WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT
“Like something out of a crime novel.”
That’s how prosecutors have described their case against Dr Philip Polkinghorne, a prominent Auckland eye surgeon who is now on trial for the alleged murder of wife Pauline Hanna inside their swank Remuera home following what has been described as a “double life” of heavy methamphetamine use, domestic violence, large amounts of money squandered on sex workers and, ultimately, a “staged suicide”.
The unusually high-profile case began today in a packed High Court at Auckland courtroom with jury selection and the Crown opening address, which is ongoing.
Polkinghorne, 71, has reiterated his not guilty plea to the murder charge. However, he began the day by pleading guilty to two minor charges involving possession of methamphetamine and the possession of a meth pipe. For the past two years, the charges were not allowed to be reported, but suppression lapsed with the admission of guilt.
Hanna, 63, was found dishevelled, injured and covered by a duvet when emergency responders arrived at the couple’s home on the morning of April 5, 2021, which was Easter Monday.
“She’s hung herself,” Polkinghorne had told the 111 operator.
But almost immediately, police had suspicions, Crown Solicitor Alysha McClintock told jurors at the outset of her opening address, which is expected to last about two hours. She is joined at trial by fellow prosecutor Pip McNabb and former Crown Solicitor turned barrister Brian Dickey.
Investigators also took issue with the way Polkinghorne described his marriage to them: either “quite good” or “perfect”.
“The marriage was far from good. It was far from perfect,” McClintock said, explaining that Hanna had considered leaving the defendant in the year-and-a-half leading up to her death. “It wasn’t even plain old ‘good’.”
Roughly a year before she died, Hanna revealed a disturbing glimpse into the troubled marriage while visiting friends in Hawke’s Bay, prosecutors said.
“She told them that Dr Polkinghorne had attempted to strangle her with his hands and said something to the effect of he could do it again at any time,” McClintock said, explaining that another witness is expected to recount how Hanna said her husband “had been beastly towards her”.
Despite concerns about her marriage, there is no indication that Hanna was suicidal, McClintock said.
“Ultimately, she was coping with this challenging aspect of her life,” she told jurors.
There was physical evidence as well that made investigators suspicious, she said, including the orange rope tied to an upstairs bannister that the defendant described finding his wife hanging from. But the rope, McClintock said, was “too loose and too long” to have caused a death.
Hanna initially had a pattern on the side of her neck matching the weave of a belt that was found at the scene, but it disappeared by the time a pathologist examined her the next day. That wouldn’t have been the case had it been the cause of her death, the Crown said, suggesting that is more evidence the suicide scene was staged.
Authorities found what looked like a fresh cut to her face - one that hadn’t been seen by witnesses the night before - and an injury to Polkinghorne’s forehead that he had no explanation for, McClintock said.
They also found over 37g of meth scattered throughout the home - described by prosecutors as a “significant amount”. Post-mortem tests showed that Hanna had none of the drug in her system at the time of death.
“Dr Polkinghorne was leading a double life,” McClintock said. “The aspects of his double life were getting harder and harder to keep from his wife.”
Prosecutors said they believe it all came to a head between the couple either the night before or the morning that Polkinghorne called 111.
“He strangled her - either with his hands, a forearm or something soft and smooth around her neck,” McClintock said, suggesting that his aggression might have been spurred in part by meth use. “He then staged the scene to make it look like his wife’s death was a suicide. That might sound shocking or like something from a crime novel.”
But it’s the only explanation that makes sense, McClintock suggested, given all the evidence ruling out a suicide.
“Ms Hanna was murdered by the only other person who was in the house with her,” she said.
Prosecutors briefly displayed a photo of Hanna, described as someone who was always meticulously dressed. She had worked in various roles in the public health system and had been looking forward to helping manage the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, authorities said.
Polkinghorne is represented in court by defence lawyers Ron Mansfield KC, Hannah Stuart and Harrison Smith. Wearing a blue suit with polka-dotted tie and socks, he leaned back in his chair as the Crown opening address was delivered. Unlike most High Court trials, he has been allowed to sit at a table directly behind his lawyers rather than in the courtroom dock.
Mansfield is expected to give an opening statement later this afternoon. However, defence opening statements at the outset of trials are generally shorter and less detailed by design.
The trial continues before Justice Graham Lang and the jury.
MORE TO COME.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
The Herald will be covering the case in a daily podcast, Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial. You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, through The Front Page feed, or wherever you get your podcasts.
