Pauline Parker, convicted of 1954 Christchurch murder, dies in Orkney aged 88
Pauline Parker, who as a 16-year-old was convicted with Juliet Hulme of killing Parker's mother in Christchurch in 1954, has died in Orkney aged 88 under the name Hilary Nathan. The case inspired the film Heavenly Creatures.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Pauline Parker, who lived under the name Hilary Nathan, has died in Orkney aged 88, according to BBC News and the Daily Mail. BBC NewsN “her death in an island care home last week at the age of 88” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “When Hilary Nathan passed away at the age of 88 on the Orkney island of South Ronaldsay earlier this month” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2The BBC places the death in an island care home "last week"; the Daily Mail says it was at the Braeburn Court assisted living centre in St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay, and that the death was registered in Kirkwall without a date being given. BBC NewsN “her death in an island care home last week at the age of 88” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “Her death was registered in the islands' capital of Kirkwall but no date was given” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2At 16, as Pauline Parker, she was convicted with her schoolfriend Juliet Hulme of murdering her mother, Honora (spelled Honorah by the Mail) Parker, in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1954. BBC NewsN “she was convicted alongside her schoolfriend Juliet Hulme of the murder of her mother Honora Parker” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “Both were convicted of murder after a six-day trial” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2The court heard the girls feared being separated because of the divorce of Hulme's parents and a planned move to South Africa; they lured Mrs Parker to a park and beat her to death with a brick inside a stocking. BBC NewsN “They lured her to a park and bludgeoned her to death with a brick inside a stocking.” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “Juliet had acquired a half-brick from the garage at Ilam that was later placed into an old stocking.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2The defence argued insanity; both girls were found guilty and avoided the death penalty because of their age, serving about five years (the Mail says five and a half) in separate prisons. BBC NewsN “The defence argued insanity, but both girls were found guilty of murder and only avoided the death penalty because of their age.” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “the girls ended up serving just five-and-a-half years in different prisons before being given their freedom” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2After release they were given new identities and left New Zealand for the UK; Hulme became the crime novelist Anne Perry, who died in 2023. BBC NewsN “In 1960, having served five years in separate prisons, they were given new identities and moved away from New Zealand.” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “Juliet became Anne Perry, a hugely successful crime novelist who, before her death in 2023” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2Peter Jackson's film Heavenly Creatures, starring Kate Winslet as Hulme and Melanie Lynskey as Parker, dramatised the case, and its release led journalists to trace both women. BBC NewsN “His film Heavenly Creatures starred Kate Winslet as Hulme and Melanie Lynskey as Parker.” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “led journalists to uncover both of their new identities, igniting a media frenzy” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2Parker ran a riding school in Kent, then moved to Orkney and ran another stable; the BBC says Parker was found there in 2011 by author Peter Graham, while the Mail says Parker sold the Kent house and retreated to Orkney after reporters arrived. BBC NewsN “But in 2011, Parker was found by lawyer and true-crime author Peter Graham” Read at BBC News ↗ Daily MailR “Nathan sold her house and retreated to what was clearly the most remote location she could think of” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Centre · 1The BBC, citing an interview Parker's sister gave to the New Zealand Women's Weekly, describes Parker as a devout Catholic who led a reclusive life; it also places the stable on the island of Burray, while the Mail places Parker's home on South Ronaldsay. BBC NewsN “Nathan was a devout Catholic who led a reclusive life”“ran a riding stable in the small Orcadian island of Burray” Read at BBC News ↗
Right · 1The Mail adds detail from Parker's diary, used at trial, and says doctors at the trial regarded the relationship as homosexual, which Perry always denied; it also gives background on the victim, born in Birmingham, and on the discovery that Parker had been brought up under the surname Rieper. Daily MailR “Several doctors called as witnesses regarded it as homosexual”“Pauline – who had been brought up as a Rieper – was tried as 'Parker'” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- A reflective obituary, led by a 70-year story that ended quietly, centred on redemption and reinvention in small Scottish communities, with the BBC reporter's own 2001 interview with Anne Perry.
- Emphasis
- Peter Jackson's and Kate Winslet's reflections, Perry's views on forgiveness, and the parallel later lives of the two women.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Little detail of the killing itself or of the diary; no account of how Parker's death was registered.
- Charged language
- “evil schoolgirl killers”
- For example
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“How they reinvented themselves out of the world's harshest headlines, and found redemption in the smallest of Scottish communities.” — BBC News
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- A true-crime narrative, led by the secrecy around Parker's death and a 'disappearing act', then a long, detailed retelling of the murder and the girls' fantasy world.
- Emphasis
- Gruesome detail of the attack, diary extracts, the girls' 'Fourth World', and the contrast between Perry's openness and Parker's retreat.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not cover Perry's reflections on forgiveness or the sister's description of Parker's religious life.
- Charged language
- “takes her secrets to the grave”“the trial of the century”“chillingly cold and deliberate”“sinister”
- For example
-
“It's all testament to one of the most successful disappearing acts in criminal history.” — Daily Mail
“The plan was chillingly cold and deliberate.” — Daily Mail
What every side reports
- Pauline Parker, known as Hilary Nathan, died in Orkney aged 88.
- With Juliet Hulme she was convicted of murdering her mother, Mrs Parker, in Christchurch in 1954, aged 16.
- Both were spared the death penalty because of their age and later given new identities.
- Hulme became crime writer Anne Perry, who died in 2023.
- The case inspired Peter Jackson's film Heavenly Creatures, starring Kate Winslet.
Where accounts differ
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Where Parker lived and died in Orkney
- Centre
- BBC: ran a stable on Burray and died in an island care home last week.
- Right
- Daily Mail: died at Braeburn Court assisted living centre in St Margaret's Hope, South Ronaldsay, earlier this month; date not given in the registration.
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Time served
- Centre
- BBC: about five years in separate prisons.
- Right
- Daily Mail: five and a half years.
Pauline Parker person
Parker lived privately as Hilary Nathan; the Mail says the person denied being Parker when traced by a journalist, and the BBC says the person was reclusive and devout.
“she insisted that he had 'got the wrong person'” — Daily Mail
“Nathan was a devout Catholic who led a reclusive life” — BBC News
Heavenly Creatures other
Presented as the 1990s film that dramatised the murder and led to both women being traced; the BBC quotes Jackson as wanting to understand the girls rather than repeat tabloid sensationalism.
“We wanted to understand more about Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, and what made them become friends.” — BBC News
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
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Heavenly Creatures killer Pauline Parker dies in Orkney, aged 88
Sympathetic Reflective obituary stressing reinvention, privacy and redemption, drawing on interviews with Perry, Jackson and Winslet.
Right1 article
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Alarmist Sensational true-crime retelling stressing the brutality of the murder and Parker's secretive end.
- 26 Oct 19:11 First BBC NewsN Heavenly Creatures killer Pauline Parker dies in Orkney, aged 88
- 27 Oct 00:58 +5h 47m Daily MailR The last 'Heavenly Creature' takes her secrets to the grave: Woman who murdered her own mum in crime that inspired the film that launched Kate Winslet's career dies aged 88
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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