Pauline Parker death at age 88,New Zealand-born convicted murderer

Pauline Parker, the New Zealand-born convicted murderer in the Parker–Hulme case, died October 26, 2026, aged 88.

Born Pauline Yvonne Parker in Christchurch on May 26, 1938, she was also known as Pauline Rieper. Her name became associated with the 1954 killing of her mother, Honorah Mary Rieper, who was also known as Honorah Mary Parker.

The murder took place in Christchurch on June 22, 1954. Parker was 16 at the time; her friend Juliet Hulme was 15. The case became known as the Parker–Hulme murder case, reflecting the two teenagers convicted in connection with the killing. Parker and Hulme were each sentenced to five years in prison. After their release, both were given new identities; Hulme later lived under the name Anne Perry. The case gained wider public attention decades later with the release of Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures. Its title and subject brought the events in Christchurch to a broader audience, renewing attention to the case and to the two young people at its center. Parker’s life was marked in public accounts chiefly through her role in the case, which remains identified by the names of the two convicted teenagers and the date and place of the killing.