In June 1954 Honora Parker was bludgeoned to death while on an outing to Victoria Park, Christchurch. The perpetrators were her daughter Pauline Parker and school friend Juliet Hulme, both of whom were 15 years old at the time. The two girls initially claimed that Honora had accidentally fallen and hit her head while walking, however as police investigated the death it quickly became apparent that the murder had actually been planned in advance by Pauline and Juliet.

The details of the murder scandalised New Zealand, particularly given the young age of the girls, the position of Juliet Hulme’s father as Rector of the University of Canterbury, and the rarity of a case of matricide. Despite an attempt of a plea of insanity, Parker and Hulme were convicted of murder in August 1954, and being too young for the death penalty were imprisoned at separate institutions for five years.

The coroner’s inquest report for Honora Parker is held at Archives NZ, as part of the Justice Department record group. It contains statements from police and ambulance staff, as well as family members and witnesses.

These images are taken from the statement given by Agnes Ritchie, who operated the tearooms at Victoria Park and was first to see the girls after the murder.

Eventually both Pauline and Juliet emigrated from New Zealand after their release from prison, and Juliet pursued a successful career as a crime fiction writer under the name Anne Perry.

In 1994 Peter Jackson’s film ‘Heavenly Creatures’ was released, bringing the case to light again.