Teenage, Lesbian, Sex, Murder Kiwis: The True Story of Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme
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Sources:
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/parker-hulme-murder
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/heavenly-creatures-pauline-parker-and-juliet-hulme-are-found-guilty-of-murder
https://journalnews.com.ph/14-of-the-most-bizarre-true-crime-stories-we-heard-about-in-2022/
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Zevon Odelberg is a true crime podcast host and disability advocate. Zevon has cerebral palsy and he wants Kinda Murdery to be welcoming community for people with disabilities and for people living with challenges of any kind. Life can be hard, but being together makes it better.
Warning, Kind of Murdery contains adult themes, explicit language, and descriptions of
violence. It is not suitable for anyone, and we recommend you stop listening.
Now true crime with a dash of the paranormal, the garish, the
strange in the darkly comic. I'm Zevan Odeleberg, host of Kind of Murdery,
a podcast that's about more than just murder. It's my very own pocket
dimension, home to a curated collection of bizarre and compelling stories, the unsolved,
the unsettling, and the unbelievable. I cover it all just so long
as it's kind of Murdery. Teenage lesbian sex Murder kiwis the bizarre true story
of Pauline Parker and Juliet hull starts now in the early nineteen fifties. Nestled
in the serene landscape of New Zealand, a friendship began to blossom. Under
unusual circumstances. Two teenagers, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, found solace in
each other's company. Their bond forged in the fires of shared adversity. Both
girls struggled with ill health, a plight that isolated them from their peers.
And the carefree joys of teenage life. Their worlds, once lonely and fragmented,
began to intertwine. Pauline and Juliet, in their isolation, became each
other's lifeline. No other friends graced their inner circle. It was a duo
against the world. This rapid and intense growth of their friendship was akin to
a plot in a suspense novel, where every emotion is magnified, every bond
a matter of life and death. And yes, my friends, that is
foreshadowing. You see. As their friendship deepened, so too did the complexity
of their shared world. They began to create a realm all their own aid,
a fantastical escape from the harsh realities of their illness and the mundanity,
mundanity wow banality of everyday life. This creation was not just some simple childhood
fantasy. It was a vivid, elaborate, and all consuming alternate reality.
The intensity of their connection raised eyebrows, in particular amongst their own parents.
It was not just a friendship, it was an obsession. The girls were
inseparable, their identities merging into one. They were no longer just Pauline and
Juliet. They were a single entity moving through a world that they had created,
a world that understood them, a world where their illnesses were not a
curse but part of their unique story. Their parents watched is the friendship between
their daughters deepened into something that they could no longer dismiss as mere adolescent closeness.
It had taken on an intense, almost delusional quality that left them uneasy
in the eyes of their parents. The relationship between Pauline and julietsst boundaries,
the suspicion that it had become sexual, was a source of significant worry,
adding a layer of complexity to an already intricate situation. In the conservative societal
landscape of the early nineteen fifties, a lesbian relationship between two teenage girls was
not only frowned upon, but also considered taboo, intensifying their parents' anxieties.
Amidst these growing concerns, a pivotal moment arrived that would escalate the situation to
a critical point. The parent's worst fear seemed to be on the brink of
being realized when a significant change was announced. Juliet Hume's parents were getting a
divorce. The family upheaval was more than just a personal matter. It was
a catalyst that would directly impact the extraordinary bond between the two girls. The
decision made in the wake of the divorce was earth shattering for Pauline and Juliette.
Juliette was to move out of the country with her father, a plan
that meant an unavoidable and imminent separation for the two girls. For Pauline and
juliet this was an unthinkable scenario. Their world, built on the foundation of
their intense, exclusive friendship, was facing the threat of being torn apart.
And by the way, when I say their world, I mean that they
had literally, in their own imaginations, created their own world, an alternate
reality where their names were Deborah and Gina and they were about to achieve Hollywood's
stardom. So this is not the generic parental dismissive, Oh, they're in
their own world. These two girls were highly specific about the own world that
they lived in together. The prospect of separation was not merely a farewell to
a friend. It felt like a dismantling of their very existence, the end
of their shared dreams and fantasies that had in fact become their reality. Confronted
with this dire situation, the girls found themselves at a crossroads, one that
would lead them down a path of desperation and ultimately to a dark, tragic
chapter in their lives. The impending separation set in motion a series of events
that would not only shock their families and community, but would also resonate through
history as one of the more infamous murders of the twentieth century. Pauline Parker
and juliet Hume were in a state of desperate pleading. United in their distress,
they implored their parents to allow Pauline to accompany Juliette abroad. The entreaty
was not just a request, It was a manifestation of their fear of being
torn apart, a plea to maintain the world they had so intricately woven together,
a plea to continue the Hollywood journey of Deborah and Gina. However,
the response from both sets of parents was unequivocal refusal. This decision was not
taken lightly, but was seen as necessary by the adults, who viewed the
girl's intense bond with increasing alarm and concern. In their eyes, the separation
was perhaps a much needed intervention, a chance for both girls to return to
what they considered a normal and healthy path of life, of course, what
the adults considered the parents considered a normal and healthy path of life. But
Pauline and Juliette were not to be swayed. The refusal of their parents to
bend to their wishes was una acceptable to them. In their minds, a
life apart was unimaginable, unbearable. They found themselves back into a corner,
their dream of staying together slipping through their fingers like grains of sand. The
intensity of their refusal to accept the separation set the stage for a conclusion that
would shock the nation. What transpired as a result of this unwavering determination was
not just a chapter in their story, but a horrific event that would echo
through the halls of New Zealand's history. The culmination of their refusal to be
parted was an act so shocking, so unimaginable, that it left an indelible
mark on the psyche of a nation. The end result of their desperation was
a grim testament to the lengths to which obsession and fear of loss can drive
individuals, a chilling reminder of the dark corners of the human heart. On
June twenty second, nineteen fifty four, a day etched forever in blood and
infamy, the unsettling saga of Pauline Parker and Juliet Hume reached its herowin climax,
honor of Parker, Pauline's mother, unsuspectingly set out with the girls,
then aged fifteen and sixteen, for what was intended to be a pleasant afternoon.
Their destination was Victoria Park, a place of serene beauty, which was
to become the backdrop for a shocking act. The afternoon began innocuously enough,
with tea, a symbol of normalcy and tradition, but as they walked down
a secluded pathway in the park, the true intention of the girls came to
light in a horrific manner. In a chilling act of premeditation, Pauline and
Juliet turned on Honora Parker with a brick, using it to fatally bludget her
in an attack of staggering brutality. The aftermath was as chaotic as it was
tragic. The girls, covered in blood, raced back to the Tea kiosk
in a state of apparent distress. Concocting a story of a tragic accident.
They claimed that Honora had fallen in an attempt to mask the grim reality of
their heinous deed. However, the facade did not hold for long. The
police called the scene were immediately suspicious. The nature and extent of Honora Parker's
injuries raised doubts. They were not consistent with those two typically sustained in a
fall. This incongruence set off alarm bells, prompting a more thorough investigation.
As the authorities delve deeper, the fabricated story unraveled, exposing the grim truth
behind what was initially painted as a tragic accident. The incident of Victoria park
was not just an act of violence. It was a premeditated murder, one
that would leave an indelible mark on New Zealand's history and challenge the nation's understanding
of youth friendship and morality. The investigation into the shocking murder of honor of
Parker took a decisive turn with a crucial piece of evidence, Pauline Parker's diary.
This private chronicle, meant to be a hidden sanctuary of thoughts and plans,
became the key to unraveling the truth behind the facade the girls had constructed
within the pages of This diary lay a chilling and detailed account of the murder
plans. It was not just a recounting of a crime. It was a
window into the minds of Pauline and Juliet. The diary injuries were a stark
revelation, unveiling the depth of their session and the lengths to which they were
willing to go to preserve their bond. Armed with this damning evidence, the
police moved swiftly. Both girls were arrested, their facade of innocence irrevocably shattered.
This case, replete with dramatic and horrifying details, captivated and horrified the
public. Here were two young girls who, in the grip of an obsessive
friendship, had committed an unthinkable act. As the trial unfolded, the defense
put forward a plea of insanity. Given the alternate lives of Deborah and Gina
in their Hollywood journey, I'd say that seems fairly legitimate. Although when you're
talking about children, essentially children like this, where exactly do you separate insanity
from imagination. I'm glad I don't have to make that decision myself, But
let's get back to the story. The defense sought to paint the girls as
victims of their own delusional minds, unable to discern right from wrong. However,
this plea found no favor with the jury. The calculated nature of the
murder, evidenced in part by the diary injury, suggested a level of awareness
and intent that undercut the insanity argument. On August twenty eighth, nineteen fifty
four, the jury delivered their verdict. Both Pauline Parker and Juliet Hume were
found guilty and sentenced to indefinite detention in separate prisons in New Zealand. The
separation that they had so desperately sought to avoid through their heinous act was now
imposed upon them by the law. But indefinite detention doesn't mean forever or undefined.
In this case, it meant detained at the pleasure of the Queen,
I believe, was the actual language used, and so their time in prison
lasted only five years. During their incarceration, the case continued to be a
subject of public fascination and debate, A tale of friendship turned into fatal obsession.
The story of Pauline and Juliet raised profound questions about youth, mental health
and the nature of evil questions that continue to linger long after their release from
prison. Years after the infamous murder that shook New Zealand and the subsequent imprisonment,
the lives of Pauline Parker and Juliet Hume took divergent paths, each seeking
redemption and a new identity in the wake of their dark past. Pauline Parker,
upon her release, sought a new fresh start. Far from the scene
of her notorious crime. She moved to England, embracing anonymity as a shield
against her past. In this new chapter of her life, she underwent a
profound transformation. She adopted a new name, symbolizing her desire to leave behind
the person she once was. Her journey also led her to embrace spirituality.
She became a devout Catholic, perhaps seeking solace and forgiveness in faith for the
sins of her youth. In addition to her spiritual awakening, Pauline found a
new purpose in life. She became a children's horse riding instructor, dedicating herself
to the care and teaching of young minds. Boy, she doesn't really seem
like the best choice for that, but what do I know? This career
choice was a poignant shift from her troubled past, reflecting a desire to contribute
positively to the lives of others and to nurture rather than destroy. Certainly we
hope that that's the case. Juliette Hume's second life path is a little more
shocking, a little more distasteful. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist,
a famous, best selling novelist, in fact, a career that eerily
echoed the fantasies she once shared with Pauline. Under the pseudonym Anne Perry,
she gained great renown as a writer of murder mysteries. Her novels, steeped
in themes of death and intrigue, seemed to draw from a well of her
own experiences, albeit in a fictionalized form. Although I suppose, since she
was not writing about the murder that she actually committed, there was no law
against her profiting from stories about murder. Anne Perry, who died in Los
Angeles in April of this year, twenty twenty three at the age of eighty
four, published some seventy plus murder mystery novels over the course of her career
as Anne Perry, and was not outed as actually being the murderous teenager Juliette
Hulme until twenty twelve, when staff members at the Auckland Libraries in New Zealand
recognized her. She published her first book in nineteen seventy nine, twenty five
years after the murder, but thirty three years before her outing as the murderous
Juliet Hulme and forty four years before her eventual death. So all that time
living in secret inside this reinvented life and identity allowed her to achieve renown in
a field that resonated with the darker aspects of her history, specifically murder fictional
novelist murder that is in this case, and real murder in her case.
And you all can do as you like, but personally, I'm not letting
Juliet Hulme slash Anne Perry off the hook for bashing her mother's brains in with
a brick when she was sixteen years old and the older of the two friends.
By the way, I actually find it pretty appalling in a bad taste
sort of sense that she then was allowed to have an extremely successful, decades
long career as a murder mystery writer after murdering her own mother. As awfully
darn close to an adult. But hey, I mean, what are you
going to do? A passion's a passion. I suppose the post prison lives
of Pauline Parker and Juliette Hume. Hume, of course, would later become
Anne Perry, the famous novelist I was just talking about, were marked by
a stark contrast, one seeking redemption and obscurity, the other achieving fame through
a genre that mirrored her grim past. Both women, in their own ways,
attempted to move beyond the shadow of their youthful crime, each grappling with
the legacy of a moment that irrevocably altered their destinies. And again, I'm
not giving them the youthful crime past. Not at sixteen, not when you're
inviting your mom out for tea, and then with premeditation bashing or braining in
with a brick in public in the middle of the day. Word choice can
have a lot to do with how we perceive a crime, and I don't
think these girls earned the youthful crime label. I think they were psychos.
And with that and until next time, I'm Zevan Odleberg, And this has
been kind of murdery
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