Hulme and Parker: A Script for Murder
In 1954, the murder of Honora Parker shocked New Zealand—not only because of the brutality of the crime, but because the two people responsible were teenage girls: her daughter, Pauline Parker, and Pauline’s close friend, Juliet Hulme. Pauline and Juliet had formed an intense friendship and created an elaborate private world together. When circumstances threatened to separate them, the girls became convinced that Pauline’s mother was the person standing in their way. What followed was not a sudden act of violence, but a murder they had planned in advance.
In this episode, we break down the relationship between Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, the events leading to Honora Parker’s murder, the evidence that revealed the girls’ planning, their sensational trial, and what happened to both of them after their release from prison—including Juliet Hulme’s remarkable later life under an entirely different name.
