Anne Perry, crime writer with a murderous past, dead at 84
Murderer turned crime writer Anne Perry dies aged 84 https://t.co/4YySGY5i3h
- BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 13, 2023
Anne Perry, the best-selling crime novelist known for her Thomas Pitt detective series and her own murderous past that inspired the movie "Heavenly Creatures," has died at age 84.
Perry died Monday in Los Angeles from complications of a stroke and several heart attacks, according to her literary agent in North America.
Born Juliet Hulme, she was a London native whose health lead her family to settle in New Zealand. In school, she formed an intense friendship with classmate Pauline Parker. But in 1954, her parents were divorcing and she was told she would be moving to South Africa.
They plotted against Parker's mother who had refused to let Pauline join Juliet. The girls conspired to go on a picnic with Mrs. Parker, reached an isolated place in a park and murdered her, beating her repeatedly with a rock.
Because they were minors, the girls were spared the death penalty and instead each served five years in prison. Later Hulme would rename herself Anne Perry, move to Scotland & work various jobs, before becoming a published writer.
Director Peter Jackson would draw upon the Hulme/Parker case for "Heavenly Creatures," a 1994 movie that starred Kate Winslet as Juliet and Melanie Lynskey as Pauline.
Sources; My Brother who has a bike, the BBC tweet, USA Today