The story of 18-year-old professional dominatrix Renee Chignell is a fascinating one. Because let’s cut to the chase, 51-year-old cricket umpire by the name of Peter Plumley-Walker died chained and collared to a wall in her townhouse during a BDSM session. And then, instead of notifying the police, Renee Chignell and her boyfriend at the time, Neville Walker, decided to wrap Peter’s dead body up and dump it over a bridge into the extremely rapid Huka Falls waterfalls in New Zealand.
They took an over a three-hour long drive to get there, by the way. Plenty of time to change their minds. Oh, and Mistress Renee and Neville let Peter’s body sit in her “bondage room” for seven hours after his 4pm session while they ate fish and chips with Renee’s mother who had stopped by at around 9pm to spend some time with the couple. Pretty callous, isn’t it?
A Case That Took Three Trials to Resolve
But what if we told you, a jury found Renee Chignell not guilty after three trials and she is now living free because of that 1991 exoneration? And what if we told you that we agree with the verdict and whole heartedly believe that jury served justice with that decision?
Especially considering the year of the crime. 1989 isn’t a time exactly the most tolerant of eras. It is a time that subscribed to “traditional” values. That’s what makes Renee Chignell’s dominatrix tale that much more amazing and special.
Finding Meaning in an Alternative World
Renee Chignell comes from a broken home. Her abusive father left her mother for another woman when she was a young teenager. Her boyfriend, Neville, remained abusive to her as well. Renee needed a substantial amount of money to make her way out of her troubled life. And she learned early on to take a path not so “traditional”.
An easily influenced teenager, Renee met Neville Walker during a vulnerable stage in her life. And he convinced her to leave the safe, professional BDSM establishments where she had been working at the time to start her own private dominatrix service in his townhouse, a place where he could control and secretly record her every move.
To be clear, sex work, if done right, is an opportunity for women to take control of their own lives and destinies. Usually, it is misogynistic domineering men who fight against women with the freedom to choose their own paths. And to be clear, there is nothing “traditional” about inserting your opinions in another person’s life.
Secondly, Renee was only eighteen. She started her life out as a 15-year-old prostitute due to the fact that she came from an abusive and broken home. There was no one there to help Renee make the right decisions. There was just Neville.
The Trials of Dominatrix Renee Chignell
In the first trial, the jury handed dominatrix Renee a guilty for murder conviction. The police who interrogated her and her jailhouse informants portrayed her as a cold, heartless monster. Her lawyers were able to get a second trial based on the lack of credibility of both. Her second trial was a mistrial. So here she was, with a third and final trial, fighting for her freedom.
During the third trial, the truth was able to finally come out. Reports revealed that the detectives who worked her case hadn’t recorded their interview with her. And Renee had no attorney present, either. Additionally, those same detectives created a false narrative based on their own fabricated lies. And, in fact, they even had a history of lying.
One of the detectives would go on to serve jail time for a later case. And Renee’s most credible jail house snitch? Well, it just so happened that she left jail the day after she had testified against Renee. And she had been awaiting a 13-year sentence that her boyfriend, charged with the exact same crime, was unable to avoid. Convenient.
The Life of Peter Plumley-Walker
And what about Peter Plumley-Walker? The esteemed gentleman who was a cricket umpire and pillar of the community. Well, Peter’s ex-wife testified in that third trial. She hadn’t in the first or second. She told the new jury that Peter met with Renee on the day that they finalized their divorce.
Peter dragged his feet for nine years trying to avoid it. His ex-wife had been trying to move on from him for nearly a decade. Peter was having none of it. But on that day, it became real. It was over.
A Terrifying Truth Revealed
Additionally, her attorney revealed what Peter had said to Renee in their dominatrix session. He wanted punishment for his actions. Working in Germany, Plumley-Walker oversaw young girls. And while alone with these girls, Peter took advantage of them. He would make them undress and he would whip them with a cane. Peter admitted to Renee in their lone session together that he enjoyed this.
He admitted that he abused them sexually. And he wanted his dominatrix Renee to punish him the way that he punished those girls who had no choice in the matter. Peter’s wife confirmed Renee’s experiences with him. She had been trying to get away from Peter for years. And on the day that she was finally free, Peter met with Renee.
How Plumley-Walker Really Died
Renee left Peter alone chained to her wall for about twenty minutes. She had given him a safe word. “Mercy”. If at any point Peter felt in danger he would simply need to shout, “Mercy, Mistress, mercy.”
Renee left the bondage room and went to the kitchen to have a coffee and a smoke. An 18-year-old girl, a victim of circumstances herself, and told such awful things by a stranger in her own house needed some time to process. She spoke with Neville about Peter’s confession and when she returned, Peter was dead. The prosecution tried to explain that Renee killed Peter, but it just didn’t stick. In the end, the jury agreed that Peter may have taken his own life – asphyxiating himself while alone as self-punishment.
The Fully Exonerated Dominatrix
The jury found Renee Chignell the 18-year-old dominatrix not guilty. And even though it was Neville’s idea to hide the dumping of Peter’s dead body, the judicial system released him as well. And both are free to this day. This was a monumental case for women and women’s rights. By all accounts and purposes, this cricket umpire and “pure gentleman” was not a victim of a sadistic femme fatale and a man-hating dominatrix.
Ae New Zealand judge and jury finally heard Renee’s story and handed down the appropriate verdict. If you want to know more about the life and experiences of Renee Chignell (and we strongly recommend it), a 2018 New Zealand TV movie is available. It is titled “Mistress, Mercy” and it is available worldwide.
Leave a comment below or send us a message on social media if you have trouble finding the film.
