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The Dominion
June 14 1995
Peter Ellis case entwined in book
A child-killing case last century is providing impetus for a book
about the Christchurch creche case and Peter Ellis's child-molesting
conviction.
Dunedin writer Lynley Hood, a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards this
month for her investigation into the social hysteria surrounding the hanging
of convicted child murderer Minnie Dean, said she had already begun
researching Ellis.
Minnie Dean, the subject of Hood's book Minnie Dean: Her Life and Crimes, was
hanged in 1895 for one child's murder but suspected of many more. Dean
remains the only New
Zealand woman to have been hanged.
In her book, Hood put Dean's conviction in a Victorian context of sexual and
social repression -- and a prevalent social hysteria about childcarers.
Commenting on the Government's decision not to order an inquiry into the Christchurch creche
case, Hood said there were similarities between the cases and apparent
anomalies in how authorities had dealt with Ellis.
She said any case that caused emotional public anxiety carried a high risk of
injustice.
Hood, who has visited Ellis in prison, said it was significant he was being
treated reasonably by other prisoners.
Victoria University sociology professor Michael
Hill is also preparing a book centring on the Christchurch creche case. Professor Hill's
book will focus on the case while examining the history of the ritual abuse
phenomenon in New Zealand.
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