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Anne Perry, born Juliet Marion Hulme, is an British author of detective fiction. In 1954, at the age of fifteen, she was convicted of participating in the murder of Honorah Rieper, the mother of her then best friend, Pauline Parker. She changed her name after serving her five-year sentence to Anne Perry. She continues to write under this name to this day.
Murder of Honorah Rieper
The incident
In June 1954 while they were 15, Juliet and her best friend Paulne Parker murdered Parker's mother, Honorah Rieper. Hulme's parents were in the process of moving to South Africa to stay with a relative. The two teenage friends, who had created a fantasy life together with famous actors, did not want to be separated.
The girls went for a walk with Honorah Rieper in Victoria Park in their hometown of Christchurch. Pauline hit her mother with half a brick wrapped in a stocking. The pair had assumed that a single blow would kill Honorah, but it took over 20.
Trial
Juliet and Pauline stood trial in that same year and were found guilty on 29 August. As they were too young to be considered for the death penalty, so were convicted and sentenced to be "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure". They were released separately five years later. Juliet and Pauline are not believed to have had any contact since the trial.
Later life & legacy
After being released from prison in 1959, Ane returned to England and became a flight attendant. For a period she lived in the United States, where she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She later settled in the Scottish village of Portmahomack where she lived with her mother.
Anne took the name Anne Perry. Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall fell under the genre of murder mystery and detective fiction. Her story "Heroes" won the 2001 Edgar Award for Best Short Story.
In 2017, Anne Perry left Scotland and moved to Hollywood. In 2005, Perry appeared on the Trisha show to discuss her crime. A 2009 documentary film, Anne Perry Interiors, was made which detailed her life and crime. In 1994 a film was also made based around the "Parker-Hulme" murder case called Heavenly Creatures.
Personality
When she was a teenager, Anne/Juliet had an obsessive relationship with Pauline Rieper, which ultimately lead to the killing of Pauline's mother. Following her release from prison, Juliet/Anne has expressed nothing but remorse for her murder. She attempted to better herself and make peace with her past, and has used her experiences to form her mystery writing career. She has stated in public interviews that writing detective fiction is her way of coming to peace with what she has done.
Trivia
- There are many who speculate that Anne and Juliet's obsessive relationship was in some way sexual. However Anne herself has come out and said outright, "we were not lesbians".