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Schoolgirl killers reinvented lives
26 Oct
Summary
- Two friends convicted of murder in New Zealand 70 years ago.
- Both women reinvented their lives, finding refuge in UK communities.
- One became a successful crime writer; the other ran a riding stable.
Hilary Nathan, formerly Pauline Parker, who was convicted of murder in New Zealand 70 years ago, died last week at age 88 in an island care home. Her death marks the end of an extraordinary life that began with a sensational murder trial. As a 16-year-old, Parker, alongside her friend Juliet Hulme, murdered her mother. The case, which shocked New Zealand, led to their conviction and a five-year prison sentence.
After their release in 1960, the women were given new identities and left New Zealand, ordered never to meet again. Hulme, under the name Anne Perry, became a successful crime writer in Scotland. Parker, as Hilary Nathan, settled in rural England and later the Orkney Islands, running a riding stable.
Both women found solace in religion and tight-knit communities. Perry, a Mormon, and Nathan, a devout Catholic, rebuilt their lives away from the intense media scrutiny following the 1995 film "Heavenly Creatures." Perry once stated that her past experiences gave her great compassion for those who do wrong, influencing her writing.
Anne Perry passed away in Los Angeles in 2023, also at 88. Hilary Nathan's recent death brings their remarkable story of reinvention and redemption in secluded Scottish communities to a close.
