orrific-wisconsin-stabbing-
More on the Waukesha stabbing.
Young females committing murder is, of course, uncommon (only about 9% of
the total) which is no doubt why the case is attracting a lot of attention.
Plus there is the connection to the Internet which is causing a lot of
discussion of what was the inspiration for the crime. This leads people to
imagine that this case is unique and different from anything that has ever
happened before.
However there have been similar cases in the past where seemingly
well-adjusted young people were led by obsessive fantasies to commit murder.
The case of Leopold and Lobe in Chicago 1924, is one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
There is also the case of Parker and Hulme which involved two teen-age
girls in Christchurch New Zealand in 1954.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
"The Parker–Hulme murder case began in the city of Christchurch, New
Zealand, on 22 June 1954, when Honorah Rieper (also known as Honorah Parker,
her legal name, Honora Rieper and Honora Parker) was killed by her teenage
daughter, Pauline Parker, and Pauline's close friend Juliet Hulme."
"The murder is the basis of 2011 non-fiction book So Brilliantly Clever,
written by New Zealand–born barrister Peter Graham. It also bookends Peter
Jackson's 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, and has inspired plays, novels,
scripts and featured in many books about crime. The book has also been
published in ebook format as Anne Perry: The Murder of the Century."
The two girls ,15 and 16, were apparently having an "obsessive" friendship,
which the mother of Pauline Parker, Honora Parker, tried to end. The girls
responded by knocking Honora Parker's head in with a brick wrapped in a
stocking.
The murder
On 22 June 1954, the body of Honorah Rieper was discovered in Victoria Park,
in Christchurch, New Zealand.[1] That morning Honorah had gone for a walk
through Victoria Park with her daughter Pauline Parker, and Pauline's best
friend, Juliet Hulme. Approximately 130 m (420 ft) down the path, in a
wooded area of the park near a small wooden bridge, Hulme and Parker
bludgeoned Rieper to death with half a brick enclosed in an old stocking.[1]
After committing the murder, which they had planned together, the two girls
fled, covered in blood, back to the tea kiosk where the three of them had
eaten only minutes before. They were met by Agnes and Kenneth Ritchie,
owners of the tea shop, whom they told that Honorah had fallen and hit her
head. Her body was found by Kenneth Ritchie. Major lacerations were found
about her head, neck, and face, with minor injuries to her fingers. Police
soon discovered the murder weapon in the nearby woods. The girls' story of
Rieper's accidental death quickly fell apart.
Before the trial began, it was discovered that Honorah Rieper had never
legally married Herbert Rieper,[2] who was still legally married to another.
Though Pauline had always been referred to as Pauline Rieper by all who knew
her throughout her life, both Honorah and Pauline were therefore referred to
by Honorah's maiden name, Parker, during the trial.
Parker came from a working-class background; while Juliet Hulme was the
daughter of Brit Henry Hulme, a physicist who was the rector of University
of Canterbury in Christchurch.
As children, Parker had suffered from osteomyelitis and Hulme had suffered
from tuberculosis; the latter was sent by her parents to the Bahamas to
recuperate. The girls initially bonded over their respective ailments, but,
as their friendship developed, they formed an elaborate fantasy life
together. They would often sneak out and spend the night acting out stories
involving the fictional characters they had created. Their parents found
this disturbing and worried that their relationship might be sexual.
Homosexuality at the time was considered a serious mental illness, so both
sets of parents attempted to prevent the girls from seeing each other.
In 1954, Juliet's parents separated; her father resigned from his position
as rector of Canterbury College and planned to return to England. It was
then decided that Juliet would be sent to live with relatives in South
Africa—ostensibly for her health, but also so that the girls would be more
effectively, if not permanently, separated. Pauline told her mother that she
wished to accompany Juliet, but Pauline's mother made it clear it would not
be allowed. The girls then formed a plan to murder Pauline's mother and
leave the country for Hollywood, California, where they believed they would
publish their writing and work in film.
Trial and aftermath
The trial was a sensational affair, with speculation about their possible
lesbianism and insanity. The girls were convicted on 28 August 1954, and
each of them spent five years in prison as they were too young to be
considered for the death penalty. Some sources say they were released with
the condition that they never contact each other again,[3] but Sam Barnett,
then Secretary for Justice, told journalists there was no such condition.[4]
The murder was touched upon as strong evidence of moral decline less than
four months later by the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children
and Adolescents in what became known as the Mazengarb Report, named after
its chair, Ossie Mazengarb.
After her release from prison, Juliet Hulme spent time in the United States
and later began a successful career as a historical detective novelist under
her new name, Anne Perry. She has been a Mormon since about 1968.[5] In
March 2006, Perry argued that while her relationship with Pauline Parker was
obsessive, they were not lesbians.[6] Pauline Parker spent some time in New
Zealand under close surveillance before being allowed to leave for England.
As of 1997, she was living in the small village of Hoo near Strood, Kent,
and running a children's riding school.[7] As an adult, she became a Roman
Catholic. She expressed strong remorse for having killed her mother and for
many years refused to give interviews about the murder.[7]
Portrayals in fiction
The story of the murder was adapted into the 1971 French film Mais ne nous
délivrez pas du mal (Don't Deliver Us From Evil) and into Peter Jackson's
film Heavenly Creatures (1994). Perry's identity was revealed publicly
around the time of the film's release. The case was also fictionalised in
1958 as The Evil Friendship by M. E. Kerr under the pseudonym Vin Packer.
Beryl Bainbridge's first novel, Harriet Said..., was inspired by newspaper
reports of the case.[8]
The 1967 play Minor Murder by Mary Orr and Reginald Denham and 1992 New
Zealand play Daughters of Heaven by Michaelanne Forster were based on the
Parker–Hulme murder.[9]
By Epictetus
No comments:
Post a Comment