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Anne Perry, (born Juliet Marion Hulme, 28 October 1938 – 10 April 2023) was a 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.
Murder of Honorah Rieper edit
The incident edit
In June 1954 while they were 15, Juliet and her best friend Paulne Parker murdered Parker's mother, Honorah Rieper. Juliet'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. After committing the murder, the two girls fled while still covered in blood, back to the tea kiosk where the three of them had eaten only minutes before. They told owners of the tea shop, that Honorah had fallen and hit her head.
The duo's story began to fall apart when the police discovered Honorah's cause of death, the lacerations on her head, and other such evidence on Honorah's body. The Police also discovered the murder weapon in the nearby woods. It did not take long for Pauline and Juliet's guilt to become obvious.
Trial edit
Juliet and Pauline stood trial in that same year. Their trial was a sensational affair, with speculation about Pauline and Juliet's possible sexual and/or romantic connection, and their insanity. The two were both found guilty on 29 August. 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.
Their murder was taken as strong evidence of moral decline by the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents.
Later life & legacy edit
After being released from prison in 1959, Juliet 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. Juliet 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. Anne is a New York Times best-selling author.
In 1994 a film was made based around the "Parker-Hulme" murder case called Heavenly Creatures. 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.
Anne's most well know character is detective Thomas Pitt , the main character in 32 of her novels, including her debut novel The Cater Street Hangman. The Cater Street Hangman was adapted into a made-for-TV movie in 1998, which starred Eoin McCarthy as Thomas Pitt. Her latest book Triple Jeopardy was published in 2019. Triple Jeopardy is the second book to feature Thomas Pitt's son, Daniel Pitt, as the main character.
Perry had a heart attack in December 2022, and died at a hospital in Los Angeles on 10 April 2023, aged 84. Her novel The Fourth Enemy was published the day after her death.
Personality edit
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 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 edit
- 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".