctors with far greater medico-legal experience than those called by the defence. The Crown doctors had said the girls were sane by all standards. Even the doctors called for the defence had admitted the girls knew that what they were doing was wrong in the eyes of the law and the community. //Own Standards// Dr. F.O. Bennett, one of the doctors called by the defence, had added that the girls' action was not against their own moral standards. "The accused are depraved but not insane," Mr. Brown said. "Without fear of contradiction, I submit they have unhealthy minds. "But it is badness. It is not a question of insanity at all. "As I said in my opening address, this was a cold, callously planned and premeditated murder, committed by two highly intelligent but precocious and dirty-minded little girls. "They were, and have been proved, sane at the time they killed Mrs. Parker. "They were not incurably insane, but they were incurably bad." //Paranoia// Dr. A.L. Haslam, for Pauline Parker, said: "There is no dispute about the facts of the crime. "But we have tried to give evidence to you that the girls were insane to a degree that would excuse them." The particular form of insanity (paranoia) from which the girls suffered was something very different from idiocy and imbecility, which lay on the surface, he said. Pauline Parker's diary showed that the girls' friendship very early assumed an intensity which was alarming. It also showed the deterioration of the girls' mental condition. //"Fourth World"// About April, 1953, there had happened what Dr. R.W. Medlicott, one of the doctors called by the defence, had described as the "Port Levy incident." The girls had then been about 14 and experienced a vision of what they called "the fourth world." Dr. Haslam said that in January this "disastrous association" was a source of anxiety to both sets of parents. Both doctors called by the defence had said both the girls were mad when they murdered Mrs. Parker. Dr. Haslam said that although the girls appeared normal outwardly, underneath was "this rottenness, this disease." "They saw their dream world threatened so they struck," he said. "In their imagination they had toyed with violence for so long. "Now they broke out and committed it." //"Same Stable"// Mr. T.A. Gresson, for Juliet Hulme, said he accepted all Dr. Haslam's arguments. The three doctors called by the Crown were "from the same stable," he said. There was a tendency for Crown doctors to approach the subject not quite neutral. The girls had a temple and had crosses over the ideas they had buried. They planned a masked ball for plasticine characters. They had their absurd saints and a group of gods. By killing Mrs. Parker they had hoped to achieve two things- -to send an unhappy woman to heaven and to protect their paranoiac delusions of grandeur. The girls were incapable of forming a moral judgement of what they had done, although their crime was appalling. Mr. Gresson told the jury: "I suppose some of you have daughters. "If any of them showed half the symptoms which these two showed, do you mean to say you wouldn't send for a doctor?" --Special Correspondent and A.A.P.-Reuter.

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday August 29, 1954. p. 2. [sb] "Pity Must Not Sway The Jury" "JUDGE SUMS UP" Christchurch, Saturday [Aug. 28]--In his summing up Mr. Justice Adams said that the crime which the two schoolgirls had committed was dreadful, but the jury must not be swayed by any feelings of pity. He said he agreed with doctors called by both Crown and defence, who had said the girls knew their act was contrary to law and to the moral standards of the community, but not contrary to their own moral standards. "If you accept that view you have no option but to find the accused guilty of murder, holding that the defence of insanity of the required nature has not been proved,' he added. The jury's choice lay between a verdict of guilty or not guilty on the grounds of insanity. Under section 43 of the N.Z. Crimes Act, everyone must be presumed sane at the time of committing an offense until the contrary was proved. The jury must decide what was meant by insanity and be guided by the views of competent medical men. In this case two doctors had said the girls were insane and three called for the Crown in rebuttal had said they were sane. //Knowing Wrong// Although it might well be that the girls suffered from some degree of mental disorder to make them unusual and abnormal, the question then arose whether this amounted to a mental disease. But the law also required a person must be proved incapable of understanding the quality of his action and of knowing it was wrong. It would be sufficient if the defence could satisfy the jury that the accused would not know the quality of their action and understand it was wrong. //Undisputed// But all the medical men said that, in their opinion, the girls knew and nothing had been put forward by the defence in cross- examination to dispute this. Four of the doctors had said both girls knew what they did was wrong in the eyes of the law and the generally accepted standards of the community. If no other evidence on this score was available the duty of the jury was plainly to bring in a simple verdict of guilty. It was not sufficient to suggest that an accused person had erected some peculiar moral standards of his own so that he knew he was breaking the law or moral code but believed himself to be above this code. //Evidence// In his review of the evidence his Honor said that Parker's father had told the jury about Parker becoming friendly with Hulme at school. He said she suffered from osteomyelitis from the age of five to seven and had several operations, and later was unable to participate in sports. Dr. Pearson had spoken of 45 injuries to the victim and the crushing nature of her injuries. Mrs. Hulme had told of her daughter's childhood bomb shock and breakdown and the visit to the Bahamas. Mr. Justice Adams addressed the all-male jury for an hour and 20 minutes.--Special Correspondent and A.A.P.-Reuter.

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday August 29, 1954. p. 2. [sb] "Teenage Murderers Showed No Regret" Christchurch, Saturday [Aug. 28]--Not once in the six days of their trial did Pauline Yvonne Parker or Juliet Marion Hulme show any signs of remorse. On the contrary, their attitude at the time suggested that they were enjoying the opportunity to hold the centre of the stage--even in so sordid a drama as this. To baffle sightseers and newspaper cameramen the van which taken to and from the court each day was backed right up against the wall through which a door leads to the cells. However, on the first two days they appeared at the barred windows of the cells on the first floor, put on an air of disdain for the people outside, and were clearly pleased and flattered to see newspaper photographers aiming their cameras at them. //Ghastly Detail// Later the authorities stopped this by pasting brown paper over the lower halves of the windows. Pauline Parker, dark and sullen-looking, wore throughout the trial a brown dress and a small brown hat. Juliet Hulme, taller and fair, with high cheekbones and a slant to her eyes, wore a green coat and a pale green paisley scarf instead of a hat. When the pathologist, Dr. C.T.B. Pearson, described in ghastly detail the fatal injuries inflicted on Pauline's mother, the whole scene on the track down the valley of Victoria Park in which they had been the principal actors must have been vividly before their eyes. There were few people in Court whose horror and pity did not show plainly on their faces. The accused, however, maintained an air of calm and contemptuous detachment, occasionally leaning towards each other to exchange a smiling remark across the police matron who sat between them. Nor did they blanch when the Court was shown the bloodstained half-brick that had been their weapon, or the bloodsoaked stocking in which they had wielded it until it tore under force of the blows that rained on Mrs. Parker's head. //Bitter Jealousy// The only time either showed any emotion other than contemptuous amusement was when counsel read long extracts from Pauline's diary of 1953 recording how she slipped out of her parents' house night after night to meet her boyfriend, Nicholas, in his boardinghouse bedroom, and recounting in frank detail their lovemaking. Then Juliet Hulme's expression was savage. She leaned forward grinding her teeth and spitting silent words through her rage-distorted lips--possibly in jealousy. Meanwhile, Pauline bowed her head down to her knees. It seemed that the only passages in the whole sordid story capable of touching any emotional chord in the couple in the dock were the diary passages that seemed to arouse Juliet's bitter jealousy by disclosure that there had been a time when she and Pauline Parker had not been all-in-all to one another.--A.A.P.- Reuter.

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday August 29, 1954. p. 29. [sb] "SMILING, THEY FACED THE MURDER CHARGE--NEW ZEALAND'S TWO Girls From The "FOURTH WORLD"" (Features) Two schoolgirls in bobbysocks sat in a high-walled dock of the Supreme Court in Christchurch, New Zealand, last week and listened as charges of murder were read out to them. They smiled and whispered to each other as witnesses described how the mother of one had been battered to death with a brick, and they smothered giggles with their hands as evidence piled on evidence to point the finger at them as the world's most terrifying schoolgirls. For the two girls, Pauline Parker, 16, and Juliet Hulme, 15, were on trial for the murder of Pauline's mother, Honora Mary Parker (known as Mrs. Rieper), wife of a Christchurch fish-shop proprietor. On one side of them sat the mother who had lived--Mrs. Hilda Marion Hulme, a neatly pretty Englishwoman in a fawn suit and felt hat, listening in deepening horror to the story of the two girls. And behind, at the back of the courtroom, with bowed head, sat the man whom all Christchurch now pities--Herbert Rieper, thin, spectacled, balding, the father of Pauline Parker and husband, in everything but law, for 23 years to the dead woman. Twelve thousand miles away, in Europe, was the father of Juliet Hulme, a distinguished scientist and educationalist. In the court a "not guilty" plea was entered for the two girls, but there was no pretence that Honora Parker was killed by anyone else. Their own counsel admitted that it was clear beyond dispute that they killed her. The vital issue was the question of their sanity or otherwise. And it all happened in Christchurch, New Zealand's quietest, staidest, most Victorian-English city-a city founded by colonists selected by the Anglican Church, a cathedral city of bicycles, lace and old ivy. To many people, both in New Zealand and the world, the murder of Honora Parker was the crime of the century. There had been teenage murders before, but never one planned so carefully, so precisely--and against such a fantastic background. There was no riddle in the fact that a woman had been bashed brutally to death. The riddle lay in the two girls sitting so calmly in the box. Were they two characters who might have stepped out of a page of St. Trinian's--two bland and angelic-looking schoolgirls in tunics who had suddenly decided, "Let's murder mother"? Or did it go further than that? //The Diaries// The answer was in two books that lay on a table in front of the Crown Prosecutor. They were the 1953 and 1954 diaries of Pauline Parker, written in a large, schoolgirlish scrawl. And like an evil mirror they reflected the hopes, the plans, the anxieties and the strange world of fantasy in which the two girls had lived so disastrously. Day by day as the diaries were read out in court the two girls took on shade, shape and colour. Like sleepwalkers, they seemed to move through a society peopled by fictional characters, in which time meant nothing. Their minds conjured up character after character, some good, some of them horrifyingly evil. They lived in a world of their own, in which they had their own laws, their own commandments, and their own god. They did not merely see life through rose-coloured glasses, they had stepped right inside the glasses themselves. //The Families// The two girls were born a few months and half a world apart-- Juliet Hulme in England and Pauline Parker in New Zealand. They met for the first time two years ago when, in navy-blue tunics, red and blue ties, and white blouses, they sat in the same classroom of Christchurch Girls' High School. They were startlingly different in looks, background and temperament. Juliet, the younger of the two, was the taller by nearly six inches. Slim, with a pale, clear complexion and grey eyes, she wore her long, fair, brown hair hanging loosely around her shoulders. She was a sensitive, lonely child, brought up in wartime England (where she suffered bomb shock) and later sent to the Bahamas. She liked to talk to people but was difficult to pin down and hard to discipline. Some people considered her hopelessly spoiled. Pauline Parker, on the other hand, had a closed-up, almost secretive, look about her round, plumpish face. The Hulmes were among the upper crust of Christchurch society. Dr. Henry Reinsford (sic) Hulme, M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc., had arrived in 1948, at 40, to take up a post as Rector at Canterbury University College. Behind him was a brilliant reputation as one of Britain's top wartime scientists, both with the Admiralty and the Air Ministry. He was a member of the Senate of the University of New Zealand and a close acquaintance of the Bishop of Christchurch. Leading scientists and educationalists visited the Hulme home, a huge, old-fashioned, two-storeyed stone mansion set in magnificent grounds. Mrs. Hulme was prominent in Christchurch activities, including the Marriage Guidance Council. They had a country cottage at Port Levy, 35 miles from the town. There was a son, Jonathan, aged 10. The home life of Pauline Parker, in contrast, was quiet and unpretentious. Her father, Herbert Rieper, was a director of a fish retailing firm. Her sister, Wendy, was two years older (stet). There was a third (stet) child, born late in Mrs. Rieper's life, who was a mongoloid at an institution. A fourth had died as a "blue baby." Pauline formed no early attachments until she met Juliet Hulme. A leg infirmity which developed when she was five prevented her from taking part in active sports. The friendship between the two girls began as any normal one. They walked home from school together, shared their homework and visited each other on weekends. Each still had a small circle of acquaintances. Their notes and diaries were at first the usual schoolgirl scribbles about movies, books, food, outings and occasionally-- though very occasionally--boys. Then something seemed to click suddenly into gear as the friendship progressed. Slowly the two girls seemed to move away from normal family relationships and grew closer together. Other friends dropped out of the picture one after the other. Soon the two became almost as one--living, thinking, even bathing and sleeping together. They spent hour after hour walking arm in arm through the rambling gardens of the Hulme home, endlessly discussing "saints" (their name for the fictional characters they wrote about) and the plots of books, operas, and film scenarios they were writing or hoped to write. Sometimes, in the dead of night, they would slip noiselessly out of the house and in the moonlight on the lawns reenact their plays. The grounds, planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers, became a place of hidden mysteries for them to explore. They made a temple where they buried a dead mouse, with a little white cross over it. They put up other crosses in what they now called their "cemetery," to represent the burial (they said) of dead ideas. At first their writings were extravagant, grandiose, full of courts and royalty. Later the mood of passion, violence, bloodshed and sex began to emerge. //The "Bible"// They worked out elaborate plans for the elimination of everyone in the world except themselves and a chosen few. They went to no dances or parties. Sports were of no interest to them, mainly because of Pauline's leg infirmity and Juliet's weak chest, which for a time had put her into a sanatorium in Christchurch with an attack of tuberculosis. They had begun to change their own names, Pauline calling Juliet "Deborah" and Juliet calling Pauline "Gina." Another name for Pauline by Juliet was also "Jezebel." By the beginning of this year [1954] the two girls had retreated almost entirely to a tight little society peopled by themselves and their fictional families. They ignored all outside concepts of morality. They wrote down the Ten Commandments and then tried to see how many of them they could break. They shoplifted, and planned blackmail to raise money for a proposed trip to America. They intended to produce their own bible, with Juliet writing it and Pauline illustrating it. //"A Vision"// At Port Levy they claimed to have seen a vision of "a fourth world," which they described as a place of exquisite bliss. They found they could turn this "fourth world" on and off like a water tap, seeing it only when they wanted to. In it the two girls lived as geniuses, both indescribably beautiful and intelligent. Other people seemed to them ordinary and beneath their notice. More and more Pauline Parker visited the Hulme home. Before the visits she became excited and elated, but on her return she retreated once more into moodiness and solitude. She would shut herself away in her room writing long entries in her diary and listening to music. //The Climax// Finally, towards the fateful June of this year, the strange fantasy of the two schoolgirls came to its disastrous climax. By now they had become hopelessly infatuated with each other, to a point where they were desperate at the thought of being parted. Their one plan was to stay together at all cost. Without each other the artificial world that they had built, piece by piece like a castle of playing cards, would collapse. The crisis came with the decision to separate the girls. An engineer, Walter Perry, who lived in a flat at the Hulme home, had fallen in love with Mrs. Hulme (a divorce from her husband had been "under discussion" the Court was told), and Dr. Hulme made plans to return to England. He planned to take Juliet with him as far as South Africa. Pauline begged to go with Juliet; but both the girls knew that Honora Parker would not give her consent to this. In their minds became fixed the idea that without Pauline's mother they would be able to stay together. On the afternoon of June 22, the girls went with Mrs. Parker to Victoria Park, a Christchurch picnic spot. They had tea at the kiosk and walked down a path. Juliet, the girls said later, had brought part of a brick, wrapped in newspaper, and had given it to Pauline. Half an hour later the girls came back, covered with blood, and the body of Honora Parker lay twisted grotesquely, on the path a quarter of a mile behind them. //The Father// Six weeks ago Dr. Hulme did leave for England, taking 10-year-old Jonathan (sic) with him. Interviewed during the voyage he said: "The world will just have to think of me as an unnatural father. "I cannot say why I decided to leave New Zealand at this time. It would involve too many people. "But there is nothing I can do there just now. "My only concern now is for my son. I want to spare him all I can. "I've told him his sister is mentally ill--as indeed she is." Dr. Hulme told of his prison goodbye to Juliet. It lasted only a few minutes. He said Juliet knew he had been offered a post in England. ("It might be a Government department job or scientific."); and she told him before he kissed his daughter goodbye, "I want you to go." [Dr. Hulme is now somewhere in England or the Continent, and virtually hiding from the Press. He and his son disembarked at Marseilles on August 10, although their passages had been paid to London. The British national newspapers have been publishing long reports of the case, but have been unable to trace him.] So the story of the two girls came to its terrible climax-- the story of two girls with weaknesses which fed on each other like a cancerous growth as they turned their backs on an everyday world. And the epilogue is totally unlike the many epilogues they themselves used to write while sprawled on the lawns of the Hulme home. It came last week when, in sunshine, they climbed from a grey police van and entered the Supreme Court to face a trial for murder. The only real question before the jury was: Were they sane? The jury found that they were. Photo--A photograph taken four years ago of Juliet with her father, Dr. Hulme. Photo--Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, looking out of a barred window in the courthouse.

The Manchester Guardian, Monday August 30, 1954. p. 5. "GIRLS SENTENCED FOR MURDER // Insanity Plea Rejected" Wellington, Aug. 29.--The Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Mr S.T. Barnett, will decide tomorrow how Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, found guilty yesterday of murdering Pauline's mother, will serve their sentence. They were sentenced to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure, which means that their detention is indefinite, and will be reviewed by the authorities from time to time. Persons so detained may be released on licence on such conditions as may be directed. Mr Barnett, who is the chief executive controlling prison administration, said to-day that he would come to a decision after consulting his psychiatric advisers. After considering the evidence for more than two hours, the jury rejected defence counsel's plea that the girls were insane when they battered Mrs Honora Mary Parker to death with a brick tied in a stocking in a Christchurch park on June 22.--Reuter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday August 30, 1954. p. 2. [sb] "Pauline Parker And Juliet Hulme" (Editorial) When the Judge in Christchurch was sentencing the two girls, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, to be detained in prison during her Majesty's pleasure for the brutal and carefully premeditated murder of Pauline's mother, a man in the public gallery cried "I protest." He was no doubt reacting to the sentence--a sentence which, however, was the legal and proper culmination of a trial conducted with scrupulous regard for justice. In the minds of thousands of others who followed with horror and fascination the revelations in this terrible and unique case a voice cries "I protest" for a different reason. It is that two young human beings should ever be in such a way the victims of a dark conspiracy of circumstance so evil in its purpose and so appalling in its outcome. The psychiatrists will explain it all, of course, and contradict each other in the explanation. Less knowing people will ponder upon the fact that it was the same world of the normal child's imagination which Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme extended into a universe of sinister fantasy and gross design. They had vicious and depraved tendencies and without each other they still may have remained problem children; but their coming together as if by the magnetism of some strange force in the hinterland of their minds, was a fatal conjunction of abnormality. Sane, legally, the girls may have been when, threatened with separation, they committed the murder, but it was surely the kind of sanity that mocks at all reality. The normal mind shrinks from the implications of this tragic story. In many other crimes lessons of some sort or other are to be found. Here there is little but horror, sadness and bafflement.

The Times (London), Thursday September 2, 1954. p. 5. "SCHOOLGIRLS' SENTENCES // IMPRISONMENT IN SEPARATE INSTITUTIONS" Wellington (N.Z.), Sept. 1.--Mr. Clifton Webb, as Minister of Justice, announced to-day that two schoolgirls who were convicted of murder at Christchurch last week are to serve their prison sentences in separate institutions. Pauline Yvonne Parker, aged 16, and Juliet Marion Hulme, aged 15, were found Guilty of murdering Pauline's mother by battering her to death with a brick in a stocking, because they believed she stood in the way of their friendship. They were sentenced to be detained during her(sic) Majesty's pleasure. After consulting with Cabinet colleagues, psychiatrists, and departmental officers, Mr. Webb said that the greatest punishment the girls could suffer was to be separated. Juliet Hulme is being kept in Auckland gaol, and Pauline Parker is to be moved from Paparua prison at Christchurch to a new compound at a Borstal institution north of Wellington in about three weeks.--Reuter.

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday September 12, 1954. [sb] Hilda Perry (her name was changed by deed poll on Sept. 5, 1954) left NZ with Walter Perry on 11 September, 1954. The couple stopped in Sydney long enough for Walter to tell the newspapers that "Mrs Perry and I are going as fast as we can to join her son Jonathon. ... We firmly believe Juliet is mad. We have the evidence of two psychiatrists to say so. Mrs Perry is sorry to leave Juliet, but she believes that Jonathon now has the greater need of her. Mrs Perry has had almost as much as she can stand. We will be moving on as fast as we can." And, in case you were wondering - "She carried the same brown leather bag she had with her at the trial." [sb]

The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Sunday December 6, 1959. p. 3. [sb] "ECHO OF MURDER: NZ girl came to Sydney" Wellington, Saturday December 5--Juliet Hulme, one of the Christchurch schoolgirl murderesses, has been walking the streets of Sydney--unrecognized. A prominent New Zealand justice official disclosed this yesterday. //A Fresh Start// He said she had gone to Australia to make "a fresh start" after being released from gaol last month. She had now gone overseas but her destination was unknown to all except a few officers of the Department of Justice. Five years ago, at 15, Juliet helped her closest friend, Pauline Parker, to beat Pauline's mother to death because she wouldn't let them go overseas. Miss Parker is still in New Zealand. The authorities say neither girl knows where the other is living. The girls, both now aged 21, were released separately during November--Miss Parker from Paparua Prison, Christchurch, and Miss Hulme from Arohata Women's Reformatory, in Wellington. They were convicted in Christchurch Court of murder in August, 1954, for battering to death Mrs. Honora Mary Parker with a brick in a silk stocking while taking a walk in Victoria Park, Christchurch two months before. Mrs. Parker had objected to the girls' projected "unusual friendship" and their plans to go overseas together. Miss Parker was then 16; Miss Hulme was 15 years and 10 months. Both were sentenced to "detention during Her Majesty's pleasure." //Not Recognised// The N.Z. Secretary for Justice, Mr S.T. Barnett, said yesterday no official announcement had been made concerning their release because the department wished to give them an opportunity to make a fresh start in life without being identified. He added that Miss Hulme had walked about the streets of Sydney without being recognised or attracting publicity. Mr Barnett said: "We realised that eventually--and inevitably--their release would become known, but we wanted to give them as fair a start as possible." Mr Barnett said the girls had been kept apart throughout their detention. //"No Comment"// "Miss Hulme's release is unconditional," he said. "She has left the country. "Miss Parker's release is subject to general control as to her residence, employment and the like." Mr. Barnett was asked if the girls had given, or had been asked to give, an understanding to keep apart or refrain from corresponding. He said they were not released on this condition. The place of residence of one was entirely unknown to the other, however. Asked if it was true that Miss Hulme had gone overseas to join her father, Professor H.R. Hulme, who until just before the trial was Rector of Canterbury University College, Mr. Barnett replied: "No comment." Later he said: "I have no doubt that the fact they spent the whole of their adolescent years in prison was a consideration in their release. "The girls have been under closest study and they have developed in a highly satisfactory manner. "Both advanced their education, and both obtained their school certificate and university entrance examination qualifications while in prison. "One has gone forward with a great measure of success towards a Bachelors of Arts degree. [This was PYP. jp] "As prisoners they could not have been more satisfactory in their behaviour. "Throughout both have pursued wholesome interests."

7.7Books with material related to the case. [jp]#

Bennett, Francis Oswald. "Hospital on the Avon." North Canterbury Hospital Board, Christchurch, 1962. [G&L]

Bevan-Brown, Charles Maurice. "Mental Health and Personality Disorder: a selection of essays." Dunford Publications, Christchurch, N.Z. 1961. [jb] Contains a paper on the Parker-Hulme case, emphasizing social and environmental aspects: "Adolescent Murder." I would really like to get a copy of this chapter. [jp].

Daly, Jennifer M. "MG Reflecting: a portrait of marriage guidance in New Zealand 1949-1989." New Zealand Marriage Guidance, Wellington, 1990. [G&L] Contains information on Hilda Hulme and others involved with ChCh Marriage Guidance Council.

Department of Justice, New Zealand. "Crime in New Zealand." R.E. Owen, Government Printer, Wellington, NZ 1968. [jp] (see 7.7.1).

Forster, Michaelanne. "Daughters of Heaven." Victoria University Press, Wellington, NZ 1992. ISBN 0864732406. [jb,mf] A play about the "Parker Hulme" case. (see 6.1).

Frame, Janet. "An Autobiography." George Braziller, New York, 1991. Contains: Vol. 1: To The Is-Land, Vol. 2: An Angel At My Table, Vol. 3: The Envoy From The Mirror City. ISBN 0-8076-1259-6 [jp] Janet Frame was born in Dunedin and grew up in the South Island of New Zealand. This excellent book gives, indirectly but in an extremely readable fashion, a huge amount of relevant background material for understanding the society and conditions surrounding the "Parker Hulme" case. Ms Frame also experienced, on the receiving end, the psychiatric profession in New Zealand.

Franklin, Charles. "The World's Worst Murderers: exciting and authentic accounts of the great classics of murder." Oldhams Books, London, 1965. [jb]

Furneaux, Rupert. "Famous Criminal Cases." Vol II. Roy Publishers, New York, 1955. "The New Zealand Girl Murderers" pp. 33-47. HV6945.F85 [jp,lfr] (see 7.7.2).

Gardner, Muriel. "The Deadly Innocents: Portraits of Children Who Kill." Hogarth Press, London, 1977. [G&L]

Gardner, W.J., Beardsley, E.T. and Carter, T.E. "A History of the University of Canterbury, 1873-1973." University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 1973. [G&L] Contains valuable background information on Dr Henry Hulme and C.U.C. I would like to get hold of this. [jp]

Gaute, J.H.H. and Odell, Robin. "The Murderers' Who's Who." Optimum Publishing Co. Ltd., Montreal, Canada, 1979. p. 180. ISBN 0-88890-064-3 [dm] Brief, precise account, with minor speculation as to motive and error as to number of head wounds on victim. References good and included here. [jp]

Glamuzina, Julie and Laurie, Alison J. "Parker and Hulme: A Lesbian View." New Women's Press, Auckland, NZ, 1991. [out of print] Accession 25654735. ISBN 0908652542. 214 pp., ill., 22 cm, incl. biblio. and refs. pp. 197-208, index. The only major scholarly work on the case. Invaluable for any serious study of the case it is, unfortunately, hard to find presently in North America. [jp]

Green, Jonathon. "The Directory of Infamy." Mills & Boon, London, 1980. Reprinted in North America: "The Greatest Criminals of All Time. An illustrated compendium of more than 600 great crooks." Stein & Day, N.Y. 1982. ISBN 0-8128-2847-X [jp] (see 7.7.3).

Gribble, Leonard. "Hallmark of Horror." Long, London, 1973. [dm,G&L]

Gurr, T. and Cox, H. "Famous Australasian Crimes." Muller, London, 1957. [jb] This has a rather sensational and error-riddled chapter on the case, but it also has valuable photos of crime scene and PYP diary pages. [jp]

Gurr, T. and Cox, H.H. "Obsession." Muller, London 1958. [G&L] A fictionalized pulp best-seller written in the years after the trial.

Hall, Allan. "Partners in Crime." Blitz Editions, Leicester, 1993. [sb] pp. 43-49. "PARKER & HULME // Their Secret World" (see 7.7.4).

Jones, Frank. "Murderous Innocents." [se] Contains a chapter on Parker & Hulme. Well written with some factual errors. [se]

MacKenzie, D.F. "While We Have Prisons." Methuen Publications, Auckland, 1980. [sb,G&L] I have also read MacKenzie's "While We Have Prisons," his reminiscences of his time as some sort of social worker at Mt Eden from 1954 through to the 60s, and a couple of other sociological things I found about NZ prisons in the 1950s. MacKenzie only makes a couple of peripheral anonymous comments about JMH, but you get a very good idea of the general conditions and so on [sb].

Medlicott, Reginald W. "Paranoia of the Exalted Type in a Setting of Folie a Deux: A Study of Two Adolescent Homicides," in Black and Taylor (eds), "Deviant Behaviour: New Zealand Studies," 1979. [jb] Direct reproduction of Medlicott's British Journal of Medical Psychiatry article from 1955 (see 7.8.1). [jp]

Moffat, M.J. and Painter, C. "Revelations: Diaries of Women." Vintage Press, New York, 1975. [G&L]

Morris, Greggory. "The Kids Next Door: Sons and Daughters Who Kill Their Parents." William Morrow, New York, 1985. [G&L]

Nash, Jay Robert. "Look for the Woman." M. Evans & Co., New York, 1981. pp. 318-9. ISBN 0-87131-336-7. [dm] Short, error-filled entry with one amusing misquote of Pauline's diary: "We decided to use a brick in a stocking rather than a handbag" (stet). [jp]

Nicholas, M. "The World's Wickedest Women." Octopus Books, London, 1984. [G&L]

Rowland, John. "More Criminal Files." Arco, London, 1958. [dm]

Russ, Johanna. "How to Supress Women's Writing." The Women's Press Ltd, London, 1983. [G&L]

Schur, E.M. "Labelling Women Deviant: Gender, Stigma and Social Control." Random House, New York, 1984. [G&L]

Simon, Rita James. "The Jury and the Defense of Insanity." Little Brown & Co, Boston, 1967. [G&L]

Simon, Rita James. "Women and Crime." Lexington Books, Massachusetts, 1975. [G&L]

Sinclair, K. "A History of New Zealand." Penguin Books, Auckland, 1980. [G&L]

Smart, C. "Women, Crime and Criminology." Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1976. [G&L]

Sparrow, Gerald. "Queens of Crime." Arthur Barker, London 1973. [jb]

Thomas, W.I. "The Unadjusted Girl." Harper and Row, New York, 1967. [G&L]

Wilson, Colin and Pitman, Patricia. "Encyclopaedia of Murder." Pan Books, London, 1961. Reprinted Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, U.K., 1984. ISBN 0 330 28300 6 (see 7.7.5) [jp].

Wilson, Patrick. "Children Who Kill." Joseph, London, 1973. [dm]

Wily, H. Jenner and Stallworthy, K.R. "Mental Abnormality and the Law." N.M. Peryer Ltd, Christchurch, 1962. [G&L] Stallworthy was a psychiatric witness for the prosecution in the "Parker Hulme" trial. [jp]

Winslade, W.J. and Ross, J.W. "The Insanity Plea." Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1983. [G&L]

7.7.1Extract from "Crime in New Zealand." [jp]#

Department of Justice, New Zealand. "Crime in New Zealand." R.E. Owen, Government Printer, Wellington, NZ 1968. [jp]

**Interesting if dry perspective on criminal cases, criminals, justice system etc. in NZ between 1920 and 1964. The copy I found in our library had a handwritten subtitle/annotation: "Doesn't Exist." This book is useful for giving indirect information about public reaction and perceptions and the context of the crime. For example, there were only 109 convicted murderers in the entire country between 1920 and 1964 and the impact of sentencing on public morale was discussed for several cases. The following quotation is from pp. 44-45: [jp]

MURDER BY JUVENILES Five male and two female juveniles, whose ages ranged from 14 to 17 years at the time of the offence, were convicted of murder between 1940 and 1964. Five of them were sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure, and two boys to life imprisonment.

Case XII [cases are assigned anonymous IDs in the book. jp] The two boys referred to, aged 14 and 15 years, escaped together from a Child Welfare home and fatally wounded a farmer whose house they raided. Both accused were found guilty of murder with a recommendation for mercy, and the Judge commented that this was a right verdict which might have a very salutary effect in this country. ...

Case XIII [obviously the "Parker Hulme" murder case. jp] Another joint murder was committed by two girls aged 15 and 16 years. The older of the two was physically handicapped as a result of osteomyelitis. This girl formed an emotional attachment with a younger girl who was then recuperating from tuberculosis. In her childhood in England the latter had a fairly unsettled background of air raids, evacuation, physical breakdown, and consequent frequent absences from home. Her parents were highly intelligent. The two girls found solace in each other's company and indulged in excessive fantasy. Eventually their parents decided that they should be separated--on the grounds of ill-health one was to be taken by her father to another country. The other decided that her mother was the only obstacle to her accompanying her friend, and both girls agreed to kill her. They considered themselves apart from ordinary law and morality, and felt justified in allowing nothing to stand in their way. There is evidence that their exalted state had built up to a climax over the preceding year with a strong emphasis on murder and violence. They killed their victim with a brick in a stocking; while later admitting the killing, they did not admit to any feelings of guilt. The defence in the case was based on a plea of insanity. All five doctors in the case agreed that the girls were unbalanced, and three (sic) found them to be certifiably insane at the time of the murder and the trial. They were classified as folie a deux paranoiacs of an exalted type. But the defence failed to establish that they were insane according to the McNaghten (sic) Rules and both were found guilty. They were sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure and were released after five years. [This is by far the longest case history in this section. jp]

Case XIV Two of the remaining three juveniles involved in murder were found guilty of sexual killings. One boy aged 14 years killed an eight-year-old girl in the act of sexually assaulting her. (His older brother had previously made a Children's Court appearance for the attempted rape of a seven-year-old girl.)

Case XV A 14-year-old boy was involved in the other case of sexual murder, but unlike the previous case, he was of below-average intelligence, as were his unsatisfactory parents. ... He sexually assaulted and strangled an eight-year-old boy in a city park.

Case XVI The last and most recent juvenile murder...was committed by a 17-year-old boy. He had been drinking heavily and became involved in a fight at a dance. He got a knife and stabbed his victim--apparently without motive. All three were detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.

MURDER BY FEMALES Only seven females were convicted of murder between 1920 and 1964. In the same period 90 men were convicted. ...

7.7.2Extract from "Famous Criminal Cases." [jp,lfr]#

Furneaux, Rupert. "Famous Criminal Cases." Vol II. Roy Publishers, New York, 1955. "The New Zealand Girl Murderers" pp. 33-47. HV6945.F85 [jp,lfr]

**This is a fascinating and reasonably complete account of the trial. Furneaux's specialty was condensing trial proceedings into readable accounts. The account is extremely accurate, for a popularization (cf. 7.7.4), but it is clear that Furneaux did not consult any source material other than the trial transcript. His major omissions are the testimony related to the domestic situation in the Hulme household and some of the protracted psychological testimony, especially the more salacious material concerning the contents of the diaries and the girls' activities. Also, the court record does not include any qualitative descriptions of the people involved, of course, or accounts of their actions. Those can be found in contemporary press reports. In his editorializing in the prologue and epilogue, Furneaux captures the contemporary moral tone of the public quite well. [jp]

We have to go back to Chicago in the early nineteen-twenties to find a murder case as shocking as the killing of the mother of one by two teen-age girls in New Zealand in June 1954. Thirty years ago Leopold and Loeb, the American youths who killed a smaller boy, were found insane. Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme pleaded insanity but they were found guilty of what was, according to the Crown Prosecutor, "a callously planned and premeditated murder, committed by two highly intelligent and perfectly sane but precocious and dirty-minded girls." Mrs. Honora Mary Parker was battered to death on 22nd June. Two months later her daughter Pauline, aged sixteen, and Pauline's great friend, Juliet Hulme, aged fifteen years and ten months, were tried at Christchurch for her murder. Both pleaded not guilty. Mr. Justice Adams presided. For the defence led, for Parker, Dr. A.L. Haslam, and for Hulme, Mr. T.A. Gresson. Opening the case against the two girls the Crown Prosecutor, Mr. A.W. Brown, described how about 3:30 p.m., on 22nd June, two girls came running into a tea shop in Victoria Park, gasping and saying, "Please help us. Mummy has been hurt. She's hurt--covered with blood." A few minutes later the body of a woman, her head terribly battered, lying in a pool of blood, was found on a secluded path near a rustic bridge. "She was a woman who was known as Mrs. Rieper, but her real name," said Brown, "was Parker." That evening the daughter of the dead woman, Pauline Parker, and on the next day, her close friend Juliet Hulme, were arrested and charged with murder. "I feel bound to tell you," Mr. Brown went on, "that the evidence will make it terribly clear that the two young accused conspired together to kill the mother of one of them and horribly carried their plan into effect. "The circumstances of the crime are unusual, indeed unique. It is rare that two girls of the ages of the accused should stand trial on the charge of murdering the mother of one of them. "The evidence will be that the two accused came to the conclusion, after much thought, that the mother of the accused Parker was an obstacle in their path, that she thwarted their desires and that she should be done away with. They planned to murder her and they put their plan into effect by battering her over the head with a brick encased in a stocking. "Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme met at school and became friendly and this friendship developed into an intense devotion. Their main object in life was to be together, sharing each other's thoughts, secrets and plans, and if any person dared to part them, then that person should be forcibly removed. Mrs. Parker became perturbed at the unhealthy relationship and tried to break it up. This was resented by the accused and the resentment gradually grew into hate and eventually resulted in this ghastly crime. "Early in 1954, Dr. Hulme, who had resigned his position as Rector of Canterbury University College, decided to return to England and to take his daughter Juliet to South Africa. It was discovered that the two girls were planning to go to America to have their novels published and that they had tried to acquire funds to pay their fares. Both girls were determined not to be parted, and Pauline Parker wanted to go to South Africa and Juliet Hulme wanted her to go with her. Both girls knew that Mrs. Parker would be the one to object most strenuously to their going away together. they decided the best way to end Mrs. Parker's objection was to kill her in such a manner that it would appear to have been an accident. "Early in June when the date of Dr. Hulme's departure had been fixed for 3rd July, the girls coldly and calculatingly formed a plan to kill Mrs. Parker. They pretended to be resigned to being parted and they persuaded her to take them for a farewell outing. They planned to entice her to a secluded spot and strike her on the head. They would then rush for help, announcing that she had died as a result of a fall. "On the day of the outing Juliet Hulme took with her part of a brick from her home. After the accident they both told the same story." Mr Brown next described the finding of Pauline Parker's diary. "In it," he said, "she reveals that she and Juliet Hulme have engaged in shoplifting, toyed with blackmail and talked about and played with matters of sex. There is clear evidence that as long ago as February she was anxious that her mother should die and that during the few weeks before 22 June she was planning to kill her mother in the way she was killed." Extracts of the diary were read in court. 13 February: Why could not mother die? Dozens of people, thousands of people are dying every day. So why not mother, and father too? 28th April: Anger against mother boiled up inside me. it is she who is one of the main obstacles in my path. Suddenly a means of ridding myself of the obstacle occurred to me. 29th April: I did not tell Deborah (her pet name for Juliet) of my plans for removing mother ... the last fate I wish to meet is one in a Borstal. I am trying to think of some way. I want it to appear either a natural or an accidental death. 19th June: We practically finished our books (the novels the girls were writing together) today and our main "ike" for the day was to moider mother. The notion is not a new one, but this time it is a definite plan which we intend to carry out. We have worked it out carefully and are both thrilled with the idea. Naturally we feel a trifle nervous, but the pleasure of anticipation is great. 20th June: We discussed our plans for moidering mother and made them a little clearer. Peculiarly enough I have no qualms of conscience (or is it peculiar we are so mad?). [note: Remember, this is a transcript of a verbatim reading, recorded by a court stenographer. Based on other previous diary entries not quoted here, a more reasonable punctuation for this last part would be "Or, is it peculiar? We are so mad!" see 7.4. jp] 21st June: We decided to use a brick in a stocking rather than a sandbag. We discussed the moider fully. I feel keyed up as if I was planning a surprise party. So next time I write in the diary mother will be dead. How odd, yet how pleasing. 22nd June: I am writing a little of this up in the morning before the death. I felt very excited and the night before Christmassy last night. I did not have pleasant dreams though. Concluding his opening address, Mr. Brown said, "You will hear that Juliet Hulme carried a small pink stone to Victoria Park. The theory of the Crown is that she would place it on the path and that Mrs. Parker would be asked to bend down to examine it. While she was doing so, Pauline Parker, armed with the brick in the stocking and standing behind her mother, would strike her a heavy blow on the back of the neck and kill her. The two girls would then arrange the body in such a position as to give the impression of an accident. Their plan miscarried. Perhaps Mrs. Parker did not bend far enough and so received repeated blows, causing the terrible injuries she received." Evidence was given that a brick and a stocking, on both of which were blood and hairs similar to that of the dead woman, were found beside the body. Both girls were hysterical when they reported the death at the tea house. They both had blood on the face and clothes. [note: And hands. j.p.] They told the woman at the tea house that Mrs. Parker had slipped on a plank and bumped her head on a brick as she fell and that her head "kept bumping and banging." A doctor who had been called to the scene said that he found that he could not explain the woman's injuries as having been caused by a fall, so he informed the police. The pathologist who examined the body of Mrs. Parker said that death had resulted from multiple head injuries and a fracture of the skull. There were forty-five discernible injuries, twenty-four being lacerated wounds on the face and head. [note: 45 + 24 = 69. Several reports, quoted elsewhere, state that there were 69 injuries. This testimony explains that erroneous number. jp] The injuries showed that a crushing force had been applied while the head was immobile on the ground. If the brick had been in the stocking and swung with considerable force it could have caused the injuries. The bruises on the throat indicated that Mrs. Parker had been held by the throat. A laceration on the finger suggested she received the injury when she put up her hand to defend herself. [note: Testimony below related to Juliet's statement indicates that the brick broke through the stocking at some point. Testimony above indicates the two were found separately. The presence of hair on the brick is consistent with it continuing to be used as a weapon after coming out of the stocking. The crushing force discussed above could have been applied with the brick alone, used in the hands. testimony reported elsewhere indicates Juliet had considerable quantities of blood on her hands, which she washed off in the tea room. jp] Herbert Rieper said that he had lived with the dead woman as her husband for twenty-five years. [note: Reported as 23 years in other reports. jp] They were not married. They had three children, Pauline being the second and she had no idea her parents were not married. At the age of five Pauline had been ill and had had a number of operations which prevented her from indulging in sport. He became worried because she cut herself off from her parents' affection. Last year the friendship with Juliet Hulme became more intense. Pauline stayed with her for days at a time. From the time they met, she became moody, easily upset and easily made angry. At Easter an approach was made [note: This does not specify who made the approach. Newspaper accounts report it was Herbert Rieper, but this seems unlikely. jp] to Dr. Hulme about breaking up the friendship and he learned that Dr. Hulme was taking Juliet abroad. In the witness box, Mrs. Hulme said that Juliet was born in England in 1938, and in London suffered from bomb shock and had nightmares for about a month. Juliet was already in New Zealand [note: Living for almost 2 years with another family, after being sent to the Bahamas. jp] when she and her husband came there in 1948. In 1948 her health had broken down and she had had to go to a sanatorium. Because Juliet was shy and reserved, she and her husband welcomed her friendship with Pauline. While she and her husband were overseas in the summer of 1953 [note: Hilda Hulme was using "northern hemisphere" season conventions. She meant May - Aug. 1953, which is actually winter in NZ. jp] the friendship developed and Mrs. Rieper (Mrs. Parker) was concerned about it. They [note: The parents? jp] learned of the girls' plan to go to America, but they [note: The girls? jp] promised to put it out of their minds. It was arranged for Dr. Hulme to take Juliet to South Africa on 3rd July. Both girls knew it three weeks before that date. She said that Juliet was always an excitable child and full of fantasy. She found it difficult to stop playing her games and enter into the less exciting family circle. Mrs. Hulme described how the two girls wrote to each other in the characters of the stories that they were writing together. Juliet was first Charles II, Emperor of Borovnia. Then she became Deborah, the Emperor's mistress by whom she had a son, Dialbo. Pauline Parker started as Lancelot Trelawney, a soldier of fortune, and he succeeds in wedding the Empress of Bolumnia and becomes Emperor, and they have a daughter, Mariole. Pauline assumed these characters in turn and wrote to Juliet as such. The earlier part of this correspondence is extravagant and grandiose but it later becomes full of murder, suicide and sudden death. Later violence and bloodshed figure to a disproportionate degree. Mrs. Hulme was asked: "On 24th April there is an entry in the diary referring to Dr. Hulme saying you and Dr. Hulme were likely to part for private reasons and the future of the marriage was uncertain. Do you know if that is correct?" Mrs. Hulme: "I understand that my husband did say something like that to them." [note: This is a very discrete account of this important and sensational testimony. jp] Mrs. Hulme said that she and her husband had discussed with medical friends their concern over their daughter's emotional development but they were advised that it would be unwise to have her psycho-analysed at such an early age. Asked, "Did you have any reason to suspect your daughter was insane?" she answered "No." Walter Perry, an engineer, also gave evidence. He came to New Zealand on 2nd July, 1953. He had occupied part of Dr. Hulme's house [note: Not 'the Hulme's residence.' jp] since Christmas, 1953. He said that Pauline Parker was a constant visitor and was a very close friend of Juliet's. He had bought for 50 pounds sterling a horse from Juliet, giving the money to her father. on the evening of 22nd June, Pauline had told him that her mother had slipped on a piece of wood and hit her head on a stone, and banged her head repeatedly on a stone. In reference to Juliet's correspondence with Pauline [note: Which Walter Perry had obviously had access to! Not an average lodger. jp], Mr. Perry said that the girls were vying with one another as to who could create the most bloodshed and sudden death. Practically every letter contained some reference to assassination or similar topic. [note: Hulme and Perry's testimony makes it sound as if there was extended, frequent continuous letter writing between the girls, not just during the time of Juliet's confinement in the TB sanatorium. jp]. [note: Perry's testimony was handled extremely discretely in this account, too. jp]. Senior Detective Brown gave evidence about his interview with Pauline Parker after her mother's death and about a statement she made. At first she said that her mother had slipped and hit her head on a rock or stone. When he told her, "We believe the girl Hulme was not present when the fatality occurred," she looked surprised. "I then said, 'You are suspected of murder of your mother.' She made no reply. I told her that she need not say anything then, but she could make a statement if she wished. She said, 'No. Ask me questions.' " The statement that resulted was as follows: Q. Who assaulted your mother? A. I did. Q. Why? A. If you don't mind I won't answer that question. Q. When did you make up your mind to kill your mother? A. A few days ago. Q. Did you tell anyone you were going to do it? A. No. My friend did not know anything about it. She was out of sight at the time, she had gone on ahead. Q. What did your mother say when you struck her? A. I would rather not answer that. Q. How often did you hit her? A. I don't know, but a great many times I imagine. Q. What did you use? A. A half brick inside the foot of a stocking. I took them with me for the purpose. I had the brick in my shoulder bag. I wish to state that Juliet did not know od my intentions and she did not see me strike my mother. I took the chance to strike my mother when Juliet was away. I still do not wish to say why I killed my mother. Q. Did you tell Juliet that you killed your mother? A. She knew nothing about it. As far as I know she believed what I told her, although she may have guessed what had happened, but I doubt it, as we were both so shaken that it probably did not occur to her. Q. Why did Juliet tell the same story as you to the lady in the tea kiosk? A. I think she simply copied what I said. She might have suspected what I had done and she would not have wished to believe it nor to have got me into trouble. As soon as I had started to strike my mother I regretted it, but I could not stop. Brown said that the police decided to take Parker into custody. He told how he had found fourteen exercise books, a scrap book and a diary in her room. Later, "I told the girl Hulme we had reason to believe her first written statement was not correct and that she was present when the assault took place. I then said, 'You are suspected of taking part in the death of Mrs. Rieper.' I told her that the girl Parker had said we were to ask Deborah, and what she said would be right. She said that she would rather not say anything then." [note: Brown's testimony is classic 'Dixon of Dock Green' police-language testimony. jp (DoDG was a hugely-popular and long-running British radio and TV series)]. At the police station a piece of paper which she had tried to burn was taken from Parker. On it was written, "I am taking the blame for everything." Detective-Sergeant Tate told of his interviews with Juliet Hulme. She made two statements. According to the first she was not with Pauline when Mrs. Parker was killed. She was further up the path. She came back to find her lying on the ground. Pauline told her that her mother had slipped. She said that she had said that she was there at the time to support Pauline's story. The next day, 23rd June, Juliet apologized for misleading him, said Tate. She said she now wished to tell the truth. In her second statement she said they had decided to go to Victoria Park with Mrs. Parker to have it out about Pauline accompanying her to South Africa. "She knew that it was proposed that we should take a brick in a stocking to the park with us. I had part of a brick which I wrapped in newspaper. I know the brick was put in a stocking at Rieper's house. I did not put it there." She said that in Victoria Park, "there was a pink stone on the path. I dropped it there myself. On the way back I was walking in front. I was expecting Mrs. Rieper to be attacked." She continued, "I heard noises behind me. It was loud conversation and anger. I saw Mrs. Rieper in a sort of squatting position. They were quarrelling. I went back. I saw Pauline hit Mrs. Rieper with the brick in the stocking. I took the stocking and hit her too. I was terrified. I thought that one of them had to die. I wanted to help Pauline. It was terrible. Mrs. Rieper moved convulsively. We both held her. She was still when we left her. The brick had come out of the stocking with the force of the blows." Later in the statement, Juliet said she was not quite sure what was going to happen when they went to Victoria Park. "I though[t] we may have been able to frighten Mrs. Rieper with the brick and she would have given her consent for Pauline and I to stay together. After the first blow was struck I knew it would be necessary for us to kill her." That was the prosecution's case. The remainder of the evidence was given by psychiatrists, first for the defense and then in rebuttal by other doctors for the prosecution. Their evidence took three days to hear. Only part of what they said can be given here. Before they gave evidence both defence counsel, Mr. Gresson for Hulme and Dr. Haslam for Parker, addressed the court. Mr. Gresson said that the fact that Parker and Hulme assaulted Mrs. Rieper and killed her is, unfortunately, clear beyond dispute. He went on, "The actual killing or physical assault, therefore, cannot be successfully refuted, and the sole but very important issue in this case concerns the mental capacity, the sanity or otherwise, of these girls when they committed their ill-conceived and disasterous assault." The onus of proving that they were incapable of understanding the nature and quality of their act and of knowing that such an act was wrong, rested on the defence. The law assumed that a person was sane until the contrary was proved. He said that he would call witnesses who would say that Parker and Hulme were insane when they committed their attack on Mrs. Rieper, and were still suffering from a mental illness known as paranoia of the exalted type associated with folie a deux, a phrase meaning communicated insanity. He concluded: "The Crown has seen fit to refer to the accused as ordinary, dirty-minded little girls. Our evidence will show that they are nothing of the kind. The Crown's description is unfortunate and medically incorrect. They are mentally sick girls, more to be pitied than blamed." Dr. Reginald Medlicott said that he had seen both girls and read their writings. Each girl had had to endure a great deal of physical ill health. A younger sister of Parker was a mongolian imbecile. [note: Downs' syndrome. jp] Her parents' first baby was a "blue baby" which died at birth. These things raise a query as to the stock from which she comes. In reference to the girls' friendship he said: "Their association, I consider, proved tragic for them. There is evidence that their friendship became a homosexual one. There is no proof that there was a physical relationship, although there is a lot of suggestive evidence from the diary that this occurred. There is evidence that they had baths together, spent nights in bed together and had frequent talks on sexual matters." Hulme said, "I don't wish to place myself above the law. I am apart from it," said Dr. Medlicott. "Pauline Parker said the fourth world was their idea of paradise," and Juliet that "we do believe we are geniuses." When Dr. Medlicott interviewed the girls in prison they constantly abused him. "Parker told me I was an irritating fool and displeasing to look at. Hulme pulled me over the coals for not talking sufficiently clearly. After I had physically examined Parker she shouted out, 'I hope you break your flaming neck.' There was," he said, "a gross reversal of moral sense. They admired those things which are evil and condemned those things the community considers good. They had weird ideas and their own paradise, god and religion." He read to the court a poem, "The Ones That I Worship," composed by the girls: [note: Other testimony indicates that the poem was written in the back of Pauline's 1953 diary and composed by her. Also, the punctuation and layout in this verbal transcript is rudimentary and probably not accurate. For a reasonable guess of its form see 7.4. jp] There are living amongst two dutiful daughters Of a man who possesses two beautiful daughters The most glorious beings in creation They'd be the pride and joy of any nation. You cannot know nor try to guess The sweet soothingness of their caress. The outstanding genius of this pair Is understood by few, they are so rare. Compared with these two every man is a fool, The world is most honoured that they should deign to rule And above us these goddesses reign on high. I worship the power of these lovely two With that adoring love known to so few. 'Tis indeed a miracle one must feel, That two such heavenly creatures are real. Both sets of eyes, though different far, hold many mysteries strange Impassively they watch the race of man decay and change. Hatred burning bright in the brown eyes, with enemies for fuel. Icy scorn glitters in the grey eyes, contemputous and cruel. Why are men such fools they will not realize The wisdom that is hidden behind those strange eyes And these wonderful people are you and I. In Pauline's diary there was, he said, an entry which says that they had worked out how much prostitutes earned and wondered how much they could earn that way. Pauline also talked a good deal of the fun they would have out of their profession. On 25th April, Parker records, "Deborah and I are sticking to one thing. We sink or swim together." In another place she records, "We are so brilliantly clever." There were references to shoplifting, blackmailing Perry and getting money from her father's safe. On 6th June, Pauline records that she and Hulme are stark, staring, raving mad. "The whole thing," said Dr. Medlicott, "rises to a fantastic crescendo. In my opinion they were insane when they attacked Mrs. Rieper. Paranoia," declared the doctor, "is a form of insanity in which there is a surface of apparent normality. I consider Parker and Hulme certifiably insane." Dr. Medlicott was subjected to a searching cross examination [note: Understatement! see press reports in 7.6. jp] by the prosecution. It was elicited that while the girls knew what they had done was wrong, they considered themselves outside the law. They had set out, he said, to break the Ten Commandments. Parker broke them all, but Hulme only broke nine. Questioned about homosexual relationships between the two girls, he was asked, "Your reading of the diaries showed that these young people played about with each other sexually?" "It is very suggestive but there is no clear evidence of it." "But she (Parker) did have intercourse with a boy over and over again?" "No, only once." "But she attempted to have it more than once?" "It would appear so." "According to the diary the boy was in bed with her to 3 a.m.?" "Yes." "And the following night he was in bed with her again and was caught by Mr. Rieper?" "That is so." "There are other references to them attempting intercourse?" "That is so." "So she had a good deal of knowledge of the other sex, didn't she?" "She had." He said that the girls invented fictional characters, film stars and saints. A diary entry for 12th June, 1954, read, "Eventually we enacted how each saint would make love in bed. We felt exhausted but very satisfied." "I have no doubts about their gross homosexuality," he told the court. Asked, "Did these young persons when they attacked Mrs. Parker know what they were doing?" Dr. Medlicott replied, "They knew what they were doing." "They knew the nature and quality of their act?" "They did." "Did they know they were wrong according to the law?" "They did but they did not recognize the law." Dr. Haslam, for Parker, called Dr. Francis Bennett, who, he said, had been consulted about the girls' friendship before the tragedy occurred. Dr. Bennett, referring to the moral responsibility of the paranoic, said it was the murder that was the actual proof of the diagnosis. "There came the threat of separation. Anything that threatens the paranoic makes him dangerous. They thought that by removing Pauline's mother the way would be clear. This idea was stupid but they have steadily maintained it was justified. Neither will admit contrition or regret. Pauline told me she would still feel justified today in killing her mother if she was a threat to their being together. Juliet Hulme was more outspoken. She not only considers the murder justified but also that other murders might be justified if there was a threat to the association of the two accused." Asked, "Did these girls know when they were killing Mrs. Parker what they were doing?" he replied, "They knew they were killing Mrs. Parker." "Do you agree these girls knew they were committing what the law calls a criminal act?" he said, "That can't be answered yes or no." "Why?" "Because people can have two loyalties." "Did they know it was contrary to the law?" "Yes." "Did they know it was wrong so far as the law was concerned?" "Yes." "Did they not also know it was wrong in the eyes of society at large?" "They probably did, but I doubt very much if they gave any consideration to what society thought." By the Judge, Dr. Bennett's views were summarized thus: "In your opinion they knew the act was contrary to the law and contrary to the ordinary standards of the community, but nevertheless it was not contrary to their own moral standards?" "That is so, Your Honour. You have exactly summarized it," Dr. Bennett replied. Called by the prosecution, Dr. Kenneth Stallworthy, who had seen the girls, was asked: "Do you consider them sane or insane?" He replied, "I consider them sane medically because I did not consider either certifiable, and I consider them sane in a legal sense. They knew the nature and quality of their act. I am of the opinion that they both knew at the time that their action was wrong in law, and that they were breaking the law. In the diaries there was evidence of motive, planning and premeditation." In his interview with Parker she said, "We knew we were doing wrong. We knew we would be punished if we were caught and we did our best not to be caught." Hulme told him, "I knew it was wrong to murder and I knew at the time I was murdering somebody. You'd have to be an absolute moron not to know murder was against the law." [note: Some newspaper reports clearly attribute, incorrectly, the 'moron' sentence to be the final sentence of Pauline's comment. jp] "The accused," said Dr. Stallworthy, "had some justification for conceit. Hulme displayed a shrewdness in appreciating difficult questions and a shrewdness in answering them more like that of an older, sophisticated person. Parker was well above average in intelligence and is able to write. These two girls were very very (sic) fond of each other. The most important thing in the world to them was to be together. There have been other great loves in the world where one person would stick (sic) [note: stop? Maybe transcription error. jp] at nothing to be with the other." Two other doctors, called by the prosecution, Dr. Saville and Dr. Hunter, agreed that the girls were sane. All five doctors gave detailed reasons for their opinions. Those called by different sides came to different conclusions. As is noticeable in other murder trials, when the issue of insanity arises, the question of the meaning of the mental illness known as paranoia appears to be undecided. It is, apparently, a compelling force under which people do things they know to be wrong in the eyes of the law but to them are not wrong. On the sixth day of the trial counsel for both girls and for the Crown addressed the court, the judge summed-up and the jury arrived at their verdict. The question for the jury was whether the girls knew what they were doing was wrong. According to the defence, they were "problem children," who at the time they committed the act were ill and not criminally responsible for their actions. According to the prosecution, they were two highly intelligent and perfectly sane but dirty-minded girls. "In my submission," said the Crown Prosecutor, "They are not incurably insane. They are incurably bad." Mr. Justice Adams told the jury that the burden of proof of insanity rested on the defence. "The gravamen of this case," he said, "is the defence of insanity. If the jury found it established their duty was to return a verdict of not guilty. Your proper choice lies between 'guilty' and 'not guilty' on the grounds of insanity." He went on: Grave crimes are almost invariably committed by persons knowing that they were doing wrong but nevertheless by some perversity of the mental process are led to commit the act. In such cases the only question is, did the accused know that the act was wrong? "There is no doctor who has said or even suggested that either of the accused did not know that what they were doing was wrong. Is there anywhere else in the evidence any material on which you can properly conclude that either of the accused did not know that the act was wrong. If not, your duty is plain; the proper verdict is a simple verdict of guilty." The judge asked the jury to consider two important words: "knowing" and "wrong." "As to the word 'wrong' I tell you, as a matter of law, that a person knows a thing can be wrong if he or she knows it to be contrary to the law of the land, and contrary to the moral standards accepted by ordinary, reasonable members of the community. It is not permissible to say, 'I knew this was a breach of the law and a breach of the moral code, but I thought I was above or beyond the law and that although it was illegal or immoral I might commit it without infringing my own code of morality.' That is no defence in law. "The other important word is the word 'knowing.' It has to be considered at the very moment of the commission of the crime. Were their minds so confused that they did not know the act was wrong?" asked the judge. After a retirement of two hours and fifteen minutes, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against each of the accused. They also found that both were under eighteen years of age. In consequence the judge sentenced Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure.

So ended the most sensational and the most tragic murder of 1954. In time, no doubt, the murder of the mother of one by two young girls will be quoted as the most dreadful crime of the century. It was a premeditated, carefully planned crime by two girls who lived in a world of their own. To prevent being parted, they committed murder. To them the murder of Mrs. Parker was the obvious way out of the difficulty. The compulsion was more powerful than was the fear of discovery and retribution. It blinded them to their responsibilities as human beings. To Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme the rights of others were of no importance. Complete egotists, they were insane only in the sense that their ideas were those of animals rather than of human beings. Their law was the law of the jungle and like wild animals they must be caged until they have shown themselves capable of living together with other human beings. One day, perhaps, they may have a second try at life.

Plate, p.31: Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker.

7.7.3Extract from "The Greatest Criminals of All Time." [jp]#

Green, Jonathon. "The Greatest Criminals of All Time." Stein and Day, New York, 1982. p. 217. "Hulme, Juliet and Parker, Pauline."

**This short description appears to be recycled primarily from "The Encyclopaedia of Murder" and it contains many errors (left to the interested FAQ reader to find, this time). The most notable passage is probably the description of JMH and PYP, one of the few instances where JMH is not characterized as the ringleader. [jp]

Parker was 16, the daughter of a common-law marriage that had lasted 25 years. She was headstrong, dominating and intelligent. Hulme was 15, daughter of an ex-Rector of Canterbury University College in New Zealand. She was a good girl, meek and polite. In 1953 the two had met and formed a deep friendship, redolent with fantasy. They wrote novels and dreamt of saving enough money to have them published in America. They wrote letters to each other in their fantasy roles. Juliet was 'Deborah, mistress of the Emperor Charles II of Borovnia'. Pauline was Lancelot Trelawney, a soldier of fortune who wooed Deborah and married her, becoming the Emperor himself. Their fantasies escalated to violence and sex. They slept together, 'imagining how the saints make love', and Pauline experimented with a boy in order to make reports to her friend. They went shoplifting and wondered about the potential returns from prostitution or blackmail. In 1954 they moved towards murder, planning more and more seriously to kill Pauline's mother, Honoria (sic). On 22 June 1954 they killed her, beating her with 45 blows from a brick wrapped in a sock and inflicting 24 wounds to the head, face and body. Then they rushed into a nearby teahouse, Pauline screaming, 'Mummy's dead!'. The police were not taken in and they arrested Pauline that same evening. At first she claimed complete responsibility, but Juliet refused to let her suffer alone. At their trial the defense claimed that they had acted through 'paranoia of the exalted type' and communicated insanity. They were certainly certifiably mad, but the prosecution convinced the jury of the girls' intelligence, shrewdness and above all the cold-blooded planning of the murder, set out in their diaries and leters. This was a 'callously planned and premeditated murder,' it was alleged, 'committed by two highly intelligent and perfectly sane but precocious and dirty-minded girls'. The jury agreed. The girls were detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure. They were released in 1958.

Plate caption: Juliet Hulme (l) and Pauline Parker (r): 'Deborah of Borovnia' and 'Lancelot Trelawney', they wondered how the saints made love and killed without remorse.

7.7.4Extract from "Partners in Crime." [sb]#

Hall, Allan. "Partners in Crime." Blitz Editions, Leicester, 1993. [sb] pp. 43-49. "PARKER & HULME // Their Secret World"

**The material in this chapter is apparently recycled from several sources. It contains many errors in fact: some small, some significant, but some new information, too. Which, in light of the volume of errors, should be weighted appropriately. It is a typical example of a 'sensational' popular account and can be used to get a feel for how much these accounts can inform, and how much they can possibly mislead. The tone of this account typifies the public perception and reaction at the time of the murder, and so this is a useful example in that regard, as well. Also useful, oddly enough, are the more 'titilating' facts from the trial included in this chapter. More sober treatments tended to leave these out (e.g. Furneaux's chapter, section 7.7.2). It is interesting to note that this account, though 'sensational,' actually leaves out all reference to the personal lives of people other than Pauline and Juliet, even though those tidbits were also the stuff of headlines during the trial. Stripped of the surrounding moralizing and editorializing found in sensational treatments, the lurid facts that oftentimes can only be found in these sources can be used to fill in background information about the family lives of the girls, and about the activities of the girls which weren't directly related to the planning and execution of the murder. Personally, I tend to dismiss these aspects unless I can obtain confirmation, but it is not automatically true that sensational material must be fictional. This article also has informative photographs of the Hulme family, the murder site and outside the courthouse during the trial. Photographs are more like raw data; the viewer can use them to draw independent conclusions. [jp]

//Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme were anything but normal schoolgirls. These teenage lesbain lovers bashed in the head of Pauline's mother who had tried to separate them. Were they criminally insane or just murderous little minxes?// There is much in 'Partners in Crime' that dwells on the madness generated by two people that would not have occurred had the partnership never been formed. Normal lives and patterns of behaviour vanish as two personalities, each bland and safe on its own, ignite into intrigue and danger when combined. Such was the madness that descended on two adolescent girls in New Zealand in the 1950s--girls who retreated into their own special world of aloofness, superiority and forbidden sex, a world that held murder. When Juliet Marion Hulme and Pauline Yvonne Parker were brought before the Crown in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1954 the case received worldwide attention because of its morbid themes. Like the case of Loeb and Leopold (Chapter XXX), psychologists were at pains to try to explain the fusion of two normal minds into a single entity bent on misery and death. For that is what happened to Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker when their perfect world was threatened. In order to prevent separation from one another, they plotted and carried out, the murder of Mrs Honora Mary Parker. Mrs Parker, forty-five, Pauline's mother, was bludgeoned to death by the two, who tried to cover their tracks by claiming she had fallen. But in the end their own inflated ideas of their intelligence and skill failed them badly and the most basic police methods proved that they were the killers. The full extent of their wickedness and depravity revealed at the trial shocked this colonial outpost as nothing before or since. It was on 22 June, 1954 that the two hysterical girls, covered in blood, shattered the tranquility of afternoon tea at a sedate Christchurch restaurant when they burst through the doors. 'Mummy's been hurt,' blurted out Pauline. 'She's hurt, covered with blood.' [note: Inaccurate quote. jp] Tearfully they begged the manageress of the restaurant to phone for police while they gulped down sugared tea in an apparent attempt to ease their shock. Some of the customers went with police and the girls to a beauty spot in a nearby park close to a smal bridge over a stream. Lying in a pool of blood, her face unrecognizable, was Mrs Parker. Her head was brutally batterred. It was a bad fall. Initially the girls told police that Mrs Parker had fallen and slipped on a board. 'Her head just kept banging and banging,' blurted out Pauline to police, in a none-too-convincing explanation of why her mother came to have some forty-nine serious head wounds, any one of which would have been enough to render her unconscious [note: No such conclusion entered into testimony. jp]. The officers knew that they were dealing with something far more sinister than an accident and both young girls--Pauline was sixteen and Juliet fifteen years and ten (sic) months [note: 8 months. 10 months at the trial, which is the phrase used by Furneaux in 7.7.2. jp]--were taken into custody for further questioning. As they were led away a sharp-eyed policeman found near the pathway, a few feet from the body of Mrs Parker, a brick wrapped in an old stocking [note: JMH and contemporary press stated the brick was not found in the stocking. jp]. It was found to be covered in blood and great clumps of her hair were stuck to it. Clearly, this and not a board or a plank of wood had been the instrument which despatched the unfortunate woman. Later, a pathologist examined the corpse and said that there was bruising around the throat consistent with her having been held down as blow after blow rained down on her head. Once in custody Pauline confessed almost immediately to the murder. She said she had 'made up my mind' a few days before the event to kill her mother during an outing in the park and that Juliet, who was walking with them, was not implicated in the crime. She told detectives: 'She knew nothing about it. As far as I know, she believed what I had told her, although she may have guessed what had happened but I doubt it as we were both so shaken that it probably did not occur to her.' But while she was being questioned, one of the officers guarding her turned his back to her, and she tried to burn a piece of paper on which she had written: 'I am taking the blame for everything.' This was seen as a message that she intended to smuggle to Juliet--Juliet, who, on learning of the abortive bid to contact her, changed her story immediately and confessed to being a willing accomplice. // IT WAS TERRIBLE BUT INSANE?// 'I took the stocking,' said Juliet, 'and hit her too. I was terrified. I wanted to help Pauline. It was terrible--she moved convulsively. We both held her. She was still when we left her. After the first blow was struck I knew it would be necessary for us to kill her.' [note: Partial quote. jp] There would have been no need for a protracted criminal trial, along with all its publicity, had the pair pleaded guilty to murder. Instead, they chose to plead Guilty of murder by insanity (sic) [note: They actually pled 'Not Guilty' of murder by reason of insanity. jp]--something the Crown was not prepared to accept. While in custody they had both seemed perfectly aware of what they had done, had both shown little remorse and had both only wanted to return to their 'perfect world'. Their insistence on a plea of insanity meant that the spotlight would now be directed at their dark world. In his opening speech the prosecutor Mr Anthony Brown ominously told the jury: 'I feel bound to tell you that the evidence will make it terribly clear that the two young accused conspired together to kill the mother of one of them and horribly carried their plan into effect. It was a plan designed solely so they could carry on being together in the most unwholesome manner.' Brown went on to explain how something 'unhealthy' had developed between the two girls; how they had met at school as friends but then their relationship had deepened and broadened into something much more than girlish camaraderie. He remarked that it was a relationship 'more commonly seen between members of the opposite sex, and of a more advanced age', than that seen between two schollgirls. Unhappy when apart, disturbingly attached to each other when together, Mr Brown painted a portrait of two girls sharing an unnatural love. Mrs Parker, not surprisingly, was most unhapy about the relationship and was doing her best to break it up when she met her end. She had been in touch [note: Herbert Rieper testified that he had made the initial approach to Hulme, but this seems more consistent with Honora. jp] with Juliet's father, Dr Hulme, a (sic) Rector of Canterbury University College, New Zealand. Earlier that year he had resigned his post with the intention of taking a new position in Cape Town, South Africa. [note: Incorrect. Hilda Hulme testified Henry Hulme planned to travel to UK via S.A., and to leave JMH in S.A. jp] He agreed to take Juliet with him, to get her away from Pauline. The date agreed for his departure was 3 July--and the two girls vowed to kill Mrs Parker before then, her punishment for engineering their separation. [note: This conclusion of vengeance or retribution is inconsistent with trial evidence. see 7.4. jp] 'Their first idea was to carry out this crime in such a way so that it apeared that it was an accident which befell Mrs Parker,' said Brown. They persuaded Mrs Parker, having pretended for a couple of weeks prior to her death that they no longer cared about being separated [note: No evidence presented in trial to support this conclusion. jp], to take them on a picnic to the country. Juliet Hulme brought along the brick from the garden of her home and the deed was accomplished. All (sic) this was corroborated in a sensational diary kept by Pauline Parker and in notes passed between the two--correspondence which the Crown said was definitely the work of people who were quite aware of what they were doing. 'In it,' said Brown, waving Pauline's leather-bound diary before the jury, 'she reveals that she and Juliet Hulme have engaged in shoplifting, have toyed with blackmail and talked about and played around in matters of sex. There is clear evidence that as long ago as February she was anxious that her mother should die, and during the few weeks before 22 June she was planning to kill her mother in the way in which she was eventualy to be killed.' It was damning evidence. On 14 February, (sic) he read:'Why, oh why, could mother not die? Dozens of people, thousands of people, are dying every day. So why not mother and father too?' Later, in April, she wrote: 'Anger against mother boiled up inside me. It is she who is one of the main obstacles in my path. Suddenly a means of ridding myself of the obstacle occurred to me. I am trying to think of some way. I want it to appear either a natural or an accidental death.' In June it continued: 'We discussed our plans for moidering [sic] mother and made them a little clearer. Peculiarly enought (sic) I have no qualms of conscience (or is it just peculiar we are so mad!)' On 22 June, the actual day of the crime, Pauline penned this entry: 'I am writing a little bit of this up in the morning before the death. I felt very excited like the night before Chrismassy (sic) last night. I did not have pleasant dreams, though.' She did not elaborate on these. [note: The diary quotations above are not all accurate, or complete. see 7.4. jp] The reading of the diary caused a stunned shock to the court. The two looked for all the world like normal schoolgirls and yet they had plotted and committed murder. There was even more damning testimony about them which showed that they were sneering, arrogant vixens who enjoyed illicit adult pleasures wrapped up in a fantasy world of their own making. And much of this damaging testimony was delivered by Juliet's mother. //THE STRANGE DEBORAH AND LANCELOT// Mrs Hulme told the court how the girls were planning to publish a novel (although they hadn't yet written one) and practised writing in strange letters to each other using romantic pseudonyms. Juliet was often called Charles II, Emperor of Borovnia, then she changed to Deborah and then Bialbo. Pauline Parker, at the start of this bizarre correspondence, had called herself Lancelot Trelawney, a Cornish mercenary. Names of medieval drama. The letters were initially full of romance as they created a fantasy world into which they escaped, but soon the tone changed to something far more sinister. They became violent, sadistic, with maidens raped and knights tortured as the girls' own lust for each other became ever more urgent. Soon they were sleeping together and even indulged in bondage. One said: 'I loved how we enacted how each saint might make love in bed. We have never felt so exhausted...but so satisfied!' [note: Inaccurate quote. jp] It is no surprise that their parents wished to see the girls parted permanently. Further details emerged of how they spent their days when they were supposed to be in school. They often slipped away to a country barn where they frolicked in the hayloft as lovers, finishing their day by washing each other in a country stream. They talked of going to America, of becoming rich and famous and buying a house together where they would have eunuchs as servants. Juliet said she wanted to be 'safe' with Pauline--as a child she was brought up in the East End (sic) of London at the time of the London Blitz [note: Hulmes lived in Greenwich, normally referred to as part of 'the South Bank' of London. The 'East End' was and is an extremely economically depressed, industrial area hard-hit in the blitz. jp], something which traumatized her deeply. One of their 'games' involved Pauline cradling her as she made noises like bombs exploding around her. And all the while they played out this weird relationship, all schoolfriends and other playmates were excluded; it was, as described in one of Juliet's missives to Pauline, 'their perfect world', one to which no other was admitted. [note: I have not been able to confirm this aspect of the relationship in any other source as yet. It must be viewed as suspect, therefore. jp] Initially, Mrs Hulme, who had emigrated with her husband and Juliet when the child was five years old [note: These statements are all wrong. see 7.3. jp], welcomed her friendship with Pauline because it seemed to bring her out of her shell. 'Had I known where this would lead, I would have killed it stone dead there and then,' she sobbed. Another entry in Pauline's diary, and one which was instrumental in proving their sanity, was the one which read: 'Prostitution sounds a good idea to make money and what fun we would have in doing it! We are so brilliantly clever, there probably isn't anything we couldn't do.' Was this, said the prosecution, the words of a pair who claimed they did not know what they were doing? Further, when Pauline was called to testify (sic) [note: Neither girl testified on the stand at the trial. jp], her own arrogance virtually broke their defence. When asked if she knew that it was wrong to murder she sneered: 'I knew it was wrong to murder and I knew at the time that I was murdering somebody that it was wrong. You would have to be an absolute moron not to know that something was wrong.' [note: Inaccurate quote, it was made by JMH and it was entered into testimony by Dr Kenneth Stallworthy. see 7.1. jp] Lawyers for the two girls said there was no question that they were the killers but that they should not hang--a possibility, despite their age because they were being judged as adults [note: Unlikely in the extreme. see 7.7.1. jp]--because of the abnormality of their minds. One medical expert, a Dr Medlicott, pointed out that each of the girls had suffered bad physical health as toddlers and that their siblings were also prone to illnesses, suggesting somehow that this contributed to the unbalanced state of their young murderers' minds. [note: The trial statements about siblings referred to PYP only. jp] Discussing the bizarre relationship between them the doctor told the court: 'Juliet told me: "I do believe that we are indeed geniuses. I don't wish to place myself above the law--I am apart from it." And when I performed a medical examination upon Miss Parker she turned to me and said: "I hope you break your flaming neck." In my opinion they are agressive, dangerous, but most certifiably insane." It was not (sic) an opinion shared by expert Dr Charles Bennett [note: Bennett was a witness for the defense and the following quote is out of context. see 7.1. jp] who told the court: 'I find that they probably, very probably, knew what they were doing and knew it was wrong in the eyes of society at large. But I doubt very much if they gave any consideration whatsoever to what society thought of them at all.' In the end, after a careful summing up by the judge, it was left to the jury to decide whether the girls were mad or not. Mr Justice Adams said: 'The important word is the word "knowing". It has to be considered at the very moment of the commission of the crime. Were their minds so confused that they did not know this act was wrong? This is what you, ladies (sic) and gentlemen of the jury, have to consider.' [note: Quote embellished. The jury was all male. jp] Consider it they did and in just two and a quarter hours returned a verdict of Guilty. There was a fleeting smile flashed between the two girls, these supreme egotists, when they were spared the rope by a merciful judge and ordered to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure--which meant indefinitely. But in a move which, to many, seemed to mock justice, they were freed just four (sic) years later after intense psychiatric counselling. [note: JMH and PYP released Nov/Dec 1959, five years later. see 7.3. jp] They remained friends but the spark from that earlier relationship had been extinguished by the separation. [note: This is completely wrong; there was no communication or contact between them after August 28, 1954. see 7.3. jp]. Herbert Rieper--he was with Pauline's mother for twenty-five (sic) years although he never married her--never recovered from her death. He never forgave the girl and when his daughter was freed he said: 'It still doesn't make up for robbing a person of their life. It was evil between them that did it. Pure evil.'

Caption, Fig. 1, p. 42: Juliet Hulme, on the left, and Pauline Parker were so in love that they were prepared to murder anybody who threatened their relationship.

Caption, Fig. 2, p. 43: The childish face of Juliet Hulme hid a passionate nature and a willful nature.

Caption, Fig. 3, p. 44: The distinguished father of Pauline (sic), Dr H.R. Hulme, Rector of Canterbury University College, Christchurch. He intended to take his daughter away from her friend.

Caption, Fig. 4, p. 45: Juliet Hulme photographed at the time she was involved with Pauline but before they turned into killers.

Caption, Fig. 5, p. 46: The girls ran into the Victoria Tearooms, crying that Mrs Parker had fallen and was badly hurt.

Caption, Fig. 6, p. 47: Mrs Hulme broke down frequently during the trial of her daughter for murder. She refused to speak about the case for many years after the event.

Caption, Fig. 7, p. 48: It was on this pathway, near the planking, that the two girls bludgeoned the mother to death.

Caption, Fig. 8, p. 49: The trial aroused tremendous interest. Crowds clamoured outside the court for a glimpse of the young lesbian killers.

7.7.5Extract from "Encyclopaedia of Murder." [jp]#

Wilson, Colin and Pitman, Patricia "Encyclopaedia of Murder." Pan Books, London, 1961. Reprinted Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, U.K., 1984. ISBN 0 330 28300 6

Plate 30: (P.A. Reuter Photos Ltd.) Pauline Yvonne Parker, with head bowed, nine months before being accused of murdering her mother. [= Oct. '53. School photo]. A better print of this photo may be found in Gurr and Cox.

pp. 500-501. PARKER, Pauline Yvonne. ...death was due to a fractured skull, and there were forty-five injuries in all; the throat was bruised, as was one finger-- probably the result of attempting to ward off blows.

At their trial...both girls appeared unrepentant. Details were given of their strange relationship. They had written letters to each other, each assuming bizarre identities: Juliet had been, among other things, Charles II, 'Emperor' of Borovvia (sic), and the 'Emperor's' mistress Deborah; Pauline had chosen to be Lancelot Trelawney, a Cornish soldier of fortune. They believed themselves to be geniuses: 'I am apart from the law', Juliet Hulme had said. They continued erotic experiments: '...we enacted how the saints would make love in bed', Pauline Parker had written in the diary. ... Both were released [from prison] in 1958. [date incorrect. jp]

7.7.6Glamuzina & Laurie "Parker & Hulme."#

Glamuzina, Julie and Laurie, Alison J. "Parker and Hulme: A Lesbian View." New Women's Press, Auckland, NZ, 1991. Accession 25654735. ISBN 0908652542. 214 pp., ill., 22 cm, incl. biblio. and refs. pp. 197-208, index.

**This is the only major scholarly work to have been written on the case. It is an invaluable source of background material related to the case, the times and the society and for its unique, modern feminist perspective on the case. Unfortunately, the book is currently out of print and is hard to find in North America. The book will be reprinted in North America (approx. October '95) by: Firebrand Press, 141 The Commons, Ithaca, NY 14850 ($12.95). I have only recently (June '95) obtained a copy, so my comments here are preliminary. This is a meaty little read, and there is much to ponder, debate and go over. Contributions to this section are particularly welcome. [jp]

**Table of Contents: [incl. subheadings not listed by G&L. jp]

**Kudos: G&L clearly state their perspectives and the scope of their study in the Introduction. They state that they do not agree with the simplistic choice presented by the Judicial process at the time of the crime, namely, that Pauline and Juliet were either 'mad' or they were 'bad.' G&L condemn the association made then and propagated since the crime between lesbianism, mental illness and murder. They state that they believe the events surrounding the crime have not yet been placed in an appropriate social or political context in the analyses which have been presented to date. They go on to say "We use a pro-lesbian, feminist view to illuminate the case. This viewpoint is particularly helpful when considering issues of sexuality and gender." (p. 18). The chapters on "The Place" and "The Time" are slim, but are very useful for providing a thumbnail sketch of Christchurch and New Zealand society in the 50s. There is additional information in this FAQ about Christchurch, CGHS and the times which may also be useful. The sections and chapters which provide information on the life of lesbians and the public perception of lesbians in the 50s are absolutely invaluable for providing perspective. This material would be hard to find anywhere else in such a readable and condensed form. This is really a very positive attribute of the book. I was particularly taken by the personal anecdotes; these concrete examples made everything much less 'academic' and much more immediate and understandable, for me. The chapter on "The Punishment" provides details of the prisons and the particulars of Pauline and Juliet's experiences during incarceration which are unique. This information is not available anywhere else in the literature. The bibliography is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to pursue the case in any detail. [jp]

**Criticisms: My biggest criticism of G&L, and my biggest disappointment in the book, is the treatment of the diaries and writings. Given that G&L were permitted to view and use the official diary transcripts as sources, I was amazed to find very few new diary quotes in the book. In fact, the total amount of quoted material in G&L is far less than that to be found in this FAQ. This omission of diary quotes is especially frustrating for the reader since G&L contend that a biased and distorted portrait of Pauline was painted in the press and during the trial by the selective quotation of sensational material most related (or perceived to be most related) to the murder... and we must simply take their word for this. I happen to agree that much information of value has been omitted by this process of selective quotation, so I was disheartened to find G&L indulging in the same thing. I was also very disappointed with the extremely superficial analysis of the diary material and the writings in the very slim Chapter Five and elsewhere. In particular, it surprised me to realize that G&L didn't appear to consider the possibility that Pauline Parker would use sarcasm or irony in her diary entries; everything seems to have been taken pretty much at face value. The other point which stood out for me was that G&L appear not to have constructed a time line like that given here in section 7.3, apart from the one they constructed for the day of the murder. Some of the points they raise in their analysis of events appear to have been made out of context of the immediately surrounding circumstances and events. Just as a simple example, G&L mention on p. 164 that Hilda Hulme had probably given Juliet (and, through her, Pauline) information about sexuality and sex education, making the point that the pair may not have been completely ignorant of lesbianism, though it seems doubtful they had accurate information about the subject. But, incredibly, G&L make no comment at all about the date of Pauline's diary entry describing this... June 10, 1954! G&L don't mention another part of Pauline's diary entry made on that day: "I am feeling particularly close to Deborah" nor do they mention that the very next night was apparently Pauline and Juliet's first full 'consummation' of their relationship. Or any of the other surrounding events. And, since Henry Hulme has become something of a side- project for me, I was also disappointed in G&L's superficial (and somewhat error-riddled) treatment of Dr Hulme's career, life, character, motivations and his relationships with the other principals in the case. I, too, tend to believe that family dynamics, relationships and social context are more important in this case than have been stressed to date, so I was also somewhat disappointed with G&L's treatment of these aspects, especially given their strong statements at the beginning of their book. However, I must say it is refreshing to have a work as substantial and thoughtful as G&L to sink my teeth into. I shall continue to think about this material for future editions of the FAQ. [jp]

**Errors: There aren't too many factual errors in G&L. Here are some I have picked up on my first pass through the book: [jp]

p. 21 G&L offer some rather speculative interpretation of the forensic evidence when they assert that "Honora lost consciousness quickly and died within minutes." p. 25 Hilda Hulme testified that Juliet herself read aloud and recited poetry before falling asleep in her mother's arms the night after the murder, and Juliet also recited poetry when she awoke the next morning. p. 26 The initial inquest was held in Magistrate's Court on July 16, 1954, not July 14. G&L consistently state throughout the book that the initial inquest was held on July 14 (which is Bastille Day). p. 41 There are several errors in Dr Hulme's biography. Dr Hulme did not graduate (in '32) with a ScD from Cambridge (it was awarded later, in '48); he was a Fellow of Caius College from '33-'38 (not '31-'37); he was Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory from '38- '45 (not '36-'38); he was Scientific Advisor to the Air Ministry from '46-'48 (not '45-'48). [note: G&L's erroneous data coincide with the entries in "Who's Who in New Zealand," G.H. Scholefield, ed., A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1951. ad] p. 42 Juliet Hulme was born in Greenwich, London, not in Liverpool. According to Anne Perry, she was also sent to a sanatorium in New Zealand's North Island before her parents moved to New Zealand in '48 and there are other errors and omissions in G&L's version of JMH's early years. p. 43 The name of the sanatorium where Juliet was confined is given as Christchurch Sanatorium and as Cashmere Sanatorium. Cashmere Sanatorium appears to be correct. p. 45 G&L state that Dr Hulme secured a position at Aldermaston before leaving the Rectorship (anecdotal evidence). This may not be correct since he did not start his appointment until 1955. p. 45 Dr Hulme may have returned to England on the date originally scheduled, July 3, 1954 (unconfirmed). He did attend the initial arraignment on June 25, 1954. G&L state that Dr Hulme did not attend any judicial proceedings and that he sailed on the planned date. p. 46 G&L state that the Hulmes returned to England in 1953 "on holiday." This is inaccurate, and slightly malicious because the official answer is in a book contained in G&L's bibliography (see 7.10.1.1). My best guess is that Dr Hulme was on a hunt for a top academic post in England, probably at Cambridge. p. 62 G&L state that Pauline referred to the Ceylonese University students as 'THEM' without giving a supporting quote. According to Pauline's chart of the 'Saints' in the front of her 1953 diary, this doesn't seem to be correct. p. 74 There are several diary quotes and their interpretation which may contain assumptions or small errors. This is too bad, as the quotes are key ones, referring to the premediatation of the murder and the nature of the planning and the timing of it. p. 75 The critical diary entry for the last day, June 22, 1954, contains many typographical errors -- unexpected, because G&L had previously criticized Medlicott and others for being sloppy in their reporting of entries, and this entry in particular. p. 82 Throughout Chapter Six, "The Trial," G&L mis-spell several names of the legal counsel, including Alan Brown, the Crown Prosecutor, and the expert witnesses, including Dr Saville. p. 90 G&L state that "Medlicott's contention was that the girls' madness was in inverse proportion to the time they spent together" when, of course, Medlicott stated there was a direct correlation, not an inverse one (an inverse relation would have implied that separation of the two would result in madness; formally, folie … deux, Medlicott's diagnosis, requires an extremely close association for the 'transmission of delusion' to occur). pp. 88,92 G&L apparently did not recognize the considerable difference between simply being a Member of the Royal Austral(as)ian College of Physicians (Medlicott) and being a Fellow of the RACP (Bennett); the latter is by far the more prestigious.

7.8Scholarly articles related to the case#

The articles listed here have been chosen because they address, in some way, topics which have been raised in connection with the "Parker Hulme" case. The reader is on their own to decide whether or not an article contains material which is useful or valid, or not. A word of friendly warning: opinion can get heated and emotion can run a little high concerning the material in these articles, according to my correspondence... I am always looking for appropriate additions to this list because it is anything but exhaustive. In particular, there is a dearth of articles by women and/or written from a woman's perspective and/or espousing a feminist viewpoint. Glamuzina and Laurie's book contains a very useful bibliography (pp. 197-208); unfortunately, they cite journal articles without page numbers. [jp]

Chesney-Lind, M. Signs, 12(1): ??? (1986). [G&L] "Women and crime: The female offender."

Chiswick, D. British Medical Journal, 283: ??? (1981, Nov. 14). [G&L] "Matricide."

Coates, M. Nursing Mirror and Midwives Journal, 133(16): 44-46 (1971). [jp] "Folie a deux."

Corder, B.F. et al. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133: ??? (1976, Aug. 8). [G&L] "Adolescent parricide: A comparison with other adolescent murder."

Cormier, B.M. et al. Journal of Criminology and Correction, No. 1: ??? (1971). [G&L] "The psychodynamics of homicide committed in a specific relationship."

Duncan, J.W.; Duncan, G.M. American Journal of Psychiatry, 127(11): ??? (1971). [G&L] "Murder in the family: A study of some homicidal adolescents."

Edwards, S.S.M. Women's Studies International Forum, 9(1): ??? (1986). [G&L] "Neither bad nor mad: The female violent offender reassessed."

Glamuzina, J.; Laurie, A.J. Sites, no. 19 (Spring 1989), pp. 33-42. [jb] "Sexual Politics in the 1950s: The Parker-Hulme Murder Case" (see 7.8.2).

Gluckman, L.K. New Zealand Medical Journal, 63(407): ??? (1966, July). [G&L] "Lesbianism: A clinical approach."

Hiller, A.E.; Mandish, A. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 15: ??? (1982). [G&L] "Women, crime and criminal justice: The state of current theory and research in Australia and New Zealand."

Kiraly, S.J. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 20(3): 223-227 (1975). [jp] "Folie a deux: A case of 'demonic possession' involving mother and daughter."

Kirkman, Allison. Women's Studies Journal 8(1), 135-139 (1992). [jb] "Review of Parker and Hulme: a Lesbian View" Defends this reexamination of the 1954 murder case. Uses the book's analysis of the crime as a means of discussing NZ society's attitudes towards lesbianism, and the dichotomy of badness or madness they presume. Demonstrates that the murder was characterized as a lesbian crime and that it has continued to influence NZ perceptions of lesbianism and NZ lesbians' views of themselves.

Lange, E.; Ficker, F. Psychiatria Clinica, 9(3-4): 168-182 (1976). [jp] "Double suicide and symbiotic psychosis: suicide a deux and folie a deux" (Ger) [jp] Symbiotic psychoses (induced delusions) are marked by 'solitude by twos' -- together in alienation to the environment. This special psychological situation is dangerous and the foundation to develop 'suicide by twos' (double suicides). The relations between the psychotic partners (domination-subordination) change over to relations of double suicide (instigator-participant). The presuicidal sybiotism of 2 cases is described.

Laurie, A.J. Sites, 15: ??? (1987, Spring). [G&L] "Lesbian-Feminism: A Re-view."

Lee, Anna. Trivia, 9: ??? (1986, Fall). [G&L] "Therapy, the evil within."

Lloyd, J.H. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 7(3): 193-199 (1973). [jp] "Religion and insanity - folie partagee - folie a trois."

MacKenzie, D.F. New Zealand Medical Journal, Special Number: ??? (1967). [G&L] "Homosexuality and the Justice Department."

McKnight, C.K. et al. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 11(2): ??? (1966, April). [G&L] "Matricide and mental illness."

Medlicott, R.W. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 28: 205-223 (1955). [jb] "Paranoia of the Exalted Type in a Setting of Folie a Deux: A Study of Two Adolescent Homicides" (see 7.8.1). Glamuzina and Laurie criticize this paper in detail in their book.

Medlicott, R.W. New Zealand Law Journal, 37(22): pp ??? - ??? (1961). [sb] "Some reflections on the Parker-Hulme and Leopold-Loeb cases with special reference to the concept of omnipotence." p. 347: "From what I have heard from various sources neither girl was a serious problem in prison but I suspect the basic core of their arrogance persisted."

Medlicott, R.W. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 43: 271-279 (1970). [sb] "An examination of the necessity for a concept of evil: some aspects of evil as a form of perversion." p. 277 "The two girls have ultimately redeemed themselves and are now leading reasonably constructive lives. Like Raskolnikov them illustrate that adoption of evil is not necessarily irreversible." Glamuzina and Laurie criticize this paper in some detail in their book.

Medlicott, R.W. New Zealand Medical Journal, 91(655): 181-184 (1980). [jp] "The psychiatric aspects of violence."

Mohr, J.W.; McKnight, C.K. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 16: ??? (1971). [G&L] "Violence as a function of age and relationship with special reference to matricide."

Mouridsen, S.E.; Tolstrup, K. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 29(4): 511-515 (1988). [jp] "Children who kill: a case study of matricide." Only a small number of children who murder have been reported in the literature. Matricide in particular is infrequently mentioned. The examination and treatment of a 9-year-old boy who intentionally killed his mother is presented. No severe family conflicts or other psychogenic factors which could explain the action were found. ...no somatic pathology was verified. ...the boy was psychotic, probably suffering from a schizophrenic disorder which is presumed to have developed in the years preceding the matricide.

New Zealand Department of Justice. Regina vs Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Marion Hulme: Transcripts of Supreme Court Proceedings. 1954. [jb] [I don't yet know to get access to these. jp]

d'Orban, P.T.; O'Connor, A. British Journal of Psychiatry, 154: 27-33 (1989). [jp] "Women who kill their parents." The literature on parricide is reviewed with special reference to women. 17 female parricides (14 matricides, 3 parricides) were identified: in a remand prison (11), a Special Hospital (5) and a Regional Service Unit (1). 6 were schizophrenic, 5 had psychotic depression, 3 had personality disorders, 1 was alcoholic. 2 of the patricides had no psychiatric disorders but retaliated against violent fathers. Regardless of psychiatric diagnosis matricides were mostly single, socially-isolated women in mid-life, living alone with a domineering mother in a mutually-dependent but hostile relationship. Similar characteristics are found in male matricides, who are predominantly schizophrenic. It is suggested that these features are of greater significance in matricide than the specific form of psychiatric disorder. Compared with filicides, matricides were significantly older, were single, and more often suffered from mental illness and substance abuse. Attention is drawn to the possible homicidal risk associated with delusions of poisoning and hypochondriacal delusions.

Phillipp, E. New Zealand Medical Journal, 67(430): ??? (1968). [G&L] "Homosexuality as seen in a New Zealand city practice."

Rubinstein, L.H. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 42(2): 99-108 (1966). [jp] "The theme of Electra and Orestes: a contribution to the psychopathology of matricide."

Salama, A.A.; Wilson, R. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 27(4): 334-335 (1982). [jp] "Two sisters folie a deux: a case study of attempted suicide."

Saliah, M.A. British Journal of Psychiatry, 139: 62-67 (1981). [jp] "Suicide pact in a setting of folie a deux." 2 women friends. Their shared delusion was based on their life situation and experience.

Sargent, D. Social Work, 7: ??? (1962). [G&L] "Children who kill - a family conspiracy?"

Scherl, D.J.; Mack, J.E. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychology, 5(4):569-593 (1966) [jp] "A study of adolescent matricide."

Sheppard, C. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Corrections, 13(1): ??? (1971). [G&L] "Towards a better understanding of the violent offender."

Simmonds, J.F.; Glenn, T. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 6(1): 61-73 (1976). [jp] "Folie a deux in a child." Folie a deux is the transference of delusional ideas and behaviours from one person to another with whom there has been a close association. Its occurrence in children has been rarely described in the literature, which was reviewed for case reports, diagnostic criteria and etiological theories. A detailed case history of a 10-year-old girl who had delusions of special powers and delusions of persecution as well as hypochondriacal and hysterical symptoms is presented as an example of folie a deux between child and parent. This girl had developed a symbiotic incestuous relationship with her stepfather, a paranoid schizophrenic patient. Six criteria for making the diagnosis of folie a deux in a child were applied to the case studied. General and specific aspects of treating this disorder were discussed.

Soni, S.D.; Rockley, G.J. British Journal of Psychiatry, 125(0): 230-235 (1974). [jp] "Socio-clinical substrates of folie a deux."

Sosin, Deborah Ann. Adolescent Psychiatry, Developmental and Clinical Studies, XI: ??? (1983). [G&L] "The diary as a transitional object in female adolescent development."

Stirling, Pamela. Listener, 130(2681), 12-16 (1991). [jb] "Let's moider mother." Outlines the Parker and Hulme case. Talks to Alison Laurie and Julie Glamuzina about their book 'Parker and Hulme: a lesbian view' which discusses the murder and society's reaction to it from a lesbian feminist viewpoint.

Tate, A.B. The Australian Police Journal, : ??? (1955, July). [G&L] "The Parker-Hulme Murder" [note: I would really like to get a copy of this. jp]

Tucker, L.S. Jr.; Cornwall, T.P. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134(10): 1146-1147 (1977). [jp] "Mother-son folie a deux: a case of attempted patricide."

Weeks, R.B.; Kelly, G.L. Child Psychology and Human Development, 5(3): 131-141 (1975). [jp] "Folie a deux or not folie a deux."

7.8.1Medlicott, R.W. 1955. [jb,jp]#

Medlicott, R.W. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 28:205-223 (1955). [jb] "Paranoia of the Exalted Type in a Setting of Folie a Deux: A Study of Two Adolescent Homicides"

**Dr Medlicott was the principal psychiatric consultant/witness for the defense. He wrote this paper and submitted it to a prestigious medical journal soon after the trial. Later, it was reprinted intact in an anthology in 1979. It is an extremely interesting piece of work, not only because of what it tells us about Parker and Hulme, but also because of what it tells us indirectly about Dr Medlicott--his attitudes, sensibilities and prejudices--and the defense strategy, such as it was, and the opinions and prejudices of the times. Dr Medlicott interviewed the girls for a total of only seven hours each, but he did study Pauline's diaries intensively. Dr Medlicott was, apparently, quite highly regarded by his peers. The article is also interesting for what it tells us about Jackson and Walsh and their approach to the case. It is obvious that Jackson and Walsh used Medlicott's article as one of their primary sources. Many scenes conform exactly to the material described here, particularly in the depiction of the Rieper home life; yet there are also many things in the article which Jackson and Walsh chose not to depict. Glamuzina and Laurie present a detailed discussion and point-by-point rebuttal of Medlicott's arguments and conclusions in Chapter 8 ("The Stories") of their book: "Parker & Hulme," in a section entitled "Medical Stories," pp. 120-133. Needless to say, Glamuzina and Laurie present a very different perspective on this material: "These (medical and psychiatric) institutions have played a crucial role in the construction of femininity, and in controlling the minds and bodies of women." (p. 120). Medlicott was not a prolific author, but he published articles in scholarly journals until at least 1980. He appears to have had a special interest in the connection between psychiatry and the arts, e.g. Medlicott, R.W., Aust. & N.Z. J. of Psychiatry 4(1), 15-23 (1970). "Leda and the swan--an analysis of the theme in myth and art." He published a few more articles on the case over his lifetime, and these have been listed in the section above. Medlicott's style can be a little turgid, and his paragraphs interminably-long, but the material is compelling. The article has not been reprinted here in its entirety--the Discussion section has been abbreviated slightly, with annotations. [jp]

On the afternoon of the twenty-second of June 1954 two breathless and apparently agitated adolescent girls rushed up to the manageress of a tea kiosk in a small park on the outskirts of Christchurch and blurted out a garbled account of an accident which had supposedly happened to the mother of one of the girls. Investigation revealed the body of a woman so badly battered about the head as to exclude the possibility of accident. When the girls were interviewed by the police later in the day the daughter confessed to the murder of her mother. She accepted full responsibility for the murder and denied that her friend had any part in the affair. On further questioning next day, however, the friend confessed to her part in the crime. When the murdered woman's house was searched two diaries were discovered in the daughter's bedroom. The last entry had been made on the morning of the crime and was headed 'The day of the happy event', and read: 'I am writing a little of this up on the morning for (sic) [note: before. jp] the death. I felt very excited and the-night-before- Christmassy last night. I did not have pleasant dreams though. I am about to rise.' [note: Glamuzina and Laurie are very critical of Medlicott for using this version of the diary entry. jp] The writer, after repeated interviews with the girls and careful examination of their writings, was satisfied that both girls suffered from paranoia of the exalted type. This diagnosis was supported by Dr Francis Bennett, the other medical witness for the defence. Three State Hospital psychiatrists, brought by the prosecution, denied the girls were insane but agreed, on cross-examination, that their sanity was a matter on which medical men might differ. The presiding judge, in his address to the jury, pointed out that disease of the mind is not of itself a sufficient defence. He stated: 'The law does not relieve persons of criminal responsibility merely because they are insane.' As will be discussed later, both girls stated quite clearly that they knew the nature and quality of their act and that it was wrong both according to the law of the country and the morals of the community. The jury brought in a verdict of 'Guilty.' From a clinical point of view the material is sufficiently unusual to warrant recording in the medical literature. Because of the widespread interest in the case it is impossible to disguise in any way the people involved. It is therefore necessary to rely on evidence presented in court and to exclude many personal details revealed by the girls and their relatives. This unfortunately leaves some gaps in the story, and excludes the analysis of more than surface psychodynamics.

THE CASE HISTORIES Of the two girls, Pauline P. is a dark, rather sulky looking but not unattractive girl of stocky build, who had her sixteenth birthday one month previously; while Juliet H. is a tall, willowy, frail, attractive blonde with large blue eyes. She is five months younger than Pauline.

Prior to their meeting. Pauline P. Pauline's mother and father had lived together as man and wife for twenty-three years, and the fact that the father had a previous undissolved marriage was unknown both to the family and the community in which they lived. Their house was comfortable and the home a stable one. The mother appears to have been a woman of normal intelligence with average social activities and interests. The father said she was a lovable woman, and that they had never seriously quarrelled during the many years they had lived together. There seemed no doubt that she was intensely interested in her children. The father, who was a company manager, was fifteen years older than his wife. He was fond of his children. It is apparent from Pauline's diaries that her mother assumed the major responsibility in disciplining her. This discipline had been reasonable, had never been severe, and corporal punishment according to her father was never resorted to. Pauline's illicit behaviour over the year or more before the murder could not be attributed to a lack of discipline or neglect on the part of her parents. Of the family, the first-born, a boy, had been a 'blue baby' and died within twenty-four hours. The second, Pauline's older sister, is an attractive blonde of seventeen years of age. She is of average intelligence, likeable in manner, sociable and keen on sport, and has never given her family any cause for concern. Of different temperament and interests to Pauline they have never had much in common. Pauline was the third child. The fourth child is a Mongolian imbecile girl of five years who was placed in an institution two years ago. Pauline was very fond of this child, and apparently very good to her when she was home on leave or whenever the family visited her in the institution. Pauline was a wanted baby, her birth was normal and according to her father she had been a plump happy infant. When just under five years of age she was taken to hospital with severe osteomyelitis of her leg. She was precariously ill after her admission, but when the acute stage was over she appeared to adjust well to hospital and in spite of painful dressings did not cry. She returned home after nine months, but her leg continued to discharge for two years until her second admission to hospital and operation. The osteomyelitis was Pauline's first memory. Her doctor's advice against her participating in active sports deprived her of much group participation. She attended school until leaving a few months before the murder and her progress there prior to her meeting with Juliet had been satisfactory. Her intelligence was never tested, but it was at least of high average standard or possibly a little above average. It was not possible to obtain a very clear picture of Pauline prior to her association with Juliet, but there is evidence that she was sensitive, imaginative but self-contained, and unable to tolerate criticism. She said she had always liked being by herself ever since she could remember, and as a small child would shut herself off in a room with her dolls. She had never had firm and lasting friendships on account of ruining all her friendships with outbursts of temper. Seven years ago she had played for some time a fantasy game with one friend in which they dressed up and imagined they had a secret staircase at a nearby museum. This friendship, she said, would not have lasted had they not quickly become separated by circumstances. She attended Church regularly up till her imprisonment. Except for a short period of intense scrupulousness in her primary school days, however, she had never been particularly devout and in spite of repeated endeavours her Church had never been able to involve her in its group activities. She spent much of her time from early childhood in modelling either wood or plasticine. She showed talent and was encouraged by her family.

Juliet H. Juliet came from a socially more prominent and an intellectually more sophisticated background than Pauline. Her mother is a self-possessed, highly intelligent woman with many cultural and social activities. She has always been alive to the psychologically recommended practices in child care, and there is no doubt that consciously at least she had always been careful to do the right thing for Juliet. Juliet's father is a University man of high academic qualifications and record. Although fond of his two children he has not had the same contacts with them as his wife who was the one who assumed the major responsibility of bringing them up. The other member of the family, Juliet's younger brother, is ten years of age and is a healthy well- adjusted boy apparently fond of his sister. As a small baby Juliet was described as 'delightful'. She was born in England and at about two years of age she and her mother were caught in an air raid in London after which for a short period she had nightmares with screaming. In her third year she developed tantrums when crossed. From then on she appears to have been an excitable, self-willed, demanding child intolerant of criticism. She was precocious, sensitive, full of fantasy and found it difficult to stop play-acting games, and liked to remain a fairy or some other fantasy creature long after her playmates had become bored with the game. Her mother went to considerable pains to interest her in her brother's arrival, but unfortunately on the night of her return from the nursing home the mother was taken seriously ill and she and the baby were taken to hospital immediately. Juliet was very distressed next morning to find them gone. From that time Juliet did not accept her brother and resented any attention he received. She had had a lot of physical illness; at six years of age she was dangerously ill with pneumonia, and as she remained ill for two years her schooling was interrupted; and when eight years of age, on medical advice, she was flown to friend in the Bahamas. Her family moved to New Zealand, and after thirteen months separation she rejoined them in New Zealand. On being reunited with her mother she was for a start dramatically over-dependent and it was very difficult to fit her into the family group. At eleven years of age at the time of her menarche she was in rather poor health and was sent to a private boarding school in another part of the country. After a time she was unhappy there and returned home. Prior to entering secondary school she was given intelligence tests and her intelligence quotient was reported as being in the region of 170. On advice it was decided to cancel the plans for private schooling and to send her to the local girls' high school. It was at high school about the middle of 1952 in the third form that Pauline and Juliet met and became friendly.

After their meeting. Their story after their meeting can be divided into a number of phases.

(1) Prior to the bicycle ride incident in August 1952. At the commencement their friendship appears to have been a healthy one and to have been welcomed by both the children's parents. Shortly after the meeting Juliet remarked 'Mummy, I've met someone at last who has a will as strong as my own.' Pauline's mother told Juliet's mother that she was pleased at the friendship because Pauline had been a lonely child with difficulty in making friends. This apparently normal friendship lasted only a month or two and gave way to something much more intense.

(2) From the bicycle ride incident to the end of 1952. In August 1952 the two girls went for a bicycle ride into the country where they stopped by some light bush, removed their outer clothing and ran among the bushes ecstatically. They were so ecstatic that they went home leaving these clothes behind them. When talking about this episode Pauline said that previously they had just been friends but after this there was an indissoluble bond between them. It would seem that two unusual kindred spirits had come together. From then on they began to build up and share a rich fantasy life. By the end of 1952 they developed an increasing urge to write; they had their own fictional characters and they would creep out at nights for midnight sprees in which they would act these fictional characters until the early hours of the morning. These fictional characters they commonly referred to as their 'families'. One special group constituted the 'Saints'. The 'Saints' were referred to as HE, HIM, IT, etc., and in the front of the 1953 diary [of PYP. jp] was the following key list:

The 'Saints' were special figures representing ideal characters, and were commonly given the form of film actors who most resembled their ideals. The actual actors could change from time to time. Other members of their 'families' were characters from books they were writing. They questioned the whole scheme of things, and gradually the substance of their writing changed from the not unusual highly imaginative outpourings of adolescents to an increasingly morbid preoccupation with evil. They quickly became a self- sufficient unit, more and more self-bolstering, less and less dependent on others, and the scene was set for a break with society and its morality. They became increasingly conceited and arrogant and set themselves above the common masses. Pauline became disdainful of her less socially prominent family and was moody and withdrawn in her own home.

(3) From the commencement of the 1953 diary to the 'Port Levy Revelation' April 1953. From New Year 1953 right up to the morning of the murder Pauline kept a diary. This diary was kept hidden from the family and was not meant to be read by others than herself. But she and Juliet had no secrets from each other and this intimate diary, although primarily chronicling Pauline's exploits and thoughts, gives us a wealth of information about both girls and will be quoted repeatedly. The 1953 diary opened with a New Year resolution 'To be lenient with others'. During January, while she was staying in the country with some friends and did not see Juliet, her behaviour appeared to have been normal. She showed a healthy interest in an older boy and the normal jealousy of a young girl to a rival. There was little talk of writing or fictional characters. She returned home with good intentions of doing well at school. After her return she and Juliet were frequently together and soon were preoccupied with their 'Saints', play acting and writing. By March things were assuming a sinister turn and their interest in school work and commonplace activities was diminishing rapidly. Pauline was modelling a plasticine family based on their fictional characters and held a masked ball for them. Her fictional family intruded into the diary with bewilderingly frequent and tangled escapades; there were bedroom scenes, highway robberies and often more than one violent death a day. On the eighteenth of March the first grossly megalomanic statement appeared: 'We have decided how sad it is for other people that they cannot appreciate our genius. But we hope the book will help them to do so a little, though no one could fully appreciate us.' The tension which increased rapidly during March culminated on Good Friday, the third of April, with the 'Port Levy revelation'. The two girls were staying with Juliet's people at a week-end cottage at Port Levy, and Pauline wrote that evening: 'To-day Juliet and I found the key to the 4th World. We realize now that we have had it in our possession for about six months but we only realized it on the day of the death of Christ. We saw a gateway through the clouds. We sat on the edge of the path and looked down the hill over the bay. The island looked beautiful [there is actually a small island offshore. jp]. The sea was blue. Everything was full of peace and bliss. We then realized we had the key. We now know that we are not genii as we thought. We have an extra part of our brain which can appreciate the 4th World. Only about 10 people have it. When we die we will go to the 4th World, but meanwhile on two days every year we may use the key and look in to that beautiful world which we have been lucky enough to be allowed to know of, on this Day of Finding the Key to the Way through the Clouds.' Fixed ideas that they were different from other people, that they had an extra part of their brain and that they had a Fourth World or as they later called it 'Paradise' persisted from this time.

(4) Following the Port Levy Revelation on to the end of 1953. On the day following the 'Port Levy revelation' Pauline's fictional characters behaved even more aggressively than usual. In the diary record within a paragraph Roland slaps Carmelita's face when she turns his proposal of marriage down because she is engaged to Roderick, and in a blazing fury he shoots Roderick. The horse 'Vendetta' kills Gianina the night before her marriage to Nicholas. On the ledge of 'Satan's Hollow' 'Vendetta' crashes down on to Nicholas and with a wild scream turns into the sunset, his revenge complete. The close association of their megalomanic ideas with Pauline's preoccupation with murder was probably significant. The savage horse, a classic representation of unconscious hostile aggressive impulses, was certainly running wild at this stage. The two girls were together almost every day, and Pauline at least was in a highly excitable state. She remarked in one entry in the diary that her average hours of sleep for the preceding week were four and three quarters a night. The tension remained high right through into May and it would seem likely that if it had not been for certain events their increasingly wild fantasies might have been translated into action at this stage. However, Juliet developed pulmonary tuberculosis and went into a sanatorium which limited the amount of time the two girls spent together. Pauline started sneaking out at night to visit first some Ceylonese students [Canterbury University College. jp] and later became involved with another student, Nicholas. These occurrences produced sufficient interruption in the closeness of their association for the tension to lessen between May and December. In spite of decreased tension there was plenty of grandiose or morbidly aggressive material produced during the remainder of the year. For example, on the fifteenth of June, Pauline wrote 'Juliet and I decided the Christian religion had become too much of a farce and we decided to make up one of our own.' Also in the back of the 1953 diary Pauline wrote an extraordinarily exalted poem about Juliet and herself entitled 'The Ones that I Worship'. This poem reads: [note: text and punctuation differ from version read into trial transcript. jp]

There are living among two dutiful daughters, Of a man who possesses two beautiful daughters The most glorious beings in creation They'd be the pride and joy of any nation. You cannot know nor yet try to guess The sweet soothingness of their caress The outstanding genius of this pair, Is understood by few, they are so rare. Compared with these two, every man is a fool The world is most honoured that they should deign to rule And above us these Goddesses reign on high.

I worship the power of these lovely two With that adoring love known to so few 'Tis indeed a miracle, one must feel, That two such heavenly creatures are real, Both sets of eyes, though different far, hold many mysteries strange, Impassively they watch the race of man decay and change Hatred burning bright in the brown eyes with enemies for fuel Icy scorn glitters in the grey eyes, contemptuous and cruel Why are men such fools they will not realize The wisdom that is hidden behind those strange eyes. And these wonderful people are you and I.

While Juliet was in the sanatorium the two girls kept up a voluminous correspondence, writing to each other in the parts of the characters in their stories. Sudden death, suicide and murder assumed extravagant proportions. They were preoccupied with ideas of great power, especially to murder without reprisal, and vicious characters were greatly respected. The Empress of Volumnia (one of their fictional countries) who was only thirteen 'has a violent temper and when in a tantrum has killed all the people who have incurred her wrath. Also she is very proud and refuses to interview anyone in the lower classes.' Her people loved her and would not have had her otherwise. Their favourite character Diello whose coronation will be referred to later was particularly vicious. Death and murders were treated lightly as is shown in the following extracts. 'Barton... silly bounder... tried to shoot me, and I have a terrible temper when roused and I am afraid I broke his back and put him in the mere (lake)... (stupid blighter). And Linker... poor fellow... you know I really quite liked him... indiscriminate in his choice of friends and is now... alack!... in the mere with Barton.' A female character says 'I don't kill people... I thought you might like to know since you asked me some time ago. My father hasn't killed anyone for quite a while. I would like to kill someone sometime because I think it is an experience that is necessary to life.' Some of the imagery was equally violent: 'Sunrise makes the peaks crimson, as if some giant hand had dipped and smeared it with blood.' Juliet was in the sanatorium between late May 1953 and early September 1953 when, on her request, she was allowed to continue treatment at home. She responded satisfactorily to drug treatment. Both isoniazid and streptomycin were used, but there was no evidence that they produced any psychological changes. Her mother and father were due to leave on a trip to England about the time Juliet's tuberculosis was discovered. She insisted her mother should accompany her father. When her parents returned she was pleased to see them, but her mother soon realized that her real affections lay with Pauline. Between May and October Pauline attempted to establish a firm relationship with boys. These boys were university students much older than she was. As mentioned she started to meet Ceylonese students, and in June was sneaking out late to visit them. In July she went to bed first with one of them and later with a white student, Nicholas, who at the time was boarding in their home. Her father discovered her in bed with Nicholas and he was sent away. During August she met Nicholas secretly and in September was sneaking out of her home at midnight and spending till four or five o'clock in the morning with him. In spite of the compromising situations the first seriously attempted seduction did not occur till September and was interrupted because of its painfulness. In October intercourse took place on the one and only occasion. The most striking thing about the sexual behaviour was the apparent lack of real erotic involvement on her part. In interview she said frankly when asked about this intercourse: 'It wasn't for me. I wasn't interested.' When asked if she loved Nicholas at the time she was visiting him she replied: 'I liked to think I did. I was more flattered than anything else. I found boys of my own age fools. He was supposed to be clever.' Following this sexual experience her attempts at heterosexual functioning rapidly failed, although she continued to visit Nicholas, talking with him until well into the morning on occasions right through until December. She discussed all her nocturnal experiences with Juliet and appreciated on one occasion some jealousy on Juliet's part. On the eighth of October she wrote: 'It's so nice to think Juliet and I could continue our friendship unmolested, with no outside interests.' This was followed significantly enough in the same day by their discussing the people they would wipe out. On the twenty-eighth of October she stated: 'told Nicholas this evening that I was no longer very much in love with him because of my imaginary characters.' In the later part of 1953, with the distraction of Nicholas rapidly diminishing and with Juliet out of the sanatorium, the tension gradually mounted again and fantasy preoccupation increased. After much planning on Friday the eleventh of December Diello was crowned Emperor of Borovnia, their other fictional country. Pauline was awake at five o'clock on the day of the coronation in an excited state and noted the same 'Christmassy' feeling as on the morning of the murder. This ceremony had a much more than usual significance and as Diello was a particularly vicious character whom they had developed from his childhood in their writings it is probable that his coronation represented in some way the crowning of evil. By this time they had definitely set themselves apart from society, had few healthy interests and their main preoccupations were with morbid topics. During the later part of 1953 Pauline recorded a number of quite severe mood swings. On November the second she wrote: 'To- day I felt thoroughly, utterly and completely depressed. I was in one of those moods in which committing suicide sounds heavenly.' On the twentieth of December, after her mother threatened that if Pauline's health did not improve, she could never see Juliet again she remarked: 'The thought is too dreadful. Life would be unbearable without Deborah.' (Some time before the girls decided that they should be called 'Gina' and 'Deborah'.) Later in the same entry she wrote: 'I rang Deborah and told her of the threat. I wish I could die. That is not an idle or temporary impulse, I have decided over the last 2 or 3 weeks that it would be the best thing that could happen altogether, and the thought of death is not fearsome.'

(5) From New Year 1954 to the morning of the murder. On New Year's Day Pauline wrote: 'My New Year resolution is a far more selfish one than last year, so there is more probability of my keeping it. It is to make my motto "Eat drink and be merry for to-morrow you may be dead".' It is interesting that she misquoted 'for to-morrow you die'--for 'to-morrow you may be dead'. During the first three weeks they were separated, and prior to seeing Juliet again on the twenty-third of January Pauline's diary contained more normal material than for some months but was not as normal as in the preceding January when she was staying in the country with friends. Shortly after they were reunited they had a discussion about being prostitutes and the charge they should make. The next day Pauline wrote: 'I went over to Deborah's room early this morning about 7:30. It suddenly occurred to me that we had not celebrated He's day so we decided to to-day. In He's honour we ate some birthday cake, drank He's health, played all He's records and made a little edifice of He. We have shifted His to the Gods now. We worked out how much prostitutes would earn and how much we would make in such a profession and "should" gradually changed to "shall". We have worked out some glorious plans and worked out a whole new family for our future.' On the sixth of February they celebrated Him's day in glittering black and went through what they termed the 'Saints Day' ritual. They were now both writing feverishly. Pauline's book 'The Donkey's Serenade' was finished by the end of February and she immediately followed it with another. By the time of the murder they had completed or were in the process of writing six books between them, in addition to plays, poetry and an opera. On the twenty-eighth of February the first mention of the 'Plan' occurred. Pauline was at Juliet's home and wrote: 'Deborah and I started discussing our quest for "Him". We have now decided to hurry things up terrifically, in fact to start now. We had a marvelous time planning the life and the flight and how we will obtain all the money and what we will do.' The plan was to get to New York together, where they would find someone to publish their books and then they would go to Hollywood where they expected to be hailed as actresses. Shortly after this Pauline was visiting shipping companies, and between then and the murder they collected money by various means including stealing. Ambitious plans are not unusual in adolescents but there was more than usual neglect of reality here. Their books were mostly unfinished and untyped and they were completely uncritical about them. When Juliet started writing she used to read her novel chapter by chapter to her mother but later guarded her writings from everyone and was, like Pauline, completely contemptuous of anyone's opinion. By this time they had not the slightest doubt that they were outstanding geniuses so far removed from the common people as to need no one's approval but their own. There was no jealousy between them and they congratulated each other on their productions. In actuality their writings, although profuse and imaginative, did not show talent and there was nothing to suggest that they would be published. During the next three months [March, April, May. jp] the girls spent an increasing amount of time together, with Pauline staying frequent week-ends in Juliet's home. In the diary one can sense the mounting tension in that time with increasing exaltation broken only by either irritable bad-tempered episode or depression with suicidal thoughts. As Pauline expressed it in one entry, they soared between heaven and hell. The diary of this period was full of references to the 'Saints'. They built in the garden a temple of 'Rafael Pan', their favorite angel and god, and held various ceremonies there including the burial of discarded ideas. They would finish one book only to start another. Pauline's mother stopped her going to school because she had completely lost interest in her studies and did little else but write. While Pauline was with Juliet she wrote of frequent long baths together and hours spent together in Juliet's bed unknown to her parents. Although Juliet was still away from school convalescing from tuberculosis she and Pauline often talked and acted their characters in bed together, till after five o'clock in the morning, again without the knowledge of their parents. At this stage Juliet's father resigned from his position and it was decided the family would return to England. This meant that unless Pauline could go with them they would be separated. On the twenty-fifth of April Pauline wrote: 'But one thing Deborah and I are sticking together through everything (We sink or swim together).' Although Juliet's mother stated that it was made clear that Pauline would not be going with them the two girls were convinced that if Pauline could overcome her parents' opposition she could go. [note: Medlicott completely omits all mention of the Hulme family disintegration, Walter Perry, all the key diary entries placed into the trial record from this key period. jp] Over this period, March, April and May 1954, there was rapid deterioration in the girls' relationship with their families and in their behaviour. The antisocial wishes previously expressed in the behaviour of their fictional characters were now being realized in real life. Pauline became increasingly antagonistic to her mother. Just prior to this period she wrote in February that she loathed her mother and later: 'Why could not Mother die. Dozens of people are dying all the time, thousands, so why not Mother and Father, too. Life is very hard.' On the twenty-eighth of April Pauline decided to remove the one person who openly disapproved of their relationship and whom she believed stood in the way of their remaining together. This entry reads: 'Mother went out this afternoon so Deborah and I bathed for some time. However I felt thoroughly depressed afterwards and even quite seriously considered committing suicide. Life seemed so much not worth the living, and death such an easy way out. Anger against Mother boiled up inside. Suddenly a means of ridding myself of this obstacle occurred to me. If she were to die.... I spent the evening writing and managed to finish my chapter.' The next day she wrote that the last thing she wanted to do was to go to Borstal, and that although she did not want to go to too much trouble she wanted her mother's death to appear natural or accidental. On the thirteenth of April Pauline wrote: 'Mrs C. came to tea and was thoroughly objectionable. Her ghastly attitude towards the Japanese has made me fonder than ever of them. I did not write this evening but I sat up and talked to Mother. I told Deborah of my intentions and she is rather worried but does not disagree violently. It is now 10:30.' There was no further mention of the plan until just before the murder. Murder, however, was not their only preoccupation. They copied out the Ten Commandments so that they could break them. Juliet attempted blackmail; they went on at least two shoplifting expeditions and Pauline got the keys of the shop her father managed, stole out in the middle of the night to burgle it but found a policeman outside. There were also several passages in the diary suggesting overt homosexual activity. During June, the month of the murder, the two girls were together at Juliet's home for eleven or twelve days. The diary was almost completely morbid, preoccupation with the Saints extreme and the girls were obviously in a persistently excited state. On the sixth of June Pauline wrote: '...We went to sleep at 4:30 to-morrow morning after talking all night. We were discussing at first how we sometimes had a strange feeling that we had done what we were doing before. We realized why this was and why Deborah and I have such extraordinary telepathy and why people treat us and look at us the way they do and why we behave as we do. It is because we are MAD. We are both stark staring raving mad. There is definitely no doubt about it and we are thrilled by the thought. (Proof n'est capos!) [note: possibly a joke by PYP or mistranscription by Medlicott. Proper french would be n'est ce pas? = 'is it not?' jp] All the cast of the Saints except Nino are mad too. This is not strange as it is probably why we love them. We have discussed it fully. Dr. H. is MAD as MAD as a March hare. We are feeling thrilled and scared by the thought.' On the seventh of June Pauline wrote: '...We wrote a great deal into the Saints' book and discussed Him. We realize now that we cannot be revolted. We can discuss the most unsavory subjects. (Such as whether the Saints sanitary habits are prevented by sex) during a meal...' [note: not clear if previous parenthetical note is Medlicott paraphrasing or not. jp] On the ninth of June: 'I was feeling particularly mad to-day. I raved quite a lot at Digby's and terrified the girl next to me... Mother and I had a disagreement as I wished to see 'Trent's Last Case' to-night and the bloody bitch would not let me... I have come to bed all scented and sweet (physically).' [note: not clear if previous parenthetical note is Medlicott's or PYP's. jp]. On the tenth: '...I am feeling particularly close to Deborah.' On the eleventh and twelfth of June: '...we were then driven out to see It in "Trent's Last Case". It was the first time I had ever seen It. Deborah had always told me how hideous he was, and I had believed her, though from his photos he did not look too bad. "It" is appalling. He is dreadful. I have never in my life seen anything that so...in the same category of hideousness but I adore him (Scar). We returned home and talked for some time about It, getting ourselves more and more excited. Eventually we enacted how each Saint would make love in bed, only doing the first seven as it was 7:30 a.m. by then. We felt exhausted and very satisfied..." (The next night): 'We came to bed quite early and spent the night very hectically. We went to sleep after getting almost through. We had a simply marvelous time and we definitely are mad but very pleasingly so...' On the thirteenth: 'We gave ourselves two new Saints. "Onward Heel" and "Buster". Of all people my God. We had very amusing discussions about God, Christ and the Holy Ghost. In fact the whole day was very amusing and exciting... We spent a hectic night going through the Saints. It was wonderful! Heavenly! Beautiful! and Ours! We felt very satisfied indeed. We have now learned the peace of the thing called Bliss, the joy of the thing called Sin.' On the fourteenth: '...We were feeling absolutely exhausted which was scarcely surprising. We discussed which Saints we wished to have about us at such a time and found very few. We talked of Him's new character a little and loved it. We discussed the spicy ideas whom (s'queerly) we have grown to love... Two more spicy ideas became Saints... We intend to decorate the Cathedral. I am very happy. We have both spent a glorious Saintly day.' On the fifteenth: '...I had the most beautiful dream about That and Gay and Boinard and Deborah and myself at Port Levy. It was so heavenly that I am determined to make it come true. We came home late and we intend to sleep. It is a glorious night, very similar to the one at the island at Port Levy.' On the sixteenth: '...We came to bed late and spent a very hectic night. It was wonderful. We only did 10 Saints altogether but we did them thoroughly. I prefer doing longer ones. We enjoyed ourselves greatly and intend to do so again. We did not get to sleep until about 5:30. Obviously I am writing this to-morrow.' On the seventeenth: '...confessed we were disappointed in the Saints so we had an absolute clean up and threw out 8 of them. We discussed the ones left fully and felt very happy over them. We did not misbehave last night.' On the eighteenth: '...We had several brilliant ideas to write an opera each, to produce our own films and to murder all odd wives who get in our way. We went to town and bought books to paste our characters in. We planned our moiders and talked seriously as well...' On the nineteenth: 'We practically finished our books to-day and our main Ike (stet) for the day was to moider Mother. This notion is not a new one, but this time it is a definite plan which we intend to carry out. We have worked it out carefully and are both thrilled by the idea. Naturally we feel a trifle nervous, but the pleasure of anticipation is great. I shall not write the plan down here as I shall write it up when we carry it out. (I hope). We both spent last night and the one before having a simply wonderful time in every possible way. We also planned a few odd pictures and recast most of the "Saints' Christmas." We burnt all our film books this evening.' On the twentieth: '...Afterwards we discussed our plans for moidering Mother and made them a little clearer. Peculiarly enough I have no (qualms of) conscience (or is it peculiar, we are so mad)...' [note: not sure if parentheses and punctuation are PYP's or Medlicott's. jp]. On the twenty-first: 'I rose late and helped Mother vigorously this morning. Deborah rang and we decided to use a rock in a stocking rather than a sand-bag. We discussed the moider fully. I feel very keyed up as though I were planning a Surprise party. Mother has fallen in with everything beautifully and the happy event is to take place to-morrow afternoon. So next time I write in this diary Mother will be dead. How odd yet how pleasing. I have discussed various odd Saints with her to-day as I thought it would be interesting to have her opinion. She loathes That and It. I washed my hair this afternoon. I came to bed at quarter to 9.' The diary entry for the twenty-second of June on the morning of the murder has already been quoted. According to Juliet's mother the girls knew early in June that Juliet and her father were to leave New Zealand on the third of July. From the diary and from conversation with them it would appear that they never really believed they would be separated, although at the time they recognized Pauline's mother as an obstacle to their both going together. The diary entries quoted revealed the increasing excitement, exaltation and extraordinary attitude of mind in which the crime was approached. This was borne out by witnesses. Juliet's mother reported how Juliet left home on the day of the murder radiantly happy [note: HM Hulme actually testified that JMH looked this way on the day before the murder. jp] and Pauline's father told how at lunch before going to the park the girls seemed very happy, laughing and joking during the meal.

(6) The murder. Juliet brought a broken brick from her home which Pauline put into a stocking and carried it in a shoulder bag. The plan was that her mother should stoop to pick up a pink stone dropped by Juliet while Pauline swung the stocking delivering the fatal blow. Mrs P. was to fall dead, and the death to be ascribed to her falling and striking her head. For two intelligent and not unsophisticated girls the plan was extraordinarily naive, and before Mrs P. was dead about forty-five blows had been struck, Juliet joining in on the attack. The stocking and the brick were found at the scene of the crime and both girls' clothing was blood-stained. [note: Medlicott's lack of forensic detail and lack of physical and psychiatric analysis of the crime itself is noteworthy, and is probably a good indication of his lack of experience with criminal proceedings cf. the Crown's witnesses. jp]

(7) Following the murder. From the statements of those seeing the girls on the afternoon following the murder Pauline appeared to be somewhat dazed and shocked while Juliet was very excited. [note: trial testimony was much more extreme in these characterizations. jp] They themselves later maintained they were acting, but this was probably bravado as they could not accept any weakness in themselves. Certainly within a short time they were exulting in their murder, and at no time since have shown remorse or even regret. On the evening of the murder Pauline was observed to be writing in the police station on a piece of scrap-paper, of which the detective gained possession. On the following morning, after further discussion in which this was referred to, she managed to snatch it and throw it in the fire. It was rescued before being completely burnt. The detective stated that the note commenced with a reference to Pauline finding herself in an unexpected place. She then made reference to having committed her 'moider'. She then went on to write about the treatment she had received: 'All the H-s have been wonderfully kind and sympathetic. Anyone would think I've been good. I've had a pleasant time with the police talking 19 to the dozen and behaving as though I hadn't a care in the world.' There were then several sentences he couldn't remember but the final sentence was: 'I haven't had a chance to talk to Deborah properly but I am taking the blame for everything.' During the trial they did not appear disturbed by any of the unpleasant details, but grimaced when anything was said which disturbed their vanity and often hid their heads while sexual material was discussed. They were not concerned about the outcome of their trial, and could not appreciate at any time that the likely outcome was their permanent separation. When this was pointed out to them they simply said that as they had committed the murder to remain together no one would be so illogical as to separate them.

PSYCHIATRIC CONDITION AT THE TIME OF THEIR INTERVIEWS. The girls were interviewed on five separate occasions, the first two of these being within a week of the crime. They were seen separately, and the conditions of interview were quiet and comfortable. Over seven hours was spent with them. Their physical appearances have already been described. In attitude, emotional responses and thought content they were strikingly alike; any differences were of degree only. In bearing they were both assured; Juliet was a little more sophisticated and had an easier manner; but neither was ever ill at ease. _Rapport_ was easy in the sense that one had no difficulty in getting them to talk and there was no suggestion of schizophrenic withdrawal. They never really accepted the writer on an equal footing; contempt was never far from the surface, and at times they were openly hostile and abusive. Their hostility could be particularly venomous, although their abuse was puerile. When the question of their possible separation was brought up Pauline glared at the writer menacingly while obviously toying with the idea of throwing the ink-well at him and when it was removed jeered: 'You're not worth it.' At another time she said: 'You're an irritating fool, displeasing to look at and have an irritating way of speaking.' At another time she hoped New Zealand would be bombed and the writer directly under the bomb. [note: consult the time line for cold war and bomb references. jp] She shouted, when the writer was leaving after making a physical examination, 'I hope you break your flaming neck'. Juliet was more subtle, as, for example, when the writer was non-commital in an argument about religion she interjected: 'You do think, don't you?' Their interpersonal relationships were dominated by profound conceit and an arrogance of greater persistence and degree than the writer had previously encountered. Ordinarily their conversation flowed easily and coherently, but when they started talking on religio-philosophical themes the pressure increased and Juliet in particular would sometimes appear suddenly to 'slip into gear' and rush on in a high pitched voice into a torrent of jumbled ideas as though the rushing train of thought had taken possession of her. Both girls reported extreme mood swings between ecstasy and misery with suicidal preoccupation. Both were hyper-irritable during the interviews, and as recorded in Pauline's diary rages and death-wishes were easily precipitated. The outstanding thing, however, about their mood was definite exaltation. The diary showed clearly how this had built up to an increasing pitch over the months prior to the murder, and apart from an immediate short-lived period of shock directly after the murder, it had been persistent. When they launched on their crucial religio- philosophical themes the exaltation would increase to a high pitch and be accompanied by gross excitement. Their thought content was consistent with their state of exaltation, their arrogance and conceit. They never doubted that they were outstanding geniuses far above the common herd of mankind. When asked about her poem 'The Ones that I Worship' Pauline explained that she and Juliet did not look upon themselves as sisters and had simply chosen Juliet's father for the sake of rhyme. She did not appear to see anything fantastic in the statements about themselves, but she stated she did not usually voice these they were so obvious. ('What's so obvious?') 'That I think I am wonderful. I do seriously think I'm wonderful. There's nothing about ourselves we don't approve of.' When the girls were first interviewed the writer knew that they were trying to prove themselves insane, with the idea that in a mental hospital they could 'recover' and be at liberty quite soon. 'We would be perfectly safe,' Juliet said, 'unless someone tried to part us again.' They both presented reasons for their 'madness'. They pointed out the supposed relationship between genius and madness, said they both were subject to mood swings between ecstasy and extreme depths of misery, that they were both prone to compulsive thoughts such as putting their hands into a fire or jumping out of a window and that they were both 'telepathic', and gave various examples of their thinking of the same thing at the same time. Juliet suggested the threat of separation had driven them temporarily insane. Naturally the writer was not impressed by their evidence of insanity and did not feel they really believed they were insane. He was, however, impressed by their persistent state of exaltation, the way they exalted in their crime, the complete lack of remorse and by their fantastic conceit, arrogance and self-inflation. The impression that their disturbance was really one of psychosis was increased when they entered into religio-philosophical discussions. During the first week-end visit Juliet said they had their own religion with a personal non-Christian God and that only about twenty-five people in all time approached their level. Both of them showed preoccupation with great power and, as will be discussed later, the complete right to do as they wished. The diagnosis of psychosis was confirmed on the second week-end visit when they were questioned about the 'Fourth World' and the poem 'The Ones that I Worship'. Thee was no opportunity for them to confer between interviews and they both gave consistent accounts which firmly established their nuclear delusions. They both affirmed that they were outstanding geniuses and that the only incorrect statement in the diary account of the 'Port Levy revelation' was the statement that they were not 'genii' after all. They both firmly believed they had an extra part to their brain, and Juliet expressed it thus: 'There's an extra part and attached to the usual part of our brains it makes the whole thing different. The only way to describe it is to say that because of it you can appreciate the "Fourth World" and why. You can appreciate the whole nature of everything.' They said they now usually called the 'Fourth World' 'Paradise', and affirmed it was their own personal Paradise, that they could now see it whenever they wanted to and would go there when they died. They said they were producing their own religion and bible. Both girls were repeatedly questioned as to whether this 'Fourth World' was not just phantasy but were quite clear that it was not. Juliet said: 'It's metaphorical in the sense that it is not exact but it is definitely there. I do believe it exists,' She made it quite definite that it was not part of their fiction. Pauline said they had known about this 'Fourth World' about six months prior to the 'Port Levy revelation', and their experience at Port Levy simply clarified it. She maintained it occurred to both of them simultaneously. When it was suggested that this experience could be part of their vivid imagining she replied: 'I know it's real.' It was then pointed out to her that other people would look upon it as a delusion but she snapped back contemptuously: 'They don't matter.' Both the girls could consciously hallucinate almost at will, hearing music and voices and seeing fleeting scenes. Pauline said the things they heard would seem irrelevant and at the time unimportant, but later these things would often turn out to be important. At one time a small child's voice said 'She couldn't die'. She went on to say that it turned out afterwards (after the murder) to be what she said about her mother. Juliet said these reveries were often pure imagination at the start but then something came in which altered it, something which could happen in Paradise. The girls knowledge of right and wrong, their ethical beliefs, conscience, guilt and remorse were examined carefully. Unfortunately, the only aspect of these which the McNaghten rules is concerned with is the knowledge of right and wrong. In this sphere both girls were quite clear that they had murdered and that murder was wrong both according to the law of their country and according to the moral standards of the community in which they lived. Juliet is reported to have said: 'I would have been an absolute moron not to know murder was against the law.' Pauline's jottings on the night after the crime made it quite clear that she understood their act offended the morals of the community. It was obvious from the entry in the diary about not wanting to finish in Borstal that they knew beforehand that they would be punished if caught. Although they knew their murder, and for that matter their other actions such as theft and attempted blackmail, were wrong, both according to the law and the morals of the community, they were just as definite that these actions did not conflict with their personal moral or ethical conceptions. They had built up together a personal code which was definite but different from the community in which they lived. This code was typical both of Nietzsche's cult of the superman and Stirner's egoistic man as well as others which will be discussed later. Juliet laid bare its foundations when she emphasized that their god was unlike the Christian God in that all people in his eyes were not equal. She went on to say: 'Our god is a nice chap, he doesn't necessarily label all "sin" bad or evil, it can be good.' Out of the inequality of man in the eyes of God grows the privileges of the few 'to do what they will'. Later it becomes the duty of these few to achieve their ends irrespective of the means and as Juliet said: 'The best people are those who fight against all obstacles in pursuit of happiness.' On another occasion Juliet said: 'Anything really great is worth having at any cost.' They both expressed repeatedly the right to do what was in the interest of their happiness, irrespective of the law. Juliet also said there really was no right or wrong. If she were king of a country she would make laws for others to adhere to and punish them if they did not. She added that as king the laws would not apply to her. In their stories their favorite fictional characters act above the law. When the question of the individual man as an integral part of society with duties towards his fellows was raised Juliet became very heated and said: 'I believe you are a complete thing in yourself and every person is quite single and different from every other person. Right and wrong is different in each case.' Both considered themselves definitely apart from the law, and although they appreciated that the law would punish them it was not a law to which they owed any allegiance or respect. Their moral code showed an almost complete reversal of values. Diello, a particularly vicious character, was their favorite creation and 'It' whose hideousness Pauline described was loved. In many ways they openly embraced evil. In earlier times one would have said they had become 'possessed' by evil spirits. Juliet never expressed any qualms of conscience. Conscience, she said, was bred in people so that they punished themselves; it was senseless. She might have felt it she added when she was younger. Pauline, like Juliet, never showed real remorse. It will be remembered however that she hallucinated a small child's voice saying 'She couldn't die' and that in spite of the exultant 'night-before-Christmassy' feeling on the morning of the murder she had had bad dreams the preceding night which suggest that some part of her personality at least was protesting. On one visit she informed the writer that if she went to sleep on her right side she had dreams about her mother: '...that I only hurt her and hadn't killed her. In these dreams she comes back and she's rather nice.' She added defiantly 'I turn on to my left side.' In spite of the feelings that they were quite justified in their murder both girls used certain devices to lessen its significance. For example, on no real evidence they painted Pauline's mother as an unhappy woman and Juliet was reported as saying: 'The day we killed her I think she knew beforehand what was going to happen and she didn't seem to bear any grudge.' Judgement is difficult to assess in persons with such distorted ethical conceptions. There was evidence, however, that in certain directions their judgement was defective. For their intelligence and sophistication they were quite uncritical of their writings and their plans for publication and filming. The murder was very poorly planned. The most outstanding defect in judgement, however, was their complete inability to foresee, at least after their detection, the natural outcome of their action, namely separation. They showed an inability to think things through to their logical conclusion whenever any of their personal wishes were involved. As to insight there is no doubt that the girls never considered themselves insane in the ordinary sense. The diary references to their being 'mad' contains perhaps a glimmering of insight into the grossly exalted, excited state in which they were at the time, but this 'madness' was a distinction in which they exulted and of which they were proud.

DISCUSSION

The diagnosis. Paranoia was defined by Kraepelin as a fixed type of disease due exclusively to internal causes and characterized by persistent systematized delusions, the preservation of clear and orderly thinking and absence of hallucinations. ...[snip]... Folie a deux or communicated insanity has been frequently described in psychiatric literature. In the majority of instances it is induced by a stronger character, the inducer, upon the weaker, the inducee (folie imposee), but delusions may occur simultaneously in predisposed associated individuals (folie simultanee). There is no evidence of either of these girls imposing their ideas on the other, and there seems no doubt that they developed their psychoses simultaneously.

Age of onset of psychosis and the influence of adolescence. In classical descriptions paranoia is an illness of middle age. These descriptions are, however, weighted in favor of the persecutory form and as arrogance and megalomanic trends are not uncommon during adolescence there would appear nothing unusual in the development of paranoia of the exalted form at this age. In discussing adolescent girls Helen Deutsch (1946) points out... [snip descriptions of adolescent narcissism]... Helen Deutsch's account can be applied to Pauline and Juliet. These girls unfortunately went into adolescence already strongly narcissistic and each acted on the other as a resonator increasing the pitch of the narcissism. ...[snip observations of PYP and JMH isolation from social and group experiences]

Their rejection of moral values, and analogies in the literature. First, it is clear from their histories that this rejection of moral values was recent. Juliet, prior to meeting Pauline, had been selfish and demanding, but had never shown delinquent behaviour nor was her conduct particularly unusual. Pauline had apparently always been self-sufficient and intolerant of criticism, but her behaviour had been good and her father related how as a child if she had broken any of his tools modelling wood she would always be at the gate when he came home to tell him. There had certainly been no delinquent behaviour, and on reading the diary one noted a gradual change of attitude and conduct as time progressed. The striking differences in the 1953 and 1954 New Year resolutions will be remembered. Secondarily there is no evidence that their rejection of moral values and antisocial behaviour was dependent on any strong grudge against society. Thirdly, they did not slip into bad behaviour through so-called 'weakness of character'. Bad behaviour to them was not just an easy way out. They were not easily influenced. Anyone spending any time with either of the two girls could be in no doubt that they possessed considerable strength. The facts that their rejection of moral values and their antisocial behaviour was recent, not mediated by any basic grudge against society and not due to their being 'weak' and easily influenced, excludes an alternative diagnosis of psychopathic personality. The old conception of paranoia as a monomania or partial insanity is long discarded, and it is generally accepted that in spite of the apparent lucidity of the paranoiac there are subtle changes pervading the whole personality. These two girls with their fantastic arrogance and conceit, their emotional exaltation and their grandiose delusions naturally showed far reaching changes in their moral and ethical outlook and behaviour. In particular, their defences against unconscious aggressive forces were swept away and their super-egos almost silenced. As has been stated previously, their moral values became reversed and they embraced evil as good. These aggressive impulses were so much in ascendancy that one might have predicted their expression in a violent act even had external circumstances been different. Their murder was a direct result of pervasive personality changes. Pauline's mother was not a persecutor. In spite of Pauline's outbursts of anger towards her it is doubtful if either girl persistently hated her. They believed she stood in the way of their remaining together. In this they were quite correct, but they could not see far enough ahead in spite of their intelligence to appreciate that many other factors stood in the way of their remaining together and publishing and filming their books. As Bleuler (1924) states: the paranoiac often cannot recognize or feel the just rights of others. The two girls gave no thought to Mrs. P.'s right to live. 'Furthermore', he says, 'their own cause is so very much the only important, I might say the only sacred thing in the world, that a few lies and acts of violence also disappear in the face of it and are furthered and sanctified by the great purpose. Like a cancer the delusion extends to ever-widening areas, and there is far-reaching domination by the delusion of the entire personality in its behaviour and strivings.' The two girls were so disturbed mentally by the time of their threatened separation that they set about their murder with joyous abandon.

Some similar cases. Although these girls' distorted moral and social attitudes and antisocial behaviour developed as part of an exalted paranoia there are close analogies in the literature especially those associated with what we might call 'the cult of the superman'. Nietzsche. The foremost protagonist of the superman cult was Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche himself was a frail, unhappy man, who, had he followed his dictum 'Goest thou to women--taketh thy whip' would have had the whip quickly wrested from him. ... [snip description of 'superman' philosophies]... Nietzsche's ethical conceptions are very similar to those of Pauline and Juliet. Nietzsche, however, was a man of words and never like the two girls attempted to translate his ideas into action. Max Stirner was in real life Kasper Schmidt, a teacher in a girls' school. ...[snip description of ideal egoist man rejecting morality of others]... Pauline and Juliet's unbounded egoism was consistent with Stirner's philosophy but inconsistent with man's role as a social creature. Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment) provides striking similarities. ...[snip description of arbitrary morality of social elite]... Raskolnikov's arrogant, belligerent, petulant, aggressive and self-incriminating behaviour during his examination corresponded vividly with that of Pauline and Juliet after their murder. Leopold and Loeb, who were both sons of millionaires in Chicago, adopted a superman philosophy and set about a career of crime for crime's sake which culminated in their teens in the murder of a school boy. ...[snip description of egomania, homosexual relationship between physically-disparate men, subordination of emotion and morality]... Neither Leopold nor Loeb expressed the same grossly delusional ideas as Pauline and Juliet, yet it would seem that they were moving in the same direction. Aleister Crowley the English magician who styled himself 'the great beast' taught ethical ideas very similar to those of Stirner. His motto summed up his philosophy and was: 'Do what thou wilt, that is the law. There is no other law.' He was never himself certified as insane, but he left an extraordinary trail of havoc with wives, concubines and disciples, becoming insane, addicted to drugs, or committing suicide. The Nazi S.S. Organization, according to Alexander (1948), was of a paranoiac nature. Although this may seem a far cry from these two girls there are several very close analogies. ...[snip descriptions of 'very close analogies']...Both the girls came to treat death very cheaply as something of no particular concern.

Homosexuality. There is of course no doubt that the relationship between these two girls was basically homosexual in nature. Pauline made attempts in 1953 of establishing heterosexual relationships, but in spite of intercourse on one occasion there was no evidence of real erotic involvement. All her escapades were fully discussed with Juliet which is a common feature amongst people basically homosexual in orientation. In spite of the most incriminating evidence in the diary they both denied physical homosexual relations to all examiners. Whether their acting of the Saints making love was not recognized by them as homosexual is not known. They both had sexual dreams about the Saints but none of those dreams was analysed. As the Saints were always shared figures there would appear good reason to suspect that heterosexuality was limited to the manifest content and the latent content might reveal the dreams were basically homosexual in nature. It was suggested that as their love-making scenes involved fictional or actual characters who were males, that this was not consistent with homosexuality but constituted a substitute relationship for heterosexuality. There was no evidence, however, that Juliet was ever interested in boys, and Pauline's attempts at heterosexuality ended in failure. In spite of their lack of restraint in discussing their aggressive behaviour they were obviously loath to admit homosexual leanings, and it would seem likely that the choice of male partners in dreams and in play acting was simply a disguise. Repressed homosexuality has a special role in persecutory paranoia, but there is some reason to believe that homosexuality might be prominent in other types of paranoia. The homosexual relationship between Leopold and Loeb has been mentioned, and Burr (1935) states that he cannot recall a case of paranoia in which he really knew the conduct of the patient and did not discover that he was homosexual.

SUMMARY Case histories of two adolescent girls who developed paranoia of the exalted type in the setting of a simultaneous folie a deux is described. They presented gross conceit and arrogance, were exalted in mood, held ideas of a grandiose delusional nature, showed gross reversal of moral values and finally murdered the mother of one of them. Particular attention is drawn to the early onset of paranoia in this instance and its relation to adolescence. Analogous distortions of ethical conceptions and reversal of moral values from the literature are briefly described and compared.

REFERENCES [selected. jp]

Bleuler, Eugen Paul (1924). Textbook of Psychiatry. New York: The Macmillan Company.

Deutsch, Helene (1946). The psychology of Women. A Psychoanalytic Interpretation. London: Research Books Ltd.

7.8.2Glamuzina and Laurie, 1989. [jb]#

J. Glamuzina and A.J. Laurie, Sites no. 19, pp. 33-42 (1989) "Sexual Politics in the 1950s: The Parker-Hulme Murder Case."

**This article appeared before their book on the subject, and it introduces a modern feminist perspective on the case. The journal is not widely available, so the majority of the article has been reprinted here, with some omissions and annotation. The article serves as an excellent introduction to Glamuzina and Laurie's book and to their perspective on the case. [jp]

Introduction In June 1954, in Christchurch, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, aged 15 and 16, killed Pauline's mother. A sensational court case followed receiving both local and international media coverage during which a public association of lesbianism with murder, 'evil' and 'insanity' was made. Interest in this case has continued through the years, most recently with a full page article in the "The Press" (17 June, 1989) which describes the case in lurid terms, scarcely differing from the 1950s media treatment. Other articles and books about the case in medical and popular crime literature portray Parker and Hulme either as monstrously 'evil' or as incurably 'insane'. The case has not been placed in the social context of the 1950s nor has it been analyzed from a feminist perspective. An analysis of the treatment of women and girls who kill must incorporate an understanding of how sexism functions. In an analysis of the Parker-Hulme case an understanding of how heterosexism functions is also essential.

Within a patriarchy, all females by definition are deviant. However, those who overtly defy their prescribed gender roles are marginalised further and punished accordingly. ... [snip explanation of academic context of the case and lit review]

In the Parker-Hulme case the girls were perceived as deviants not only because they had stepped outside their prescribed gender roles by acting violently and by killing a mother, but because they had a lesbian relationship which was seen as the reason for the killing.

In this article, we discuss the context of the case, the way it was portrayed by the media and the continuing function it has as a mechanism of social control.

The Background Pauline Parker was born on 26 May 1938. She was the third child of Honora Parker and Herbert Rieper. Their first child, a boy, had died shortly after birth, and their second child, Wendy, was fourteen months older than Pauline. The youngest child was born in 1949, when Pauline was nearly eleven. This child, Rosemary, had Downs Syndrome and was institutionalized when she was two (stet) years old.

Honora Parker and Herbert Rieper never married. They lived together for twenty-three years after Herbert left his wife and two children. Their irregular status was not known to the community in which they lived, and until the killing occurred, Honora and the three daughters were known by the name Rieper. Following the killing, Honora was referred to as 'Mrs Parker' and Pauline as 'Pauline Parker'.

The family lived in modest circumstances near the Christchurch Girls' high School in the inner city of Christchurch. Herbert Rieper managed a fish-shop, and Honora supplemented the family income by taking in boarders. They had purchased the house in 1946 [note: Not known if it was paid off. jp]. Pauline's childhood has been described as uneventful, however she was seriously ill with osteomyelitis and spent many months in hospital during which time she nearly died.

She started at the Christchurch Girls' High School in 1952 and was placed in the top stream. Here she met Juliet Hulme. Under other circumstances, it is unlikely that Juliet and Pauline would have ever met. Juliet was the oldest child of Henry and Hilda Hulme, prominent and upper-class [note: The Hulmes would not have been classed at this level in British society. jp] members of Christchurch society. They had arrived in the city from England in 1948 when Henry was appointed as the first Rector for Canterbury University College [note: This is correct, but disagrees with HRH's obituary data. see 7.10.1]. They lived in the large homestead known as Ilam, which is now the University Staff Club. Soon after their arrival Hilda Hulme also became prominent in the social and cultural life of the city--as the wife of the Rector, and also as a member and later Vice-President of the Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council. She was elected to the Board of the Christchurch Girls' High School, and was a regular panel member of the local 3YA Womens' Session Programmes.

The Hulmes had two children, Juliet--considered to be highly intelligent and who had suffered severe lung problems as a child necessitating lengthy absences from her parents--and Jonathon, who was six years younger than his sister. Juliet was born in October 1938 and was about six months younger than Pauline.

The two girls developed a close friendship which was initially welcomed by both families. As the relationship became more intense, concern was expressed not only by the school [note: First mention of school intervention in a scholarly analysis. This has been confirmed in private communication to me, quoted elsewhere. jp], but by Henry Hulme and both Pauline's parents. As a result, Pauline's mother took her to their local doctor, Dr F O Bennett [note: No mention of Bennett's social connections to Hulmes. jp]. He informed Honora after this consultation that in his opinion the relationship was 'homosexual' but that he thought that Pauline would grow out of it (DoJ, 1954 [=trial transcripts. jp]).

Pauline spent a great deal of time at the Hulmes' and was clearly impressed by their way of life. They entertained frequently and she met guests such as the British actor Anthony Quayle. Further, Hilda in particular seems to have developed a close relationship with her according to the Parker diaries. Meanwhile, events at the Hulme household became chaotic. Hilda became involved with a man she had met through Marriage Guidance, Walter Perry, who then rented a flat at the Ilam residence. Pauline related in her diary an incident in 1954 during which Juliet had apparently surprised her mother in bed with Perry. Later she described various discussions about divorce with the Hulmes. At the same time, Henry's career as Rector was drawing to a close. From the beginning he had difficulty with his colleagues and by 1954 he was asked to resign. The household was about to disintegrate as Henry's forced resignation meant that the family also had to vacate Ilam as the university residence. Hilda and Henry had agreed to divorce, and Hilda and Walter Perry (who later married) were to remain together. Henry was taking the children with him on his way to his new job in the UK at Aldermaston [note: Doubtful that HRH had actually firmed up the Aldermaston job before his return. He did not start until sometime in '55. jp]-- Jonathon to be with him, and Juliet to stay with an Aunt in South Africa where the ship was to call. Among other things, this disintegration meant that Juliet and Pauline would be parted. At first they hoped that Pauline could go with Juliet and Pauline's diary indicates that she thought the Hulmes would support this idea. However, Honora was pleased that the intense relationship between the girls would finally be brought to an end. [note: Missing is Honora's obvious and strong opposition to Pauline's lesbian relationship, forming a large component of her motivation to separate PYP and JMH. jp].

Pauline's entries in her 1954 diaries indicate that she was shocked and distressed by the disintegration of the Hulme household as well as by her impending separation from Juliet. Her relationship with Honora had been conflicted for some time. Her increasing identification with the upper-class Hulme household had also resulted in negative feelings and attitudes towards her own modest and crowded home. As the events in the Hulme household became more chaotic Pauline wrote in her diary about 'moidering' mother--a term which indicates that her plans may initially have been fanciful rather than serious. On 21 June 1954 she wrote: [snip quote. see 7.4]. On the following day she wrote: [snip quote. see 7.4].

Later that day she and Juliet went with Honora to Victoria Park, where they walked with her along a deserted path. They had brought with them a half-brick wrapped in a stocking. They killed Honora with this weapon and fled from the scene to the Victoria Park tea-kiosk. Here they claimed that Honora had fallen and injured herself accidentally. The police were called and Pauline and Juliet were subsequently arrested and brought to trial for the murder of Honora Parker. Pauline's diaries were an important piece of evidence as these detailed the plans for the killing. However, as both girls signed written confessions the prosecution went to trial with a very clear-cut case against them [note: Complete and curious lack of analysis of forensic evidence and huge 'narrative gap' here even cf. "Heavenly Creatures." The extreme violence of the crime, an important component of public perception and reaction, is not mentioned and the murder is referred to as a 'killing'. These points are addressed at greater length in their book, though still in a controversial manner. jp].

The Trial The Supreme Court trial was held in Christchurch from 23-28 August 1954. The facts concerning the killing of Honora Parker were not disputed. The Crown maintained that Juliet and Pauline had planned to murder Honora Parker, had lured her to Victoria Park and there beaten her to death. The motive was said to be that since Honora had refused Pauline permission to leave Aotearoa/New Zealand with Juliet they regarded her as an 'obstacle' in their path and had murdered her so that they could remain together. The central question of the trial was whether Parker and Hulme were sane in the legal sense. The defence strategy, restricted by the full confessions made by Parker and Hulme, was for both to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. This meant, however, that the burden of proof was transferred from the prosecution to the defence which had to show that Parker and Hulme were jointly insane and that they did not understand the nature and quality of their action in killing Honora Parker-- or if so, that they did not know that this was wrong. Most of the evidence, then, consisted of arguments from defence and prosecution medical witnesses regarding the mental state of both Parker and Hulme.

The main defence medical witness, psychiatrist Dr R.W. Medlicott, insisted that [snip long quote of diagnosis of paranoia of the exalted type in a setting of folie a deux]. He also considered that their homosexuality was one symptom of this form of insanity. [note: This is clear from Medlicott's article, but was not a part of his testimony, which was much more equivocal. jp]

The other defence medical witness, Dr F.O. Bennett, the general practitioner who had examined Pauline in 1953, agreed with Medlicott and declared, with some confusion, [snip important quote, given elsewhere, effectively stating PYP & JMH legally sane but clinically insane].

Three prosecution psychiatrists rejected the defence diagnosis, dismissing their homosexuality as an 'adolescent phase' and insisted that both were sane. The Crown Prosecutor summarized: [snip Brown's famous 'dirty-minded' quote. jp]

As well as presenting medical evidence as to the sanity of Parker and Hulme, the prosecution also drew attention to the various activities of the girls, including Pauline Parker's activities during 1952 and 1953 when she slipped out at night, on some occasion meeting male friends, on others, Juliet. Some petty shoplifting they had done was highlighted as evidence of their criminality, while their creative writing, consisting mainly of novels and poetry, was claimed to be brutal and violent. The few entries in Pauline Parker's diaries which referred to the planned killing of Honora were presented by the prosecution as unquestionable evidence of premeditation.

Both were found guilty. Because they were under 18 years they could not be given the death penalty. Instead they were sentenced to be detained 'during Her Majesty's pleasure'--an indeterminate sentence. They were transferred to separate prisons following the trial and were never allowed to meet.

The Department of Justice stated publicly that Parker and Hulme were to be treated just like any other long-term prisoner. In fact, the Department took a strongly paternalistic interest in them, from the local prison staff to the Minister of Justice, who personally received regular reports on their progress. Both were allowed to study and at the time of her release Parker had partially completed a university degree. While they were in prison the Department did not address their homosexuality specifically except for separating them from each other and prohibiting sexual contact between prisoners in custody, as was usually the case. However, during Parker's probation period, concern was expressed by departmental officials about her lesbian associates.

In late 1959 they were both released after having served just over five years. The Department helped both in establishing new lives and identities. Juliet Hulme immediately left the country. Pauline Parker remained in Aotearoa/New Zealand until 1965 when she was released from parole. She left the country soon afterwards.

Significance of the Case. The Parker-Hulme case was given considerable publicity at the time both in local and international newspapers. Subsequently, accounts have appeared in medical and popular crime literature as well as in newspaper articles. These accounts have resulted in the construction of a number of messages which in some cases have little relation to the actual events but which served as mechanisms which reinforced and extended patriarchal ideology and power.

Most obviously, the 'mad' or 'bad' dichotomy presented at the trial is a classic illustration of the ways in which women and girls who kill are portrayed (Smart, 1976; Edwards, 1986). Parker and Hulme's motive for killing Honora was simply understood as a desire to 'remove an obstacle' to their impending separation. The prosecution represented this desire as the product of an 'evil' and selfish wish to be rid of anyone who apparently stood in their way, while the defence represented it as the product of diseased and insane minds acting together. Neither of these representations include an understanding of the context in which the killing of Honora occurred. The medical arguments concerning their sanity were highly profiled and extensively reported. Headlines such as 'Incurably Insane' ("The Press" 28 Aug 54), 'Hideousness and Ugliness' ("The Press" 27 Aug 54), 'Both Were Sane' ("Dominion" 28 Aug 54), overlaid reports of the trial and emphasised the 'mad' or 'bad' dichotomy already established in the judicial arena. The Crown Prosecutor's Declaration that they were 'dirty-minded' girls was widely quoted. Evidence of Parker's association with males, some of whom were from Sri Lanka [note: should be Ceylon in '54. jp], helped the prosecution in portraying her as 'immoral' criminal, and 'bad'. Even her own defence witness, Dr Bennett, described her as a 'silly adolescent girl out for experience' (DoJ 54).

It was within this context that their relationship was presented and an association of lesbianism with murder, insanity and criminality firmly established. Subtitles such as 'Wild Infatuation' ("The Press" 27 Aug 54), 'Disastrous Association' ("The Press" 30 Aug. 54) and 'Strange Happenings On Moonlit Lawns' ("NZ Truth"), guided readers to a particular perspective while headings such as 'Homosexuality and Insanity' ("The Press" 28 Aug 54) gave unequivocal messages. Their relationship was described as a sexual perversion. Within the medical literature, Medlicott's diagnosis and description (Medlicott 55) was the major account of the case and reached a wide 'professional' audience. This account was reprinted, unchanged, twenty-five years later in a collection titled 'Deviant Behaviour: New Zealand Studies' (Medlicott 79). A more 'liberal' view taken by another local psychologist (Bevan-Brown 61), that the tragedy arose out of inadequate parenting, reached a smaller audience a few years later. Both the conservative and liberal psychiatric views of Parker and Hulme labelled them 'abnormal' and 'deviant' and drew associations between lesbianism and murder. Little attempt was made to place the events in a context wider than the individual personalities of Parker, Hulme and their immediate families.

Later accounts in newspapers and in popular crime literature reinforce these associations. A 1987 report stated that Parker and Hulme took Honora to the Port Hills [stet. Victoria Park is part of the Port Hills range] and 'battered her to death so they could continue their lesbian love affair undisturbed' ("Dominion Sunday Times" 31 May 87). Gurr and Cox in "Famous Australasian Crimes" introduce Pauline and Juliet as the "Murdering Girls" and describe their friendship as 'deep and dark', 'terrible' and 'abnormal'. This account includes a picture of the site where Honora Parker was murdered, with streams of blood clearly visible, a photograph of the diary entry anticipating Honora's killing, and a 1953 school photograph of Pauline Parker. Using extravagant language they construct images of madness and deviance:

The Parker-Hulme case entered the juvenile delinquency debates which occurred not only in Aotearoa/NZ but in England, The United States and Australia in the 1950s. "Time" debated whether they were 'rebels' or 'psychopaths' ("Time" 6 Dec 54). Later accounts drew similar associations with one newspaper headlining an account of the case with 'Teen Passion Flares--Mother Has To Die' ("Dominion Sunday Times" 16 Mar 69). That 'sexual perverts' could become 'killers' seemed a logical development to those who believed that 'sexual perversion' led to 'worse' things. One popular crime writer, in reference to the case, declared:

Women and girls are expected to be the victims rather than the perpetrators of violence. In this instance, these expectations were overturned and the dominant culture responded by objectifying Parker and Hulme. Neither was given the opportunity to speak at their trial [note: Strictly speaking, not true. Both were given the opportunity to speak before sentencing and both declined. It was their own counsel who chose not to have the girls testify. Because of their ages, testimony had to be voluntary. jp]. When they were given a voice, it was through the media and served to reinforce a particular message--for example, the concept of repentance, with its implied recognition of some wrong-doing. Initially the media reported that Parker and Hulme showed no remorse for the killing. However, within a few months though, headlines such as 'Girl is Now Sorry for Murder' ("Sun" 10 Dec 54) began to appear. [note: Actually, this was confirmed by Anne Perry recently to be an accurate statement of her feelings. jp]

An article in 1964 superimposed the words of the author on Parker and Hulme, in a reinforcement of the 'bad' explanation. Describing their action as a 'sin' and Honora Parker as 'the victim of a sexual obsession', Edgar Lustgarten [note: Can you believe the name?? cf. the girls' view of Borovnia and the 4th world... jp] considered their 'devotion' to each other as 'frightening in its homosexual intensity'. He wrote:

These accounts through more than thirty years underline the political response of a male-supremacist society to women and girls perceived as being out of control.

Impact on Lesbians The Parker-Hulme case has had a significant impact for lesbians in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Not only did the case associate lesbianism with violent death, criminality and insanity, it became a vehicle for the construction of new expressions of anti- lesbianism. Some people who had contact with young girls became watchful and fearful in case the girls formed same-sex attractions. People who had contact with declared lesbians sometimes treated them with suspicion as if lesbianism and violence were inevitably linked. Some girls and women becoming aware of the possibility that they could be lesbian internalized negative and stereotyped views of lesbianism which made identifying as lesbian difficult if not impossible for them. For some who did identify as lesbian it was important to ensure that they were as unlike Parker and Hulme as possible in order to distance themselves in their own minds from those negative associations.

The way in which the case has been constructed and used by the media has provided continuing messages of warning to women who do not conform to their prescribed gender roles and sexual identities.

Conclusion The killing of Honora Parker could have been portrayed as a domestic tragedy, arising out of a particular family situation with tragic consequences for all involved. The media could have drawn attention to the context of long-standing difficulties and unresolved conflicts in both the Parker and Hulme households. Instead, it became known as the Parker-Hulme case, with the subject of attention being Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme. The immediate trigger for the killing (that is, the impending separation) was mistaken for its cause, while the complex roots and origins of the tragedy were not examined, except to highlight the 'abnormality' of the two girls. Parker and Hulme became examples to be used in a broader political environment concerned with the maintenance of a male-supremacist gender order. The 'mad' or 'bad' dichotomy presented at the trial is one common technique used in the processing of women and girls who display violent behaviours. One result is the absorption of the particular event into the inventory of examples which may be employed in the promotion and reinforcement of patriarchal ideology. The employment of the medical witnesses and the subsequent discourses in medical literature highlight the role of the medical profession as an agency of patriarchy. Matthews has pointed out with respect to psychiatry, in particular, that it

Implicit in this has been the definition and enforcement of norms regarding sexuality. In this case, heterosexuality as the norm was firmly reinforced by the juxtaposition with lesbianism as 'abnormal' and 'unnatural', criminal and insane. The case also illustrates the functioning of the mainstream media as an agent of patriarchal ideology. It continues to inform popular opinion about lesbianism and its supposed consequences. In this sense the case continues to function as a warning to women who transgress prescribed boundaries as to the likely consequences of their actions.

References [selected. see also bibliographies elsewhere. jp]

Allen, Jeffner, 1986. "Lesbian Philosophy: Explorations," Palo Alto: Institute of Lesbian Studies.

Black, W.A.M. and A.J.W. Taylor (eds), 1979. "Deviant Behaviour: New Zealand Studies," Auckland: Heinemann Educational Books.

Cavin, Susan, 1985. "Lesbian Origins," San Francisco: Ism Press.

Chesney-Lind, M., 1986. "Women and Crime: The Female Offender," Signs, 12(1):78-96.

Edwards, S.S.M., 1986. "Neither Bad Nor Mad: The female violent offender reassessed," Women's Studies International Forum, 9(1):79-87.

Heidensohn, Frances, 1985. "Women and Crime," Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Kitzinger, Celia, 1987. "The Social Construction of Lesbianism," London: SAGE Publications.

Matthews, J.J., 1984. "Good and Mad Women," Sydney: George Allen & Unwin.

Smart, C., 1976. "Women, Crime and Criminology," London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

7.9Recent press articles#

Clarkson, Neil. The Press (Christchurch), June 17, 1989. p. 23. [jb] "Separation threat trigger for a brick attack." Features the murder of Honora Parker, Christchurch, 22 June 1954. Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Marion Hulme were convicted.

Clarkson, Neil. The Press (Christchurch), Supplement, p. 1. October 5, 1991. [jb] "Murder Without Remorse" Profiles the defence lawyer, Brian McClelland, who talks about the trial of Parker and Hulme. [I would like to get a copy of this. jp]

Darnton, John. New York Times, Tuesday February 14, 1995. B1-2(N). [jp] "Author Faces Up to a Long, Dark Secret." (see 7.9.1).

Gristwood, Sarah. The Australian Women's Weekly, March 1995. pp. 18-21. [sb] "Haunted by my Horrible Past" "Jailed at 15 for her part in a brutal murder, author Anne Perry thought her secret was safe..." (see 7.9.2).

Lyall, Sarah. New York Times, Wed. Aug. 17, 1994. C9(L). [jp] "Mystery Writer's Hidden Mystery."

Marchand, Philip. Toronto Star, Mar. 5, 1995. p. C5 [se] "Author tries to avoid past as teenage murderer."

McCrum, Robert. The New Yorker Magazine. to be published. [mf] "Robert McCrum was just here [Christchurch] recently writing the definitive Parker/Hulme story. ...I think his article will answer a lot of your questions and push all our ideas about 'the moider' into a whole new territory." [note: personal communication, mf 94/04/20. jp]

Sabbage, Lisa. New Zealand Woman's Weekly. August 26, 1991. pp. 36-38. [jb] "The murder that stunned New Zealand!" Examines the murder of Honora Parker by her daughter, Pauline, and friend Juliet Hulme in the light of a new book 'Parker and Hulme - a lesbian view' by Julie Glamuzina and Alison Laurie.

Sullivan, Barbara. Chicago Tribune, Sun. Mar. 26, 1995. p. 1. [sb] "Murder was the case." Article concerning Anne Perry's recent NAm book tour, and interview with Ms Perry.

Wickens, Barbara. Maclean's March 27, 1995. p. 61 [jp] "Haunted by homicide" (see 7.9.3).

7.9.1Darnton, NY Times 95/02/14 [jp]#

Darnton, John. New York Times, Tuesday February 14, 1995. B1-2(N). "Author Faces Up to a Long, Dark Secret." PORTMAHOMACK, Scotland, Feb. 8 - Interviewing Anne Perry, the detective novelist who harbored the dark secret of her identity as an adolescent murderer, is frustrating. It's like trying to capture the mist that rolls off the mountains in the Scottish Highlands where she makes her home. It's not that she is reluctant to talk. Far from it. The words come out in compulsive torrents. With little prompting she speaks about the early years, her childhood pneumonia and bronchitis, the "courage and love" of her parents, her deep attachment to her father, a time of trial in prison, her epiphanic conversion to the Mormon church in Northern California. It's that when all the words are added up, she has shed little light on the crime that shocked a nation 40 years ago and half a world away. The motives that caused two young girls to conspire and kill the mother of one of them in August (stet) 1954, after taking afternoon tea in a sunny park in Christchurch, New Zealand, are as elusive as ever. "Like any other traumatic experience, nature helps you to put it away," she said. "All I can remember was feeling very afraid and very jammed into a corner. I didn't want to do it and I couldn't think of any way of getting out of it." She cannot, she says, recall anything at all about the crime itself and very few details about the subsequent trial, other than "the sense of helplessness when people tell lies about you and you can't say, 'No, that's not how it was.'" Miss Perry, 55 (sic) years old, was forced to admit her prior identity as 15-year-old Juliet Marion Hulme because of interest in the murder case stirred up by a film, Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures." The film, which she refuses to see, has been playing in the United States since November but did not open here until now. To counter what she insists is a grotesque and distorted portrait of herself, she has participated in a publicity campaign to tell the world "who I really am." What began as "damage control" has turned into a single-minded and self-absorbed crusade of revelation, obfuscation and attack. "I think it's time that possibly we question the acceptability of making a film about people who are still living, because of the damage it can do," she said. "It can ruin lives." "It's like having some disfigurement and being stripped naked and set up in the High Street for everybody to walk by and pay their penny and have a look. I would like to put my clothes on and go home, please, be like anybody else." Six months ago Miss Perry was beginning to enjoy the luxuries of a writer on the verge of making it truly big: a 12-room stone cottage here with a spectacular view of Dornoch Firth and two Jaguars in the driveway. Her 82-year-old mother lives in a fishing village nearby. Since 1978, her Victorian-era mysteries featuring Police Superintendent Pitt and Inspector Monk have been building a steady readership, especially in the United States, where three million copies are in print. Recently, she had signed a $1 million contract to deliver eight more books over the next three years. Her life, outwardly at least, was something of a Scottish idyll, filled with achievement and modest contentment. Then, with a phone call from her London agent, the idyll ended. The agent was puzzled by calls from a New Zealand reporter with a curious tale, a simple case of mistaken identity, which should be swiftly refuted. "I had to say, 'I'm sorry, but you can't,'" Miss Perry recalled. "'It is true.' "I thought I would lose everything. I really thought it would kill my mother." And so began the mystery writer's long revelation of her own mystery, beginning with a visit to her mother, who had expected the secret to break someday, and phone calls to friends and business colleagues who had no idea of her past. It was, she said, "one of the worst days I've ever lived through." The 1954 case was a seminal event for New Zealand. It seared the repressive, conservative, English-appearing society like a red-hot poker, the way certain murder cases do. The prosecutor who won a guilty verdict called it a "coldly, callously planned murder committed by two high (sic) intelligent and sane but precocious and dirty-minded little girls." They were sent to prison for five and a half years, and released with new identities on the condition that they never see each other again. The film tries to explain the crime as an outgrowth of an aberrationally intense friendship with lesbian overtones between Pauline Yvonne Parker, 16, poor and withdrawn, and Juliet Marion Hulme, 15, affluent and English, who suffered from weak lungs that forced her into periods away from her parents. Based in part on diaries kept by Pauline, the film depicts the two as outcasts in school who spin an elaborate fantasy world of movie idols and imaginary princes and villains. As family relationships deteriorate, they are drawn into a peculiar emotional symbiosis and the world turns violent. And when they are about to be separated, because Juliet is being sent to live with a relative in South Africa and Pauline's mother refuses to let her go along, they decide their only recourse is to murder Pauline's mother. Luring her down a pathway in the park, they repeatedly strike her on the head with a brick inside a stocking. They make no attempt to cover up the act or even the incriminating, strangely jocular diary in which the plan for "moidering" mother was laid out. Miss Perry tries to refute this version. She is especially upset at any suggestion of psychological deviance or lesbianism. "I find it grossly offensive," she said. "I was so innocent sexually then." Between sentences, she spits out the prosecutor's words with venom: "dirty-minded little girls!" She insists that even as a child she knew "the difference between fantasy and reality." Aside from "normal childhood imagination," she did not construct elaborate games with clay figures, she says. And she goes so far as to assert that she was not really that close to Pauline. She simply felt a debt of obligation because Pauline had written letters to her when she was confined to a sanitarium. The details are sketchy, she insists, and perhaps her behaviour was affected by a medication she was taking for her lungs that she heard somewhere was later taken off the market because it "warps judgement." She feared that Pauline would die or commit suicide if she did not join in the plot. "All I can actually remember feeling is: I don't want to do this. How can I get out of it, hysterically, how can I get out of it? I can't. Because if I don't do it, she's going to die and that's going to be even worse. I'm going to be responsible for a death one way or the other. And this one stood by me, that one I didn't even know. "My father lost his job and my parents were going to be divorced and that all happened within a matter of days, and we were going to leave the country and Pauline was ill. I just knew she was throwing up after every meal." Bulimia? "I'm not going to put a name to it. I just know that she was throwing up regularly after most meals, and I believed that if I did not do what I did she would take her own life. I'm not putting words in her mouth. All I will say is this is what I believed. "I mean certainly we were good friends, but it was a debt of honour. It wasn't a great 'I can't live without you' business that these idiotic movie makers are making out of it." Could she not have told her parents about the dilemma? The question provoked an angry tone. "Come on. My father's just lost his job and his wife. And she was in a state of distress as well. And we've only got a few days to. ... (stet ellipsis) I suppose I was absolutely stunned." Following her release from prison, she returned to England and eventually obtained a visa to the United States, where she worked as a saleswoman, a limousine dispatcher and a flight attendant. Twenty-six years ago, she converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is still an active Mormon. Attempts to distinguish between right and wrong preoccupy her writing. A sense of persecution threads through her conversation, and expressions of remorse are not volunteered. But she says she accepted responsibility for her deed after a few months in prison and "worked through all that." She has not seen or heard from Pauline since the trial ended. "I wish her well," she said, "but I have nothing to say." Miss Perry has appeared on the "Today" show and was interviewed for "People" magazine. She notes that she turned down Oprah Winfrey and "60 Minutes." This month, she is to start a 23-city tour of the United States to promote her new novel "Traitor's (sic) Gate." Her publicity agents at Fawcett Columbine have sent out press packets with clippings, an updated biography and a list of 13 suggested questions, including "How did you put your life back together after leaving prison?" A cover letter promises that she is "ready to discuss her past and her future as well as her new book." The marketing of Miss Perry as someone who has "courageously faced the world and shared her painful story" raises the usual questions about exploiting notoriety for gain. But Miss Perry insists that her own motives are pure. "The reason that I'm sticking my head over the parapet at all is that other people have made such a noise," she said. "It never occurred to me that 40 years on, something that had been dealt with and paid for, that anybody would care anymore. It's like somebody rushing in with the news that Queen Anne is dead. For Pete's sake, is there anybody who didn't know? I really didn't think it would surface again so long afterward. And if it did, it would be, you know, so what?"

Lead photo caption: Anne Perry, a writer of mystery novels who helped kill a friend's mother when she was 15, in Portmahomack, Scotland, where she lives. Second photo caption: Pauline Yvonne Parker, left, and Juliet Marion Hulme, now Anne Perry, before their murder trial in 1954.

7.9.2Gristwood, Australian Women's Weekly 1995/03. [sb]#

Gristwood, Sarah. The Australian Women's Weekly, March 1995. pp. 18-21. [sb] "Haunted by my Horrible Past" "Jailed at 15 for her part in a brutal murder, author Anne Perry thought her secret was safe..." Anne Perry had waited 35 years for the blow to fall. She should have been going about her usual business--writing best- selling crime novels, gardening and walking the dogs around the tiny Scottish fishing village where she lives. Instead, she was trying to cope with the devastating effects of one phone call. A journalist had been on the line, her agent told her, with a crazy story about a film, "Heavenly Creatures", being made about an old murder case, and how one of the teenagers involved had grown up to become Anne Perry. But, of course, there couldn't possibly be any truth in it. Yes, there was, Anne said. The bare facts are that on June 22, 1954, as a 15-year-old in New Zealand, she colluded with a friend to murder the friend's mother. She served a prison sentence, was released with a new name at the age of 21--and went on to build a fresh life and career. Only in the past few years have Anne Perry's historical mysteries reached the US best-seller lists. But that fame makes an explosive combination when you mix with it a notorious murder story--all the more fascinating because, even today, no-one, probably including Anne Perry herself, can really explain it. "I've done my best to put it out of my mind," Anne says. "Once you have admitted that you are at fault, have said, 'I'm sorry, I'm utterly, totally sorry, without excuse,' and paid your price, then you have to put it behind you. You have to let it go." [snip "Creatures" description]...and it's hard to match the person Anne is today with what she once did. How two bright girls, from families no more troubled than any others, came to kill was the great question of the time. Headlines around the world shrieked "Gym Tunic Murderesses" and "Teen Passion Flares." At the trial, the argument was about whether they were bad, as the prosecution claimed, or mad. The verdict and sentence, in the end, reflected what was seen as "folie a deux"--two girls who were dangerous together; apart, the girls may well have grown to a trouble-free adulthood. // Anne Perry was born Juliet Hulme in the London suburb of Greenwich, on October 28, 1938. Her astronomer father worked at the Royal Observatory and later, during the war, held a senior position at the Admiralty. Juliet was only eight when, on medical advice after contracting pneumonia, she was sent to New Zealand to stay with another family. It was two years before her parents joined her. "The effect on me was disorienting, but my mother sent me away with great anguish. She'd already heard one doctor say, when I was six, that he would come back to sign my death certificate in the morning. One of the things that hurt me most was the way they painted her at the time of the trial," Anne says. She was 10 when her father was appointed rector (sic) of Canterbury University College in Christchurch. The Hulmes lived in the university-owned house, Ilam, with its famous gardens, and mixed with the top strata of local society. They were a glamorous, liberal family--or they seemed so to Pauline Parker, whose father owned a fish shop and whose mother took in boarders. The two girls met at Christchurch Girls' High School, and a close friendship was formed. Before long, Pauline was spending much of her time with the Hulmes, even writing in her diary of Dr. Hulme as "Father". With Juliet, she created a vivid imaginary world, peopled by "saints", such as singer Mario Lanza and actor James Mason, with "temples" in the garden of Ilam, in which to bury "dead ideas." The friendship grew if anything more exclusive when Juliet was taken out of school with tuberculosis. It was "a strange and lonely time," Anne says now. Kate Winslet, the actress who spent months trying to get inside Juliet's mind for the film, says: "Because of being sent so far away, Juliet never had a home base, a family she could invest everything of herself in. To me, she was like a child stiffening its lip, determined not to cry. I think she was constantly afraid of being on her own." Separation and loneliness were just what the girls were threatened with. In the summer of 1954, the Hulmes' marriage was breaking up and Juliet was to leave New Zealand. Pauline, of course, was to stay. But the girls convinced themselves they could go abroad and make a life together--if only Pauline's mother were not in the way. Pauline was ill with what to modern ears sounds like bulimia. "She was literally wasting away," Anne says. "I was afraid that she was seriously ill to the point where she might not survive. I felt that I was deserting her. I believed at the time that her survival depended on her coming with us. "I don't want in any way to implicate or blame her. I heard the other day that she's made a success of her life, but I have had no contact with her from that day to this. But she wished me to join her in this act and I believed that if I did not she would take her own life. I sincerely believed that her life was in the balance. Crazy as this sounds, I thought it was one life or the other. I just couldn't face the thought of being responsible for her dying. And I made a very foolish choice." It is no use pressing Anne for details of the event, or of the mood which blew up between the girls in the space of a few frantic days. "I've completely blocked it out. All I can say is that it was violent and quick." But contemporary reports told how--in the context of an apparently normal day filled with shopping and household chores--the two girls went with Pauline's mother to a Christchurch park. They had tea, went for a walk--and Pauline used the half brick provided by her friend to hit her mother repeatedly over the head. "I never thought I would get anything out of it," Anne says. "I was 15, I was ill, and I had been out of circulation with people because of this chest ailment--for which I'd been treated with drugs that have since been withdrawn because they do tend to warp the judgement. I would like to think this was to some extent responsible, but obviously I was an accomplice. I was party to this act, and I never pretended otherwise." The pair were arrested within 24 hours, after police found diaries in which Pauline wrote of their plan for "the moider." The spoof spelling, some theorists have since thought, may suggest that the killing was unreal to the two who did it--a game that went wrong, another fantasy. But read out in court--and misinterpreted, says Anne--the diaries were damning. The defence could only, unsuccessfully, plead insanity. "I don't think the reason for what we did ever came out," says Anne, who has probably never heard some of the other theories pundits have been forming since. "After three months' solitary confinement I was sent 'at Her Majesty's pleasure' to the toughest place of incarceration in the country. I was the only child there. I've chosen not to remember a great deal of it, because you can't survive if you do. It was 40 years ago. I have done everything I can to live as good a life as I know how since then. To the best of my belief, I am doing nobody any harm, and as much good as I am able to." Anne left New Zealand immediately after her release, in November 1959, to join her mother in Britain. For the next 15 years she worked in secretarial jobs and as an air hostess, spending time in the US. She never married, "though I came near to it once or twice," but stayed close to her family. She had been trying to write for 12 years before her first book was published in 1978. Since then, she's become far better known abroad than in Britain. It's partly because of that fame, of course, that the trouble began. All the same, the question that has to be put is whether, after 40 years, Anne's identity need ever have been discovered but for "Heavenly Creatures." "Yes," says director Peter Jackson. In New Zealand, interest in the story never went away. Almost every year there's a newspaper story. There's been a great resurgence in the past five or six years, as the 40th anniversary approached: a book, a play, and five or six other prospective films." // Jane Campion, director of "The Piano," and Dustin Hoffman's production company are just two of the film-makers who showed interest. "Deciding to do the film when we did may, at least, have stopped something more unsympathetic being made," says Peter--a bearded, friendly man whose film "Heavenly Creatures" has won great reviews in the US and a Venice Film Festival prize. "What was important was to make the film as fairly as possible, not taking sides in any way. There is no simple explanation. I think it was very much a fatal attraction." Peter also points out that Anne Perry's former identity was rapidly becoming an open secret among New Zealand literati. "When a play about the case was put on in Wellington two years ago, the team went round to everyone who had known her, and there was one woman who said, 'I can't talk to you because I'm still writing to Juliet.' But she let something slip at the party after the premiere--and from then on, it was a ticking clock." The story spread, but Peter prayed it wouldn't become public--at least, not in connection with his film: "But so many people knew." The same journalist who had called London contacted him. He spent an hour trying to persuade her not to run the story. "I said, 'They're not Nazi war criminals. They don't deserve to be hunted down.' I was appalled. It makes me feel incredibly guilty." How does Anne Perry feel, now that the initial shock has begun to die? Through the years, she has told the truth about her past at salient points: to the American immigration authorities, who granted her a full visa after hearing the trial transcripts, and to the Mormon church in the US, which she joined when she was in her 20s. "I think all Christian faiths will say that if you have paid the price and you have truly repented, there is forgiveness," she says. "I've found the most incredible support. I haven't had one person turn away. Everybody has said, 'You were a child, that was 40 years ago, we are right with you.' "It shows you the kind of people they are. That basic goodness can just move you to tears. I've been truly, emotionally overwhelmed. I didn't know there were so many compassionate, honourable and decent people around."

7.9.3Wickens, Maclean's 1995/03/27. [jp]#

Wickens, Barbara. Maclean's, March 27, 1995. p. 61. [jp] "Haunted by homicide"

**The article (in the "Books" section) contains a number of factual errors, but there are some new quotes from Anne Perry and one new fact: Walter Perry was originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Anne Perry also refers to him as "Bill Perry." [jp]

Quotes and extracts from the article:

"It was just six years ago that I made enough money from my writing to finally pay income tax." Anne Perry says that her 83-year-old mother, who lives near her, "has suffered very much." Her publishers offered to release her from the book promotion tour. "I very nearly stayed home, but I've got to either stay in hiding for the rest of my life, or go through this and come out the other side." She seems mystified by the interest in her past: "I thought, 'After 40 years, who cares?' The Berlin Wall has come down, Communism has fallen, the whole world has changed since then." Her voice becomes edgier when she notes that because she was a minor, she was not allowed to testify at the trial. Adding to her frustration is the fact that the prosecution's case (like the movie) was based largely on the diaries of Pauline. "I don't know how you can use one person's diary as evidence of another person's behaviour." She added that such scribblings are wide open to misinterpretation. For instance, she said that Pauline referred to seeing "'George in the night.' I believe that in North America the equivalent is 'the john,' but the prosecution tried to make out that she had a lover." Her greatest scorn is reserved for those who insist she has shown no remorse. A proper, almost brusque, Englishwoman, she is indeed no meek penitent. But she insists "the misrepresentation is pretty high--I always expressed remorse." Perry writes in longhand and works six days a week. She plans to publish historical fiction in addition to her mysteries, including a novel set during the French Revolution.

7.10Extended biographies#

7.10.1Hulme, Dr Henry Rainsford. [jp,sb,lfr,mk,G&L,ad]#

**The material omitted from Dr Henry Hulme's official biographies is as interesting, important and potentially as informative as the material contained in them. The reasons behind these omissions may be complicated and difficult to unravel, however-- this is a real man's life, not a neat work of fiction.

"Who's Who" entries are published only after being solicited by the publisher (in many circles, a sign that one has 'arrived' socially) and they contain information provided by the subject (but verified by the publisher). Complete omission of all personal information from a "Who's Who" listing is not unknown, though it is not common. However, selective omission of legitimate family members is unusual, particularly if those omitted are legitimate children though, again, it is not unknown. Including the names of divorced spouses is common practice, especially if there were children born in the marriage.

Dr Henry Hulme's first "Who's Who" entry was in 1974, the year following his retirement from Aldermaston at age 65. It might be expected that he would take this opportunity to create a full and lasting public record of his life, his family and his accomplishments, since many people take retirement as an opportunity for reflection and summing up of their life. It was an opportunity for him to make a formal, public statement about what was important and who was important in his life.

Whether or not Dr Henry Hulme would have modified his "Who's Who" entry today, with his second wife now dead and his daughter's new identity revealed, we shall never know. If there had been an estrangement between Dr Hulme and his daughter, Juliet/Anne, in the past--and there are certainly grounds to believe there was-- there is also reasonable evidence (see 7.10.2) that father and daughter had reconciled and were not strangers at the time of Dr Hulme's death in 1991. [jp]

Who's Who 1990 [92N has death notice. jp]: Personal: born 9 Aug. 1908, [Southport, England. ad][died 8 Jan. 1991. jp]. Son of James Rainsford Hulme and Alice Jane Smith. Married 1955 Margery Alice Ducker [died ca. 1990. jp], daughter of late Sir James A. Cooper, KBE, and of Lady Cooper.

Education: Manchester Grammar School; Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge; University of Leipzig. BA (Math Tripos) 1929; Smiths' Prizeman, 1931; PhD (Cambridge) 1932; ScD (Cambridge) 1948. Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, 1933-38.

Professional: Chief Assistant Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1938-45; on loan to Admiralty during WW II [Director of Naval Operational Research by War's end. jp]. Scientific Adviser Air Ministry, 1946-48.

Position: Chief of Nuclear Research, Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, 1959-73, retired.

Publications: on Mathematical Physics and Astronomy in learned journals. [Hulme, H.R. and Collieu, A. McB., "Nuclear Fusion," Wykeham Publications, London, 1969. jp]

Recreations: various.

Address: [snip] near Basingstoke, Hants. U.K. [south-central, near Aldermaston and London. jp]

**Other biographies:

Dr Hulme also has an entry in:

The entry contains several errors, but does mention his position as Rector of Canterbury College, beginning in 1948, his marriage to Hilda and the name of her father, Rev J Reavley, and also the fact that the couple had one son and one daughter. The errors are identical to those made by Glamuzina and Laurie in their book, although G&L do not list this source in their Bibliography, only "Who's Who."

There is also biographical data on Dr Hulme and information about his career in New Zealand in:

where there is a brief C.V. for Dr Hulme as a footnote on p. 319:

There are obvious errors in the dates of Dr Hulme's positions early in his career, but the dates and titles of his academic and his post-war positions (immediately preceding the position at Canterbury University College) are probably correct because they would have been of most relevance to the Search Committee for Rector.

**Analysis of conspicuous omissions from Dr Henry Hulme's "Who's Who" biography: [jp]

Personal: Dr Hulme's marriage to and divorce from Hilda Marion Reavley in 1937, and his children from that marriage, Juliet Marion Hulme and Jonathon Hulme, are missing from the entry. Since "Who's Who" is really all about establishing family history and legacy, this is a particularly significant omission. Hilda Marion Reavley came from a socially-prominent family; her father, Rev J Reavley had his own entry in "Who's Who," so Dr Hulme was forsaking association with social prominence by denying his connection with Hilda.

"Who's Who" does not list the names of children. The number of children of each sex are listed with the corresponding parent, however. So Henry Hulme's missing personal data would have appeared in "Who's Who" as: m, 1937 Hilda Marion Reavley (marr. diss. 195[4,5?]); one s, one d.

Hence, omitting H Marion Perry (nee Hilda Marion Reavley) from his entry automatically omitted his son, Jonathon, and his daughter, Juliet. His second marriage was childless, so this omission robbed Dr Hulme of all mention of his heirs. The negative impact on his legacy resulting from these omissions obviously did not outweigh his desire to obliterate all record of his marriage to Hilda Hulme from his official biography.

There is evidence that Dr Hulme reconciled with his daughter in the years following his first "Who's Who" entry, made in 1974. The entry was not changed over the years, however.

Professional: Positions from PhD in 1932 and during 'Fellow of Caius College' (1933-38) are missing. Being a 'Fellow' of a Cambridge College is largely honorary, usually involving few real duties or responsibilities. Hence, there may have been independent research performed at Cambridge in this time, or work performed with other scientists or other positions not deemed worthy of mention. Scientifically, the thirties were heady, exciting days in physics--quantum mechanics was flowering, statistical physics was progressing rapidly, solid-state physics was developing into a respectable field, astronomy was exploding with new discoveries. We know that Dr Hulme was a brilliant mathematical physicist, so these 'golden years' of modern physics must have been some of the most exciting and satisfying of his career. Why were they glossed over? The post-doc or post at Leipzig is probably early in this period. A complete list of Dr Hulme's scientific publications will help to clear up many of the uncertainties in the dates of his academic/research appointments.

Glamuzina & Laurie state that Dr Hulme was a lecturer in Mathematics at Liverpool from '36-'38 (p. 41), as does the C.V. in "History of the University of Canterbury." This is probable, though '46-'48 is also a possibility. One probable reason for omitting the Liverpool post was simply that Dr Hulme met and married Hilda Reavley in this period, '36-'38.

JMH was born in Greenwich, London on October 28, 1938, when Dr Hulme was Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory (1938-45). [note: G&L state erroneously that JMH was born in Liverpool (p.42). jp] Hilda Hulme testified that JMH was 'bomb shocked' in 1940-1, when she was two, during the London blitz, so the family stayed together in Greenwich into the War and even into the blitz.

Jonathon was born on March 22, 1944, at which time Hilda Hulme suffered various serious health problems. It is possible that these may have been exacerbated by wartime and personal stress, and/or by post partum depression [note: my speculation, based on Hilda Hulme's wording in testimony. jp] Hilda Hulme testified at the trial that she was hospitalized after Jonathon's birth. She also testified that Dr Hulme had to travel to America when JMH was 5 3/4 years of age (i.e. ca August 1944). Finally, Hilda Hulme testified that she was separated from JMH because of her illness and "wartime conditions" and she also stated, once, in testimony, that JMH spent time in the North of England during the war.

So it would appear that the Hulme family stayed together in Greenwich through much of the war, but that JMH was probably sent away to live with another family for a period in the latter part of 1944 when both Hilda and Henry Hulme were unable to look after her. She may have been sent to a member of Hilda Hulme's family, or to a member of Henry Hulme's family. During WW II, many spouses and/or children were relocated to the British countryside to avoid the blitzes on the big cities, so this was not an unusual situation. Under ordinary circumstances JMH would have started her schooling a month before her 5th birthday, in October 1943. Hence, during the period she was probably sent away up North, late 1944, she would have been of school age.

JMH is described as a "former Liverpool schoolgirl" (part of the 'local/midlands' angle to the "Parker Hulme" murder that attracted the attention of the Manchester Guardian editorial staff), so it seems likely that JMH was sent to Liverpool at this time. If Henry and Hilda Hulme met while he was a lecturer in Liverpool, which seems likely, then JMH probably went to a member of the Reavley family. [note: I would really like to get Rev J Reavley's biography from Who's Who to fill in some of this background. jp] It was approximately at this time, winter '44- '45, that JMH became ill with bronchitis and then pneumonia almost to the point of death. Was she away from her family at the time? Is this also part of the connection between JMH's illnesses and her resentment and blame and her mother's obvious guilt over this illness?

Dr Hulme lists his occupation during 1946-48 as "Scientific Advisor" to the Air Ministry. This was a feather in Dr Hulme's cap but may have been equivalent to being an occasional consultant, or it may have been a full Whitehall (London) position. If it was only part-time then this also makes the period 1946-48 a possible, though less likely time for Dr Hulme to be a lecturer at Liverpool. [However, it should be noted that most sources suggest Dr Hulme went to Christchurch direct from the Air Ministry in London. sb]. JMH is sickly this whole time and does not attend school, according to trial testimony, having been removed from school between ages 6 and 8. She is sent to the Bahamas in winter '45-'46, so she would not have lived long in Liverpool. From the Bahamas, JMH is sent to New Zealand.

Note that the ScD(1948), in Dr Hulme's case, was probably a nod from Cambridge given to an old boy for outstanding academic contributions and/or achievements in his field (Mathematical Physics). Coming only 12 years after his PhD, (which took him the normal, for Britain, but still damn impressive 3 years) this is a sign of extremely vigorous, successful academic work. Typically, one is invited to put one's name up for consideration for this degree, so it also signifies acceptance into an upper academic clique. But the degree is not wholly symbolic or automatic (unlike Cambridge MAs, which Dr Hulme was awarded automatically upon paying his fee, but which he never even bothered to list, except on his job applications) and it signifies that he was an active, successful academic scientist. In fact, this kind of productive activity and kudos from one's peers are as much recognition as most active academic scientists aspire to in the early-to-mid stages of their careers. Given the biographical evidence suggesting Dr Hulme really did love his science passionately, omission of this period and the recognition of the science he performed is very significant to the eyes of a practicing scientist. The omission would have been made at some personal cost.

All positions between 1948 (Hulmes emigrate to NZ) and 1959 are missing--there is no attempt to gloss over this obvious void in Dr Hulme's curriculum vitae.

One obituary lists Dr Hulme in the post of Vice Chancellor of University of Otago, NZ from 1948-52(?). This has been confirmed to be an error--Henry Hulme never held this post [mk]. Dr Henry Hulme is mentioned only in passing in the history of the University of Otago, as the Rector of Canterbury University College and with respect to financial policy in NZ universities.

Indeed, it seems unlikely there could have been a Vice-Chancellorship at Otago at the time. (Incidentally, the Vice-Chancellor, despite the title, is in fact THE executive officer; the Chancellor is more of a ceremonial, figurehead and/or chairperson of the board -type figure.) In 1948, the four university colleges (Canterbury, Otago, Auckland and Victoria, at Wellington) were parts of the single University of New Zealand and that year, for the first time, full-time administrative positions were advertised to run each one, all to be called "Rector." The idea that he was VC at Otago comes from the Guardian obit by some peer of the realm to whom, I would venture a guess, Rector at Christchurch and Vice-Chancellor at Otago would have been much of a muchness. (Not like confusing Oxford and Cambridge, you understand). [sb]

Rector of Canterbury University College, Christchurch, NZ 1948- 54. A stunning omission, as the post of Rector is equivalent to (Vice) Chancellor or President. This is as high as academic administrative posts get at the level of an individual University College. This includes the time period covered in "Heavenly Creatures." Another argument for Dr Hulme having an academic post at Liverpool is the Christchurch post, of course, because the job requires experience in teaching, research and administration.

Press reports during the Hearing and Trial vary slightly but all mention that Dr Henry Hulme "resigned" from this post. Jackson has Dr Hulme state that he resigned in "Heavenly Creatures," more than once. Glamuzina & Laurie mention a forced resignation because of administrative friction and academic politics, citing documentation which proves Dr Hulme was informed he would not be supported by his faculty. A more complex and complete picture is painted by "A History of the University of Canterbury" (see 7.10.1.1), but it cannot be the whole story. Anne Perry insists in her NY Times interview, more than once, that her father "lost his job."

We may conclude that Dr Hulme's resignation was not given voluntarily. Although there was documented dissatisfaction and unrest accumulated over Dr Hulme's career as Rector, the Canterbury faculty may have taken the family scandal in the Hulme household to be the last straw--ironically, the scandal probably had little or nothing to do with JMH and PYP at all, but would have been because of Walter Perry's involvement with Hilda Hulme and his moving into the Hulme's house to live "as a threesome." [Early drafts of the script state Henry was pressured to resign because of this living arrangement. These scenes were not present in the NAm release of the film. lfr]

The period 1955-59 did involve work that was extremely sensitive to national security (see obituaries), so this particular omission might be the omission of a careful, discrete career administrator and consummate public servant.

**Official Obituaries.

Full obituaries in UK newspapers, and in The Times especially, are reserved for prominent members of the social establishment. By the time he died, Dr Henry Hulme had progressed up the social ladder to be an almost-full-fledged member of the British social establishment. Dr Hulme's prominence was due to his scientific and administrative accomplishments, however, not because of his family heritage. [note: This assessment was confirmed by Anne Perry in her remarks to me (see 7.10.2.1) jp].

Henry Hulme had attended Manchester Grammar School--one of the 'officially-recognized' leading Public Schools. Today, it would be called a 'magnet' school whose function was to siphon off the absolute intellectual cream from Manchester and environs, drawing from the community at large and not just from the monied elite. Henry Hulme was not born into high privilege but he did work very hard and very successfully--and, possibly marry--his way toward it. His obituaries were written by his peers and reflect the sensibilities of the society in which he moved at the time of his death.

The tone and content of these pieces and, again, omissions from them, are extremely fertile ground for interpretation and analysis; every word will have been chosen carefully. Both of these newspapers, for example, carried accounts of the trial and both would have had files on Dr Hulme which would have contained that material.

Neither obituary makes mention of Dr Hulme's parents, a sure sign that the family had not been in the social elite. And neither mentions his children. It's not uncommon to find obituaries of the socially prominent which are simply catalogues of family members present and past. Dr Hulme's obituaries go out of their way to list his accomplishments, thereby justifying, to those who would not have known him, his entry into the elite world of people accorded full obituaries in the Times. Typical of such pieces, especially for scientists, Henry Hulme's personal life is relegated to a few aphorisms in a brief concluding paragraph.

**The Guardian piece was written by a Peer, Sir Samuel Curran, who put in just enough 'insider' information to prove that he knew Henry Hulme personally and, in his mind, well; this gives Henry Hulme a posthumous seal of approval in wider Society at large. Henry Hulme's wife Margery isn't mentioned at all--not necessarily a snub, especially because she had died recently, and because scientists traditionally tend to keep separate their professional and personal lives. There is no mention of a position at Liverpool, or of Christchurch. However, the piece does mention a New Zealand post which Dr Hulme himself had excluded from his 'official' C.V.--one of the 'insider' clues and, as it happens, an error (see above). Another prominent 'insider' clue is the phrase 'In his company at home one realized...' And yet another 'insider' clue is the degree to which Henry Hulme's character traits, or at least those which were deemed suitable for discussing in an obituary, are intertwined with the descriptions of his career. [jp]

The Guardian, Wednesday January 23, 1991. p. 39. "Scientist in the service of Aldermaston" by Sir Samuel Curran. Henry Hulme, who retired in 1973 as Chief of Nuclear Research at AWRE (Atomic Weapons Research Establishment), did not fit the popular picture of a weapons scientist. His earlier career helps to explain why his style seemed in some ways at odds with his later activities. Both at Manchester Grammar School and at Cambridge he showed outstanding talent in Mathematics and mathematical physics. He became Smith's Prizeman, gained his PhD and later ScD, and subsequently pursued studies at Leipzig. He was appointed to the Greenwich Observatory but for most of the time he worked as a scientist on loan to the Admiralty, an experience shared with many of the best UK mathematical physicists. After the second world war, until 1948, he was Scientific Adviser to the Air Ministry. Throughout he showed himself equally at home in the world of academic science or applied science. After some years in New Zealand as Vice Chancellor of Otago, he was lured by Sir William Penney into his small and brilliant group of scientists and mathematicians at Aldermaston. There Henry carved for himself a special niche as intermediary between the experimental scientists and the mathematicians, ensuring the best use of the best computers available. In spite of his remarkable gifts he was always diffident in manner. Nonetheless his transparent intellectual honesty and lucidity of exposition made him an effective team leader. In the later 1950s Britain advanced its hydrogen weapon capability at an unrivalled rate. As in the second world war, so in AWRE, British science showed the same talent and inventive capability. Even now the public does not yet realise the awesome nuclear might that Britain possesses. With Hulme we lose a truly creative thinker. He was a man of many talents and deep learning. In his company at home one realised the breadth of culture that he hid behind a natural humility and reserve. He was at his best when he was smoothing the path of young scientists, and giving them something of his particular teaching gift for simplifying problems.

**The Times obituary is anonymous, so it was not written specially by a social luminary. That honour was bestowed on few, and Henry Hulme's social position certainly didn't rank that kind of treatment, according to the decision-makers at The Times, who are particularly attuned to such things. In fact, Dr Hulme's claims to the full obituary were tenuous enough for it to be virtually all history lesson, which was used to explain in detail why he should be accorded this honour.

The 'history lesson' in the piece is so obviously partisan, scientifically informed and gung-ho British that it must have been written by one of Dr Hulme's Aldermaston peers, perhaps in response to a request by The Times obituary staff who may not have had much positive material on file. The sentence that essentially says Henry Hulme did valuable work, but he can't take credit for everything is a dead giveaway that the piece was written by a scientist who was part of the 'team effort' that produced Britain's Hydrogen Bomb. And of particular importance in terms of placing the official government seal of approval on Dr Hulme is the phrase "he was respected and trusted by his colleagues...". This also tells us, indirectly, that Dr Hulme had no official secrets from his peers and says, in effect, the government knew of his past and, particularly, the parts that aren't listed here, and it still wishes to make it clear that he was considered to be one of our own. It's an important statement. The last sentence was probably added by obituary staff, because it is curiously personal compared to the rest of the piece. [jp]

The Times (London), Wednesday January 23, 1991. p. 16. "Henry Hulme" Henry Rainsford Hulme, former chief of nuclear research, Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, died on January 8, aged 82. He was born on August 9, 1908. The early part of the career of Henry Rainsford Hulme was devoted to the study of mathematical physics allied to astronomy. A former pupil of Manchester Grammar School, he was a fellow of Gonville and Caius, Cambridge, and subsequently chief assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. At the beginning of the war the direction of his career changed towards the more applied science required by first the navy, then the air ministry, and finally in the British nuclear warhead programme where he made a contribution of major importance over a number of years. The wartime development of the atomic bomb was based on US/UK collaboration in which British scientists played an important part. But this collaboration ceased in 1946 under the terms of the US McMahon Act when Britain was forced to create its own independent warhead development programme. This was eventually based at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston. The initial development of a British atomic bomb was quite successful but it was soon apparent that great advances were being made in America, in particular with the H-Bomb concept that was demonstrated in 1952. In the following year the Russians claimed to have solved the H-Bomb secret and soon after their announcement tested nuclear devices which gave some confirmation of this claim. It was clear that to maintain a British defence policy based on a nuclear deterrent would make it necessary to establish a capability in these more advanced types of warheads. In 1954 it was decided that the AWRE should pursue with all possible speed an appropriate research and development programme leading to the development of a thermonuclear warhead capability. There was an immediate need to strengthen the scientific work at the establishment and in particular to attract staff of proven ability who could make an immediate contribution to the programme. Hulme was one such very successful recruit. When he joined the programme in 1955 he was attached to the mathematical physics team where his ability as a mathematician and his profound grasp of physics enabled him to make an immediate and very worthwhile contribution to the solution of the problems involved. The work at Aldermaston proceeded rapidly and in the relatively short time of three years the successful nuclear device tests at Christmas Island confirmed that the immediate goal of a thermonuclear warhead capability had been achieved. Hulme's contribution in the course of this work had been outstanding. But in ventures of the magnitude and complexity of this nature the overall credit for success must be shared between many staff working in many fields. In 1959 he was made chief of nuclear research at Aldermaston until his retirement in 1973. In addition to the main work on the warhead programme, for example, in the late 1950s, Hulme was able to make important contributions in other programmes of research at the AWRE. Of particular value was his work as a technical adviser in the lengthy discussions preceding the negotiation of a test ban treaty in 1963. The discussions threw up many problems in the assessment of the effectiveness of systems of monitoring nuclear explosions carried out underground, in the atmosphere or even in space. Hulme was a modest man with a ready wit and a great sense of humour. He was respected and trusted by his colleagues and by his staff to whom he was always prepared to listen, to encourage and to inspire. His wife, Margery, died recently.

7.10.1.1Extracts from "A History of the University of Canterbury: 1873 - 1973"#

**This book offers a fascinating glimpse of Christchurch history and society and, in particular, of the tiny, stormy world-within- a-world into which Dr Hulme and his family came and left their mark.

The book is extraordinary (almost unbelievable, in fact) in its tact and reserve and its intense introspection. I shall endeavour to withhold comment as much as possible and let the reader draw their own conclusions. "A History..." provides very useful information about Dr Hulme, his career at Canterbury University College, and a little about the environment of his new home. Knowing the other material in this FAQ, there is actually a mine of information buried between the lines of this book. CUC = Canterbury University College in my comments below.

Of course, this is the part of Dr Hulme's life completely omitted from his own biographical material.

** What was CUC like in 1948?

(From data on p. 432) The College was almost completely contained in one square block in downtown Christchurch, adjacent to Hagley Park. That year there were 2534 registered students, 46% being full-time and the rest part-time (chiefly night students employed in surrounding businesses--there was a long tradition of educating part-time students at night, so there was a big community involvement in the College). There were 93 academic staff (approximately 85 full-time faculty and some 20 or so part-time staff, who were counted as appropriate fractions in arriving at the staff total), so departments were small, rather intimate organizations. There were 17 professorial chairs; these were the big guns.

The community input to the College was through the Council, an advisory body which contained lay representatives--i.e. politically savvy, locally prominent and powerful members from the traditional upper stratum and power ‚lite of Christchurch. The College staff was represented by the Professorial Board; these were Dr Hulme's academic peers. The Rector also answered to the Senate, the governing body of the University, which was composed of the four Colleges at that time. Christchurch was and traditionally had been the smallest of the four Colleges in terms of enrollment. Sentiment was (and had been for years) very strongly in favour of independence of the College from the University, and the Senate was viewed as a meddlesome anachronism on the whole by CUC, necessary for funding and survival.

Christchurch was more than a 'college town' but CUC was completely intertwined socially with the community, especially in maters of education. College members served and had input into education at all levels and, most especially, in CGHS and CBHS. The ties between these schools and CUC were traditional and very strong.

(pp. 412-3) "The beginning of May [Capping Festival Week], the end of the first term, was devoted to Revue, a student musical presented with incredible vitality and frequent crudity, and the so-called 'procesh,' a bowdlerized bacchanalia of floats and tableaux, which followed a route through the city lined with people and watched by as many office workers as could force their way to a window. ...[and] the so-called 'Avon Bike Race,' which started as a wager between two students in 1949--an attraction where young gentlemen in bathing trunks carried bicycle frames for a quarter of a mile down the Avon accompanied by bedsteads, rafts, other young gentlemen with all the appearance of victorious but ill- disciplined rugby packs, and in later years young ladies scantily dressed but inalienably genteel..."

(pp. 411-2) "To the individual [assiciated with the College], press publicity may have appeared on occasion a mixed blessing. The new teacher arriving from England found that the intimate details with which he had bolstered his application for a job had already appeared in the daily press; his spontaneous rash generalisations on his discipline or the land in which he found himself soon followed. ...the newspapers in many ways also reflected the ambivalence of public opinion toward the University. the local pride was not unmixed with envy and even resentment at the apparently privileged position of the institution, its staff and students. ... Much of the University's activity--complex, highly specialised, incommunicable to the general public--led to an appearance of intellectual and social arrogance..."

** Dr Hulme's recruiting and arrival: (pp. 318-320)

"...a modest advertisement dated 30 May 1947 appeared in the press of those countries of the Commonwealth peopled by British stock: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The advertisement read:

It was left to the Universities' Bureau of the British Empire to sort out the applicants and make a recommendation. The Secretary put forward the names of a couple of headmasters to go on the selection committee [note: I can't help myself...just refer back to all that material I included in the discussion of the importance of School, published lists of 'Leading Headmasters' etc. etc. jp] but Council [note: CUC Council. This is roughly the 'oversight' body which included (distinguished and politically active) members from the general Christchurch community. jp] considered it already sufficiently distinguished, consisting, as it did, of a former Governor-General, two principals of British Universities, two Cambridge dons and others. In Christchurch, the Staff and Appointments Committee of Council, with the addition of two members of the Professorial Board [note: As the name suggests, composed solely of faculty. jp], also looked at the list of applicants and came to the same conclusion as the committee at the heart of the Empire. The name of Dr H.R. Hulme was forwarded on 18 November to the University of New Zealand for approval, which was granted only one week later. ... Hulme and his family arrived in Christchurch on Saturday, 16 October 1948. He had just passed his fortieth birthday. There is some evidence that Canterbury was just a little surprised at attracting a man of his ability. From his record he had obviously proved himself in research, teaching and administration. He was described as "tall and rather angular in appearance, and in conversation he is direct but not abrupt." All the comments indicate that he was a pleasant, sympathetic person who expected others to be as reasonable as he was. Beside the average New Zealander, however, he came from a quite different tradition, where he had been sheltered from contact with politicians and lay intervention. In discussion he tended to put his feet up on his desk or one leg over the arm of a chair--an American rather than a colonial habit. [note: I would also say characteristic of post- Great-War, Oxbridge, 'young turk' scientists from the heady heyday of Oxbridge science. jp] This suggestion of informality was perhaps not the strongest recommendation in a society which required at meetings on warm days a formal request to the chairman that gentlemen be allowed to divest themselves of their jackets. This habit of Hulme's aroused annoyance not only in Canterbury but at Senate [note: The oversight body for the whole 4-College University of New Zealand. jp] also, where it is said that members used to run a sweepstake at meetings on the number of times he would rise in his seat to express comments. But social habits are not important unless other tensions are present. Dr Hulme stepped into a complex situation which it is not easy to summarize. There were, in essence, two triangular patterns: the one domestic, the other national, bedevilled by history, local habits and attitudes of mind."

** Dr Hulme's early career at CUC ('48-'50):

(p. 321) "The Rector was lodged in the clock tower, about 200 yards away [note: from the Registrar. jp] in what had been, until his arrival, the Professorial Board room. [note: Displacing your colleagues is never a good way to start, even if it is not of your doing. jp] This now spacious rectorial office, with its stained glass windows and wooden Venetian blinds, was another legacy of the past." [And another burr under the saddle. jp]

(pp. 321-2) "The management of the four schools controlled by the College [note: including CGHS and CBHS. jp] passed to newly-formed Boards of Governors under a Secondary Schools Council on 1 April 1949." [note: This and other sweeping administrative changes at the time led to a redefinition of duties for the Rector, who became chief executive officer of the College. Hilda Hulme later became a member of the Board of Governors for CGHS. jp]

(pp. 323-4) [note: At the time of Dr Hulme's arrival, there was a battle raging among the 4 Colleges of the University concerning the location of prestigious academic disciplines, Departments and Schools. To me, an outsider, these battles appear to have been rooted in the worst kind of mindless, blind chauvenism and provincial one-upmanship, fuelled by petty, longstanding, blood- feud rivalries. Apparently, Dr Hulme must have seen the situation in much the same terms. It was all deadly serious business to the CUC community, however.

One such battle was fought over the School of Forestry. The University Senate had voted in August 1948, before Dr Hulme's arrival, to locate the School of Forestry at Auckland University College. The CUC Council then proposed a motion to rescind that resolution at the January, 1949 Senate meeting held in Christchurch. jp]

"The motion for recission was defeated by 16 votes to 9; among the 'noes' was Hulme. This vote cast a light both on the man and the system. There is little doubt that he thought it was dishonest to vote against his own insight and judgement; he believed in a national good, even if this meant going against his own Council and Board. Like most outsiders coming into the university system he knew better. He was not prepared to put local prestige before the good of the universities as a whole. It was clear that duplication of university facilities in four centres and constant parochial bickering were hampering rational development... Whether one sees his vote as showing independence and the courage of his convictions, or as intellectual arrogance, it did not, in any event, help relations between him and the two bodies with which he was connected in the College."

(P. 322) "The chief executive officer must have the confidence of both the Council and the Board. It is clear that within twelve months of his arrival Hulme did not have the uncritical support of the governing body." In the Council meeting of November 1949 where the Rector's new duties were defined, "a question was asked 'whether or not there was any truth in the rumours that the Rector, when visiting Wellington, had made statements concerning the Council or individual members of the Council that were in any way disloyal to the Council.' Hulme had to learn that not only the College, but also Christchurch and the whole Dominion, was a small place, where any aside or confidential comment was liable to be fed promptly into the general grid of gossip."

** The middle years ('50-'52):

The College was one block south of the Riepers' home on Gloucester St, and it consisted of one city block, bounded by Worcester Blvd on the north, Montreal St on the east, Hereford St on the south (the extreme west end of the same street where Herbert Rieper worked at Dennis Brothers' Fish Supply) and Rolleston Ave to the west, which was the border of Hagley Park. Facilities were extremely cramped and frequently decrepit--the library was an acute embarassment--and there was constant and very long-standing dissatisfaction and frustration on the part of the faculty and student body, both.

This was the atmosphere on Dr Hulme's arrival, which coincided with the formulation of plans, spearheaded by the Engineering School, to acquire property in the Ilam region on the outskirts of the city for a new campus. Dr Hulme was an 'Ilamite', a strong supporter of this idea. There was also national political change in the air, but it would not turn out to be a financial windfall for the University. Here is what "A History of..." has to say about the political atmosphere:

(p.313) "In 1949 New Zealand was a country which had gone through the rigours of the depression, the sacrifices of a war fought in remote lands and 14 years of Labour government; all had left their mark." [note: For a rather different perspective, see G&L Chapter 3. jp]

Which sounds like the conservative Christchurch community would welcome the political changes to come. However, the ousted Minister of Education, T.H. McCombs, had been a local boy and:

(p. 338) "Canterbury has never enjoyed greater ministerial support than it did from McCombs; although his period of office did not extend for seven fat years, there were certainly seven lean ones to follow."

** How lean were those years, 1950-52? (p.342) "A lecturer provided his own toilet paper and, if he had any pretensions to hygene, his own towel. As there were non-academic staff who were protected by the Factories Act, the College eventually supplied disinfectant soap. But a large part of the economies was achieved at the expense of departmental equipment, staffing, promotion and academic expansion. ... In fact, [1950-2] was probably one of the most depressing times the College passed through." Dr Hulme seems to have worked hard to alleviate this suffering and bad morale, but the times were against him. Inevitably, his shaky popularity became more eroded.

The space crunch was eventually alleviated by purchasing or renting surrounding properties (mostly houses) and by erecting pre-fab corrugated iron 'temporary huts'. For example, in late 1952, the Dept. of Education moved into the upper storey of a large house at 28 Gloucester St, right across the road from the Riepers, which had previously been used as a cerebral palsy school. I wonder if Rosemary Parker had benefitted from the displaced school, perhaps been seen informally by staff? Was this one reason why she was institutionalized around this time, because 'help' had gone? How would Honora have felt about CUC, living surrounded by, but a world apart from, the University?

The Council, unanimously behind the concept of relocating to an Ilam campus, had (p. 344) "as a first and firm gesture of occupation, as early as 1950, encouraged Hulme, a strong Ilamite, to move into what was meant to be the Rector's residence, the Ilam homestead. ... Ilam was named by J.C. Watts-Russell (1825- 75), its first owner, who arrived in Lyttelton by the Sir George Seymour on 16 Dec 1850. His family home in England was Ilam Hall in the village of Ilam, five miles north-west of Ashbourne in north Staffordshire. Watts-Russell, a wealthy ex-army officer, made Ilam a centre of hospitality and entertainment for the ‚lite of early Christchurch."

So the Hulmes did not spend all their time at Ilam, just the final four years. This also explains why JMH started attending Ilam School in 1950, and not before that. Ilam school was just across the road from the Ilam Homestead, after all, but probably nowhere near the home the Hulmes occupied before that [G&L missed this point]. Later, after the Hulmes had left, Ilam was used as a storage place for Library stock (if you can believe it!) for 14 years. During that time, student halls of residence were constructed nearby. Eventually, in 1971, after renovations, the Ilam homestead was reopened as the University Staff Club.

(p. 421) "The Colombo Plan under which students selected by their Government in South-East Asia were supported by the New Zealand Government in their study at a university institution started in 1951. In 1953 there were over 60 overseas students ... 28% of overseas students in New Zealand were at Canterbury."

(p. 414) "Heckling and interruptions at the [graduation] ceremony got so out of hand in 1952, when the students were found to have taken control of the public address system and virtualy drowned Hulme's speech, that in future doors were locked and a guard kept on the theatre between the preparation in the morning and the arrival of the guests in the afternoon. That was the year when a halo and two doves descended above Bishop Warren's head and the Lincoln students brought a goat out of the wings for a diploma. After 1953 the ceremonies tended to be solemn, tidy and expeditious."

Disaster and crisis struck in early 1953: (p. 344) "While discussion smouldered, real fire struck the College. At four o'clock in the morning of Friday, 13 February 1953, the Registrar and the Rector were called to witness the fire which had taken hold of the most recent permanent building the College had acquired, admittedly over a quarter century before." (I would love to see PYP's complete diary entry for February 13, 1953.) It was a mess and the loss was huge. Departments were scattered to the winds in constantly-shifting 'temporary' accommodation which was to last for 5 years, all told. College politics and back- biting rose to a frenzy--the two factions were supporters of Ilam relocation, and supporters of aggressive central-site redevelopment.

Merchants, naturally, were opposed to relocating the College and all its staff, faculty and students, to a remote site and the whole issue became a local political cause celebre and the stuff of newspaper articles, a flurry of letters to the editor and, on 20 October 1953 a 'lively' public meeting. The matter was even debated for an entire hour in the New Zealand Parliament on 4 November 1953. Dr Hulme could not have escaped intense criticism; after all he was supposed to be at the helm and in-house matters were becoming far too public and out-of-control.

** Some interesting little tid-bits embedded in the 'move to Ilam' controversy:

The School of Fine Arts had been located in the 'Ross House' site, on the corner of Gloucester St and Montreal St, a few doors down from the Rieper's home on the same side of the street. At the end of 1949 the School of Fine Arts was relocated to the Ilam site, the first department there. So when the Engineers finally moved out to Ilam, they (p. 348) "joined the School of Fine Arts. 'Join' is perhaps not the right word, for they were separated by some 150 yards of paddock, by courses, by interests and frequently, as far as one could judge, by sex." So Pauline and Juliet were also, quite literally, connected by proximity to Fine Arts in real life, and by young women artists who they couldn't help but have noticed and interacted with. And the paddocks were right across the road from Ilam ... this must have been where the pair would go for their secret midnight rides (cf. G&L p. 69). See what I mean about buried nuggets?

There is more: On 9 Sept 1950, the College lost a battle over the vacated Ross House site and lost control of the property. (p. 349) "The area was asphalted as tennis courts for the Girls' High School, in terms of real estate the most expensive (as well as the most ugly) courts in the city." See 3.1.5.2.

Soon after his arrival, in the meeting of Council of October 1948, Dr Hulme proposed establishing differential salaries; now this is an American type of idea. (pp. 361-2) "The intention was to retain or attract good senior staff. The idea was accepted by Government" and was incorporated into new salary scales announced in October 1949. "The staff was sharply divided. Even the iciest academic detachment tends to thaw when salaries are involved... The Canterbury branch of the Association of University Teachers had four [!] heated and packed meetings in the first fortnight of October. ... The Councils of Victoria and Auckland refused to have anything to do with the scheme. The Canterbury Council, with considerable hesitation, eventually augmented the salaries of 13 professors, 1 assoc. prof. and 11 senior lecturers. Hulme lost the support of at least one member of staff who had confidently assumed he would be amongst that number. The differentials vanished with the next salary settlement. There is no evidence that they improved the quality of the staff, but they did leave bad blood."

** Dr Hulme's later career at CUC ('52-'54):

(p. 362) "It must be remembered that the Rector ... had few means of patronage available, nor had he any of the politician's skill or interest in using it."

(p. 363) "Amidst the trivia of College management and academic process, the hints of criticism of the Rector kept recurring. At a Council meeting in January 1949, for example, he was publicly snubbed by the chairman [over the issue of paying expenses of faculty attending conferences] ... who concluded by wishing that the Rector had discussed the matter with him first. There are instances of even more open criticism, whether just or not. ... [For example Hulme] was not with the group of three Council members which confronted the Minister of Education in November 1952."

(p. 363) "The point was reached where a small group of Council members met the Rector before he left to represent Canterbury at the 1953 Congress of the Association of Universities of the British Commonwealth, urging him to look for a post in the United Kingdom. On his return, in September, he was in an even more difficult position, standing between an alienated Professorial Board and a Council which no longer heeded his advice. A technical impropriety in communicating a Professorial Board report on building to some members of Council led to the Board debate which preceded his resignation on 4 March 1954. A domestic tragedy which struck soon after the official farewell ceremony in the College hall on 3 June 1954 must have made his final days in New Zealand very bitter." [note: What an extraordinary and important paragraph. My longstanding suspicion that the 1953 trip was a senior-level job hunt are confirmed here. My best guess would be that Dr Hulme sought a position heading a Cambridge College--Gonville and Caius would be a logical starting point for a search... And if anyone believes the 'technical impropriety' story they should be given a good slap. I smell WAB Perry all over that meeting... And, as for the reference to 'domestic tragedy'--words fail me. jp]

(pp. 363-5) "It is difficult, perhaps not even fair, to attempt to pass judgement on that first full-time rectorate and to assess how far the friction arose from personal causes and how far it was inherent in the time and the place. It was a small college, in a small community which, in spite of its deceptive similarity to the British pattern, had developed traditions, assumptions and habits of thought and action which were just as firm and taken for granted as the traditions, assumptions and habits in places where English was not the native language. Hulme certainly involved himself in the activities of the College, mixing with both students and staff. At morning tea, unlike his successors, he would frequently drop in to the Senior Common Room to talk to people. On one occasion, when a lecturer applied to him for a bookshelf for his office, to avoid the elaborate waste of paper and discussion through the usual channels, he simply went into town at lunch-time and bought one at an auction. Because there was no room in the Library, he threw open the gardens round his home at Ilam to students just before the examinations and served them with lemonade. As one person has said, 'he was a charming conversationalist, a man with a profound appreciation of music, a person of intense outflowing sympathy, a man whom none could really dislike.' But in the larger context Hulme was on the one hand subject in the Council to a lay body, toward some members of which he could intellectually feel at best affectionate contempt. On the other hand, he was caught up as primus inter pares in the politics of a very closed society, the teaching staff, with its personal animosities and disciplinary allegiances. In these two areas, which touched only tangentially and demanded different skills and habits of mind, there were two major developments to live with: in one--the Ilam solution [to overcrowding]--he saw eye to eye with the Council, though not necessarily with his colleagues on the Professorial Board, but in the other he stood almost alone. [This was the concept of a rationally-planned federal university system, to avoid duplication and wasting of resources. jp] He had too much commonsense and too little of the politician to place Canterbury's interests above those of the University as a whole. ... But to stress Hulme's views on the federal universities is to stress a principle which in itself did not lead to resignation. It was the particular and local which brought that about. He came at a low ebb of Government patronage, a period of exasperation and irritability at the absence of progress in university affairs. As we have seen, it was precisely in the year when he left that money started to flow on capital expenditure. While it is only just to emphasize the financial stringency of the period, it would be wrong to see Hulme as a sacrificial victim. His personal qualities played a part and it is possible that he lacked a sufficient ruthlessness. ... We may assume perhaps that virtues which made him eminently suitable for, and successful in, positions of high responsibility in Britain, were a disadvantage in the highest executive officer of the College at that time."

** How does CUC view Dr Hulme in hindsight?

(p. 431) "Certainly a great rift divides the College from the University. It must be located somewhere in the decade after the Second World War. In that time, Hight and other professorial giants of the inter-war years passed from the scene... In the same period, the first full-time Rector came and went, unhappily vindicating the warning uttered by Hight nearly 30 years before that

7.10.2Perry, Anne. (aka Hulme, Juliet Marion) [jp,se,ms,mkf]#

**Soon after Anne Perry became a commercially-successful author, she was invited to provide biographical information for "Contemporary Authors," the authoritative compilation. No doubt the invitation was immensely satisfying for her. In many ways this must have been, for Ms Perry, the equivalent of her father's admittance into "Who's Who." Her entry is an honest, reasonably frank and even brave one, with understandable omissions, some clever smokescreens, no falsehoods and an interesting interview.

In hindsight, the trail from Juliet Hulme to Anne Perry became an easy one to follow with the publication of this biography--had she omitted just a few details in the 'personal' section (e.g. omission of birth day and city, use of initials for parents, omission of their occupations) she would have made the task much more difficult. The trail was clearly marked, but no-one took it up officially for another fourteen years. Apparently, this trail was an open secret among antipodean literati, which makes Lin Ferguson's tracking down of Anne Perry less of an accomplishment than it has been painted.

Of course, it was impossible for Anne Perry to mention her father, Henry Hulme, or her brother, Jonathon, in her official biographical data and still retain her anonymity. Now that her past has been unmasked to the public, she is free to update her biography as she sees fit. I rather suspect that Ms Perry will take this opportunity to place her father back into her family tree once again.

I don't know enough about her brother to make a guess whether or not she will include him in her biography. He has been completely absent from her dedications, the only immediate family member afforded this treatment. [jp]

From: Locker, Frances C., Ed., "Contemporary Authors," vol 101, pp. 370-371, 1981. Gale Research Co., The Book Tower, Detroit, MI 48226. [and additions to update data. jp]

Personal: Born October 28, 1938 in London, England. Daughter of Walter A.B. Perry (an industrial engineer) and H. Marion Perry (a teacher of the mentally handicapped; maiden name, Reavley).

Education: Educated privately.

Politics: Liberal. [note: This is a Party, not a philosophy. jp]

Religion: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon).

Career: Airline stewardess in Northumberland, England, 1962-64; Assistant buyer for department store, Newcastle, England, 1964-66; [resident of California 1967-72] Property Underwriter for Muldoon & Adams in Los Angeles, California; writer 1972 -; volunteer driver for hospital automobile service.

Writings: (see 7.11)

Other: Also contributor of a chapter to a book on the history of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the British Isles, Cambridge U. Press.

Addresses: [snip outdated addresses]

Sidelights: "My major interest is in conflict of ethics," Anne Perry told CA, "especially involving honesty with one's self, which is why the Victorian scene, with its layers of hypocrisy, appeals to me. My other favorite periods are the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution, because of the question of free agency and the use of force to make others believe as we do, in what we believe to be their best interest. "I am not sure what motivates me; a fascination with people, motives, the belief that the written word is the means by which we can give something of ourselves, hopefully the best of our pleasures and our beliefs, to everyone else who can read, in any country, and in the present or the future. My own joy in reading, and the wealth gained, has been immeasurable. The world never stops growing, becoming more complex and more marvelous to one who can read. "My working habits? I am compulsive. I usually work at least some part of every day, except Sunday, frequently all day, if I have an idea burning a hole in my head. "Other writers who have influenced me are a little old fashioned, I'm afraid. I have always loved G.K. Chesterton, his prose and his poetry. "The Man Who Was Thursday" is so far my favorite single book, for its lyricism, humor and message that we all face the same battles, but to overcome when believing yourself alone, simply because you care so much, is the ultimate victory. I also admire Oscar Wilde for wit, style, observation, and in short stories especially, his compassion. Dostoyevsky, too, for his brilliant understanding and, again, compassion, and Josephine Tey for her style."

From: Henderson, Leslie, Ed., "Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers," 3rd ed., Twentieth Century Authors Series, St. James Press, Chicago, 1991. [jp]

Anne Perry Comments: I see mysteries as stories of what happens to people and communities under the pressure of fear and suspicion, especially the violent changes in perceptions and relationships brought about by investigation. I enjoy the Victorian period because of its dramatic contrast between upstairs and downstairs, manners, morals, the splendour and squalor so close to each other, the value of a reputation. There are so many understandable motives for crime, social ills, injustices, many of which are with us today, albeit in transmuted form. And I think long gowns, fog, hansom cabs etc. are fun! I hope my stories reflect expressions, emotion, social comment--and enjoyment.

"The Writer" 1991, 1993 issues have articles on & interviews with Anne Perry. [mkf,se]

7.10.2.1Anne Perry's public appearances. [jb,jp]#

Dayton, Ohio Feb. 30 1995 [jb]--When asked to comment on the observation that the Pitt series has always focused on real social problems, but now increasingly mentions "The Inner Circle," she said that "Traitors Gate" deals with "loyalty which other people can't understand, and being judged by others for not living up to their expectations." She also spoke of the Monk series as dealing with, "being judged for actions which you honestly can't remember."

Corte Madera, California, March 29, 1995 [jp]--Anne Perry made a stop here on her recent book tour. Corte Madera is an affluent bedroom community in Marin County, located on the northern shore of San Francisco Bay. The audience was polite, attentive, well- informed and mostly women, of all ages; I was one of about twenty men in an audience of about 150. I sat about ten feet from the small lectern at which Anne Perry spoke and answered questions. Ms Perry arrived exactly on time and was given a warm reception. Despite her gruelling schedule up and down the West coast, she appeared well-rested and energetic. She is still a slim, attractive woman with striking features and the confident bearing which caught the attention of the press forty years ago-- I would refer FAQ readers to the contemporary news accounts (and even academic papers) that made extensive reference to Juliet Hulme's appearance. Her eyes are, indeed, grey-blue and her brows are particularly expressive and animated when she speaks. Anne Perry's accent is just north of Kate Winslet's and about an octave lower but, otherwise, Ms Winslet's delivery extrapolated a few years would be quite close to Ms Perry's. Anne Perry speaks with precision and reads aloud with flair and considerable polish, if a little softly. We were to find out that she reads all of her manuscripts aloud, to friends and neighbours, during the revision and editing stages of her writing, which is all done in longhand, still. My overall impression of Ms Perry from her public persona is that she is gracious, certainly not retiring, and she is extremely bright and quick, with a formidable intellect. I am quite sure she does not suffer fools gladly. For the benefit of any teachers reading this, Ms Perry has that extra, hard-to- define spark and fire in her eye that all teachers search for in their brightest students. Teachers will know what I mean. This evening, Ms Perry began by reading a passage from her latest novel "Traitors Gate" to steady her 'butterflies' and get warmed up. The passage described a conversation between two of her characters. They were discussing the late father of one and his possible connection with an 'Inner Circle' of politically powerful members of the establishment who were engineering economic conquests abroad. The passage came to a suitably dramatic close, with the two vowing to get to the bottom of the mysteries surrounding the man's death and the 'Inner Circle', and Ms Perry stopped reading, to considerate applause. It was easy to see she was comfortable; her returning smile was genuine and relaxed. She took off her glasses and set them aside, and asked for questions. She had been reading for about ten minutes and, in all, she would answer questions and discuss points with the audience for another hour, and then hang around to sign books for nearly an hour after that. Quite a trouper, but it's also a good measure of how much she was enjoying herself. I asked the first question: "I am a scientist, so naturally I'm very interested in your father's influence on your work. I'm familiar with his career--he was certainly a very prominent and influential scientist--and it almost sounds as if you could have been describing him in your passage..." At this point we traded comments and information about her father and his career, and we eventually zeroed in on a more exact description of his accomplishments and his standing in the community. Given what I had learned of Henry Hulme's history, and the considerable evidence for his lengthy and possibly bitter estrangement from his daughter, I was initially reluctant to pose this question. But there were two small clues contained in Ms Perry's bibliography (see 7.11) which suggested that there had been a reconciliation between them before Dr Hulme's death in 1991, so I decided to go ahead. In the end, I was glad I did and, strangely enough, I got the impression that Ms Perry was, too. I got the sense, from what she told me and from how she spoke, that this may be one of the positive things to have come out of her past identity being revealed--the fact that she is now free to talk about her father in public and recognize the family connection between them, though under the right circumstances. It is still a new thing for her. In her answers to my question, and in our later brief discussion, Ms Perry referred to Henry Hulme only as "my father," not by name, because I had made it clear I knew who she was talking about, and she referred to Bill Perry as "my stepfather" during her comments this evening. Ms Perry told me that her father had been prominent because of his accomplishments, but he was never considered to be a member of the social elite; this confirmed my impressions of his social standing and his background. She spoke knowingly and quite proudly of his scientific achievements, of which I was familiar from his C.V. and his publications. To summarize, briefly, it became apparent from her responses that she had a less-precise technical knowledge of Dr Hulme's scientific achievements between 1955 and his retirement in 1973, but she was very familiar with the technical aspects of Dr Hulme's science up to 1954. This indicated, to me, that their relationship had not been a particularly close one during her father's Aldermaston years. These included the years Ms Perry spent in the U.K. and abroad. I mentioned that I thought I had seen familiar elements in some of the characters in her books and wondered if she had included her father in any of her characters. Ms Perry told me that the character referred to in the quotation she had read from "Traitors Gate" was not based on her father, since her father had not been a member of the social elite, but that there was one character she had deliberately patterned on her father: Oliver Rathbone's father (a character appearing in Ms Perry's "Monk" series of books). This admission caused quite a stir in the audience. Ms Perry also mentioned this association in our later conversation, for emphasis, so it is clear that she didn't want me to walk away with the impression that all men in her books were patterned after her father, or some such thing. Oliver Rathbone's father first appeared in the novel published the year after Dr Hulme's death (see 7.11) and dedicated, cryptically at the time, "to my father." Then Ms Perry told me three stories about herself and her father. (The stories she told have been reconstructed from my notes and are not a verbatim transcript, although I have tried to keep key phrases intact.) She started off with a story mostly about her 'recent' past. This was a brief anecdote about how her father had always had a love of precise language and how he had actually always been very supportive of her becoming a writer. She said he had strongly encouraged her writing when she was young. And, in fact he had even gone so far as to support her, financially, at the beginning of her career as a writer, bailing her out of some lean times before she was able to make ends meet with her writing. By matching her C.V. with her father's, it's clear these events occurred after Ms Perry returned from America, in the early to mid 70s, after Henry Hulme's retirement. Her second story was about her father giving her a bath when she was a small child. When she was three, she said--so this story took place in Greenwich in 1942, during the War, some time after little Juliet had suffered her terrible trauma during the blitz. Ms Perry made an aside that this was the kind of thing fathers used to be able to do, but she wasn't sure they were now, in today's politically-correct climate. She said: "My father had been bathing me and I had been playing. I dropped the soap and it disappeared in the soapy water, at which point I had had enough and went to stand up to get out. My father said. 'Careful. I wouldn't do that if I were you.' He was worried I would slip. And I have been told, though I don't remember it, that I turned to him and said, quite matter-of-fact: 'Nonsense, daddy. If you were me you would do exactly what I do.' And I stood up anyway. Which my father found terribly amusing." She continued: "Well, apart from illustrating that I was a precocious and bold child, I suppose, it shows how much my father liked the precision of language." And it showed, to me, that Ms Perry likes to think that she and her father shared a common view of the physical world and that they two shaped their ideas about it in similar ways. She went on to say how her father had always stressed to her that clear thinking and clear language were not just parallel ideas, but were intimately connected. Which brought Ms Perry to her third and final story about her father. I must admit, I was not prepared for her candor in this setting. This story was told in such a way that it was almost anonymous, so members of the audience who weren't completely familiar with the materials contained in this FAQ, for instance, would not have been able to place the time, location or characters. But, by this point in our give and take, I am quite certain that Ms Perry had a good grasp of my familiarity with her history and that of her father, so I must conclude that she told this story deliberately, knowing that it would be perfectly obvious to me who it was about, and where and when it took place. From the contents of her final story, it took place in Christchurch, in late January 1953, just before the start of Fourth Form. I did not ask Ms Perry to confirm this, but Medlicott paraphrases Pauline's diary entries from late January 1953 and they confirm that Pauline was determined to do well at school when she returned, and that her studies were on her mind. Ms Perry's final story is about Juliet, Pauline and Henry Hulme, and Christchurch Girls' High School, and the headmistress, Miss Stewart, and a math teacher, Miss Milne. I have been able to confirm Ms Perry's identification and her impressions of both Miss Stewart and Miss Milne (see 3.1.5.2 and below) After mentioning that her father was a terribly precise thinker, she said "I remember going to my father with a problem and 'humming' and 'hawing' and just not being able to get across what I wanted to say. At which point I just said 'Well, I can't explain it very well, but I know what I mean.' And he said to me 'No. You don't know what you mean. If you did, you would have the words to explain it clearly.' And, clearly, he was right. Words, the precise words, are important and they can only come once an idea has been grasped, fully. He was very good at getting to the essence of a problem, and he was able to explain things in a way that was exact but vivid. "I remember it was just before school. We were terribly worried about one class, mathematics, and one teacher in particular. We knew that we were going to get this particular teacher and she had a ferocious reputation--everyone was afraid of her and we were scared stiff of her. She was _so_ demanding, and so precise in her requirements and her grading, like my father in that regard. We knew we were going to get all kinds of difficult subjects, like manipulating and solving quadratic equations, and we were terrified. Her name was Miss Milne. If there was one teacher who commanded our respect it was her. Well, we all watched out for the headmistress, too, but that was because of who she was. That was Miss Stewart--a small, round woman, and we only respected her because we had to. But Miss Milne was different. We respected and feared her because of what she knew and because of her high standards. "Well, we went to my father and he explained everything to us and put us at ease. You see, he understood that Miss Milne was the way she was because she had a deep love for mathematics, and a reverence for the subject that made her have these high standards, out of respect for it. It hadn't occurred to me that a teacher could have a deep love for what she taught, and just want to share it, but in a precise, correct way. This completely changed the way I looked at her. After that, from then on, I came to admire her deeply, and respect her even more. "And my father had the same kind of love for mathematics because he was a mathematical physicist. I remember we went to him when we got to solving quadratic equations. He showed us that the equations weren't simply objects on their own, to him. He drew the graphs and curves for us, and showed us their beauty. Before that, to me, they had just been lines on a page. But, you see, he saw the beauty of the curve in the equation, and how both applied to Nature. And he showed us that it wasn't all that difficult to solve the things. I actually grew to like quadratic equations that term and got quite good at solving them." Ms Perry finished off this part of the question session with some final thoughts about her father's part in her writing and that was that. I thanked her for discussing things so frankly and she moved on to other questions: about the socially-relevant themes in her books, about her upcoming novels, about her influences (Chesterton ranked high) and the writers she reads (she said she often likes to relax with fantasy or science fiction because the ideas can be so big) and did she write poetry? ("only when I was very young"), about her writing habits, about her life now, and about plans for theatrical release of her projects (she said that the BBC had bought the rights to the first ten "Pitt" books, and had made noises about producing "The Cater Street Hangman" and there have been other signs of interest from other film production companies. So Anne Perry may yet get to write for Hollywood...). Then, after she had been through the questions, she signed a lot of books. When I came up, we talked again about her father, and I left after some final pleasantries.

** Any independent confirmation of Ms Perry's CGHS memories?

Miss Milne was my math teacher for 2 years, I confirm A. Perry's comments about her. [mc]

7.11Anne Perry's Fiction. [jp,se,ms,mkf,ps]#

Henderson, Leslie, Ed., "Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers," 3rd ed., Twentieth Century Authors Series, St. James Press, Chicago, 1991. [jp]

Helga Borck and GraceAnne A. DeCandido write about the "Pitt" stories (p. 843): ...These are not lighthearted romps through Victorian rose gardens, however. Perry's interest lies in showing how individuals in a restrictive society with rigid notions of status and propriety may respond to pressures to conform, and how society in turn protects its interests in the face of deviation or rebellion. Nor are they for the ethically squeamish. Many of the deviations Perry examines are sexual in nature (this is Victorian England, after all) and, while not explicit in her descriptions, she handles such themes straightforwardly. Perry maintains a fine balance throughout, neither romanticizing nor condemning out of hand. Her depiction of Victorian London is rich and consistent in period detail. Her characters have depth and complexity, especially in the later books, and even the worst of them are generally presented with compassion. What is more, they never come across as moderns in a period play, but are firmly rooted in their own time and place. ...

Anne Perry's Published Fiction:

Short Stories: "Digby's First Case," in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (New York), Feb. 1988. (note: "Digby's Commercial College" was the vocational school where PYP was enrolled at her mother's urging in April '54. Orson Welles' film which made such a big impression on the young PYP and JMH in June '54 was "Trent's Last Case." jp)

The "Pitt" Series: The Cater Street Hangman, St. Martin's Press, 1979. [no dedication]

Callander Square, St. Martin's Press, 1980. [no dedication] [se]

Paragon Walk, St. Martin's Press, 1981. [for my mother]

Resurrection Row, St. Martin's Press, 1981. [To MEG for all her help.]

Rutland Place, St. Martin's Press, 1983. [Dedicated with love to my father, with friendship to Judy, with gratitude to the city of Toronto.] (note: Dr HR Hulme celebrated his 75th birthday in 1983. jp) (note: In a recent interview ['95/03] with Canada AM Anne Perry talked about the time she lived in Toronto for 3-4 months. It was in Toronto that she first saw a "real live person" buy one of her books, which was very exciting for her. She was browsing the "The Sleuth of Baker Street" book- store when someone came in and purchased one of her books. This could give some insights as to why she made a dedication to the city of Toronto! ms)

Bluegate Fields, St. Martin's Press, 1984. [...dedicated to the members of the John Howard Society, who practice their founder's belief in the right to dignity of all people.] [se] (note: The John Howard Society works with ex-criminals. se).

Death in the Devil's Acre, St. Martin's Press, 1985. [For Bella and Aunt Issy.]

Cardington Crescent, St. Martin's Press, 1987. [To Ed and Peggy Wells, with thanks for their love and faith through the years.] (note: Mrs. Digby, a housekeeper, is an important character in this novel. See above. lfr)

Silence in Hanover Close, St. Martin's Press, 1988. [Dedicated to Aunt Ina who was part of the inspiration for Great-aunt Vespasia.] (note: JMH was to have been sent to stay with Aunt Ina in South Africa, according to "Heavenly Creatures." sb)

Bethlehem Road, St. Martin's Press, 1990. [To Ruth, for her many gifts to me.] (note: The dedication to Ruth may be speaking of the biblical Ruth. Why? Well, there is a road to Bethlehem mentioned in the book of Ruth. Also, the two main characters in the book of Ruth are Ruth and Naomi, who are daughter and mother-in-law respectively. The same goes for "Bethlehem Road." Also, much of the religious discussion in Bethlehem Road may actually be about the Mormon Church. ms)

Highgate Rise, Fawcett Books, 1991? [To Meg MacDonald, for her friendship and her unfailing faith in me, and to Meg Davis, for her friendship and her guidance and work.] [se] (note: Meg Davis is Anne Perry's agent in London. She fielded the initial enquiries from NZ reporter Lin Ferguson about Anne Perry's former identity as JMH. jp)

Belgrave Square, Fawcett Books, 1992. [To my friend, Cathy Ross.]

Farriers' Lane, Fawcett Books, 1993? [For my mother.] [se] (note: HM Perry celebrated her 80th birthday in 1992. jp)

The Hyde Park Headsman, Fawcett Books, 1994. [To Leona Nevler, with thanks.]

Traitors Gate, Fawcett Columbine, 1995. [To Donald Maass--with thanks.]

The "Monk" Series: The Face of a Stranger, St. Martin's Press, 1990. [To Christine M.J. Lynch, in gratitude for old friendships renewed.]

A Dangerous Mourning, Ivy Books, 1991. [To John and Mary MacKenzie, and my friends in Alness, for making me welcome.]

Defend and Betray, Ivy Books, 1992. [to my father] (note: Dr HR Hulme died in January, 1991. Anne Perry told me 95/03/29 that the character of Oliver Rathbone's father, who first appears in "Defend and Betray," was patterned specifically after Dr HR Hulme. jp)

A Sudden, Fearful Death, Fawcett Books, 1993. [To Elizabeth Sweeney, for her friendship, and patience in reading my handwriting.]

Sins of the Wolf, Fawcett Books, 1994. [To Kimberley Hovey for her help and friendship.] [se]

**Anne Perry's characters.

I would like to collect more information about Anne Perry's characters, and to build up profiles of her recurring characters, especially. Contributions to this are very welcome. (I hope this will become a separate section in ver 3.0) [jp]

One comment that I would make is that all of her recurring female characters are unconventional, strong and intelligent and don't really care what others think of them. They are passionate and follow their hearts and do what they think is right rather than what is expected of them. They often act rashly or impulsively, only thinking of the consequences later. Her recurring male characters are more tolerant, sympathetic, insightful and supportive than I'm sure most of the men were in those times. It has been commented to me that Thomas Pitt sometimes seems more female than male because of his sensitivity to others' feelings. This characteristic could also be because he is a good detective! Her recurring characters are very similar in personality. Ms Perry is very consistent. [se]

7.11.1"The Cater Street Hangman" [spoilers]. [jp]#

Perry, Anne. "The Cater Street Hangman," Fawcett Crest, N.Y. 1992. copyright 1979. orig. pub. St. Martin's Press, London. ISBN 0-449-20867-2.

"The Cater Street Hangman" is Anne Perry's first published novel. Her work is rich with social context and, especially, with realistic depictions of Victorian family life and personal life that are quite detailed. To convey such material convincingly, an author may draw upon personal experience or beliefs when writing critical passages, especially when writing a first published novel. So examining "The Cater Street Hangman" for insight into Anne Perry or even the "Parker Hulme" murder case is not unreasonable. After all, in 1979, Anne Perry's new identity had been intact for twenty-one years. When she wrote "Cater Street Hangman" she may have believed that her prior identity as Juliet Marion Hulme might never be revealed.

It is also possible that Ms Perry made a conscious effort to avoid possible tie-ins with the "Parker Hulme" case in her writing. Perhaps she drew upon personal experience sparingly. Although this possibility needs to be considered, Ms Perry's recent statements (see above) would not tend to support such deliberate obfuscation in her early work. Or even in her present work.

So, examining "The Cater Street Hangman" and Ms Perry's other writings for information about young Juliet Hulme or young Pauline Parker or Honora Parker or Henry Hulme or any of the other people listed in 7.1 remains very much an open and fascinating possibility. Ms Perry has stated publicly (see 3.2.4, 7.11) that some of her characters have been patterned after family members, and even herself.

Below is a brief quotation from "The Cater Street Hangman." The chosen passage is quite illustrative of Ms Perry's style in her earlier novels. "The Cater Street Hangman" introduces many characters who reappear in the "Pitt" series of books, so it is an invaluable starting point for anyone who wishes to take up reading Ms Perry's fiction. Starting with "The Cater Street Hangman" is highly recommended.

Ms Perry tends to write under the assumption that characters from previous novels will be familiar to readers of her later works. One of the fascinating aspects of her "Pitt" series, for instance, is the way recurring characters age, develop, mature and change as the series progresses.

Quotation from "The Cater Street Hangman" [SPOILER WARNING].

Charlotte Ellison is walking home along foggy Cater Street, site of five murders in recent months, including the murder of Charlotte's own sister Sarah. Inspector Pitt has been investigating the murders. Charlotte is returning from a courtesy call to Martha Prebble, the overworked and long-suffering Vicar's wife, bedridden with a fever. Perry describes her: "She was a handsome woman, broad-busted, strong, with fine, strong hands." [p. 19]. It is night. Charlotte imagines she hears footsteps behind her, perhaps the footsteps of the Cater Street Hangman...

The footsteps were right behind her. She would not be taken by surprise. She swung round to face him. "He was there in front of her, her own height, no more, but broader, far broader. The gaslight shone on his head as he moved. Don't be idiotic. It was Martha, only Martha Prebble. "Martha!" she said in an ecstasy of relief. "What on earth are you doing out of bed? You are ill! Do you need help? Here, let me--" But Martha's face was twisted into an unrecognizable distortion, her eyes blazing, her lips drawn back. She raised her powerful arms and the gaslight caught on the thin sliver of a cheese cutting wire in her hands. Charlotte was paralyzed. "You filth!" Martha said between her clenched teeth. There was saliva on her lips and she was shivering. "You creature of the devil! You tempted me with your white arms, and your flesh, but you shan't win! The Lord said, better you should not have been born than that you should have tempted and brought to destruction one of these, my little ones, and brought them to sin. Better you should have a millstone tied round your neck and put into the sea. I shall destroy you, however many times you keep coming, with your soft words and your touch of sin. I shall not fail! I know how your body burns, I know your secret lusts, but I shall destroy you all, till you leave me alone in peace. Satan shall never win!" Charlotte only barely understood--some tortured haze of love and loneliness, of twisted hungers, suppressed for long years till they broke loose in violence that could no longer deny itself. "Oh no! Martha." Her own fear was consumed in pity. "Oh, Martha, you misunderstood, you poor creature--" But Martha had raised the wire, stretched taut between her hands, and was coming towards her, less than a yard away. The spell was broken. Charlotte screamed as loudly as her lungs would permit. She screamed Martha's name over and over and over again. She swung the basket at her, at her face, hoping to scare her, to blind her temporarily, even to knock her over. It seemed like eternity, and Martha's hands were already on her arms, gripping her like steel, when the enormous figure of Pitt came out of the fog, and a second later, two constables. They grasped Martha, hauling her off, forcing her arms behind her back. Charlotte collapsed against the street wall; her knees seemed to have no strength to support her and her hands were tingling with pins and needles. Pitt bent down to her, taking her face in his hands very gently. "You blazing idiot!" he choked. "What in God's name were you doing going to see her alone? Do you realize if I hadn't gone to see you again today, and they had not told me where you'd come, you'd be lying on this very stone, dead like Sarah and all the others?" She nodded and gulped, tears beginning to run down her face. "Yes." "You--you--" He was lost for a word fierce enough. Before he could struggle any further there were more heavy feet on the pavement, and a moment later the vicar's solid form materialized out of the fog. "What's going on?" he demanded. "What's happened? Who's hurt?" Pitt turned to him, bitter dislike in his face. "No one is hurt, Mr. Prebble--in the way you mean. The injury is a lifelong one, I think." "I don't know what you mean. Explain yourself! Martha! What on earth are those policemen doing with Martha? She should be at home in bed. She is ill. I found her missing; that's why I came out. You can let her go now. I shall take her home." "No, Mr. Prebble, you won't. I'm afraid Mrs. Prebble is under arrest, and will remain with us." "Under arrest!" The vicar's face twitched. "Are you insane? Martha could have done nothing wrong. She is a good woman. If she has been foolish--" His voice hardened a little in irritation, as if he has been trespassed against. "She is not well--" Pitt stopped him. "No, Mr. Prebble, she is not. She is so ill, she has murdered and disfigured five women." The vicar stared at him, his face working as he struggled between disbelief and rage. He swivelled to stare at Martha, sagging, eyes wild, saliva on her lips and chin, policemen holding her up. He swung back to Pitt. "Possessed!" he said furiously. "Sin!" His voice rose. "Oh frailty, thy name is woman." Pitt's face was frozen with his own anger. "Frail?" he demanded. "Because she cares, and you don't? Because she is capable of love, and you are not? Because she has weaknesses, hungers, and compassion, and you know none of these? Go away, Mr. Prebble, and pray, if you know how!" The fog swirled in, and he was lost. "I was sorry for her," Charlotte said softly. She sniffed. "I still am. I didn't even know women could feel like that--about other women. Please don't be angry with me?" "Oh, Charlotte--I--" He gave up. "Stand up. You'll get cold sitting on the stone. It's wet." He pulled her to her feet, looked at the tears running down her face, then put his arms round her and held onto her as tightly as he could, not bothering to push the hair out of her eyes or to pick up the basket, just clinging to her. "I know you're sorry for her," he whispered. "Dear God, so am I."

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Copyright (c) 1995, John D. Porter. All rights reserved. Permission for personal, educational or non- profit use is granted, with proper attribution. All other uses must receive prior permission from the appropriate author(s) or copyright holders.

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