Editing Parker–Hulme murder case (section)

==Background==
[[File:Honorah Mary Parker (14377739776).jpg|thumb|[[Deposition (law)|Deposition]] made by Herbert Rieper with regard to the estate of Honorah Mary Parker. As they were not married, her estate passed to her children.]] 
Pauline Yvonne Parker (also known as Pauline Rieper) was born on 26 May 1938. She met Juliet Hulme when they were both in their early teens. Parker came from a [[working class|working-class]] background. Her parents were part-time house staff and gardeners, employed by the [[University of Canterbury]]. Her father, Herbert Rieper, and her mother, Honorah Mary Parker, were living together but were not actually married; this was not public knowledge and was only revealed at the trial.{{citation needed|reason=no reference given|date=December 2022}}

Juliet Hulme was born in [[London]] in 1938 and emigrated to New Zealand in 1948 with her parents. She was the daughter of [[Henry Rainsford Hulme|Henry Hulme]], a [[physicist]] who became the [[Rector (academia)|rector]] of [[University of Canterbury]].<ref name="NZ History">{{cite web|title=Pauline Parker|url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/people/pauline-parker|publisher=[[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]]|access-date=20 May 2011|date=22 June 2010}}</ref> The university provided their accommodation and the family lived at Ilam Homestead. Both Hulme and Parker attended [[Christchurch Girls' High School]].<ref name="NZ History" /> The girls had both suffered illnesses as children, Parker with [[osteomyelitis]] and Hulme with [[tuberculosis]], which formed the basis of an initial connection.<ref>{{cite book |last= Department of Justice |title= Crime in New Zealand: A Survey of New Zealand Criminal Behaviour |orig-year= 1968 |year= 1974 |publisher= A R Shearer Government Printer |location= Wellington |pages= 44, 45 }}</ref> 

As their friendship developed, Parker and Hulme formed an elaborate [[fantasy (psychology)|fantasy life]] together. They wrote plays, books, and stories centred in this world. The girls had an intense friendship which caused concern in Parker's parents that they were engaged in a sexual relationship; [[homosexuality]] at the time was considered a [[mental illness]]. The Hulmes also had concerns, but both families continued to allow the girls to see one another, and Parker was accepted at the Hulme home in [[Ilam, New Zealand|Ilam]] for overnights and vacations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.ucc.org.nz/history/ |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=The University of Canterbury Club}}</ref> Hulme became withdrawn and ill when Parker would leave her home without her.

During their relationship, the girls invented their own personal [[religion]], with their own ideas on morality. They rejected [[Christianity]] and worshipped their own [[saint]]s, envisioning a [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel dimension]] called The Fourth World, essentially their version of [[Heaven]]. The Fourth World was a place that they felt they were already able to enter occasionally, during moments of spiritual enlightenment. By Parker's account, they had achieved this spiritual enlightenment because of their friendship.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Parker was not invited to go to Ilam over the summer holidays in 1953 as she had been in previous years. In 1954, Hulme's parents [[marital separation|separated]]. Problems with faculty and the board forced Hulme’s father to resign from his position as rector of the university, and her mother was involved in an [[extramarital affair]]. Hulme's family planned to return to England, but it was decided that Hulme herself would be sent to live with relatives in [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]]—ostensibly for her health.

Both girls were heartbroken over their upcoming separation and decided that Parker should go to South Africa as well. They thought the Hulmes would agree to this plan. Parker was certain her mother would not allow her to go with Hulme. The girls formed a plan to murder Parker's mother in order to remove their perceived obstacle in them remaining together. Their long term plan was to go to South Africa and then head to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] or [[New York City]], where they believed they would publish their writing and work in film.