A successful eye surgeon. A celebrated DHB boss. An “unexplained death” in an affluent Auckland suburb over a long weekend.
Today marks the beginning of a trial that has been several years in the making.
A successful eye surgeon. A celebrated DHB boss. An “unexplained death” in an affluent Auckland suburb over a long weekend.
Today marks the beginning of a trial that has been several years in the making.
Paulina Hanna was found dead at the Remuera home she shared with her husband of 30 years, Philip Polkinghorne, on Easter Monday, 2021.
The 63-year-old’s body was found inside the $4 million Upland Rd property and for 16 months her death was treated as “unexplained”.
That’s until it emerged Polkinghorne had been charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty in August, 2022.
Police spent 11 days searching the couple’s home after Hanna’s death on April 5, 2021.
In a statement released through his lawyer at the time of his arrest, Polkinghorne expressed his “shock” at being charged.
“I have recorded that I am not guilty immediately. Now that the Police have charged me the matter is before the courts and I am not permitted to comment further,” he said.
“The justice process must now run its course and I trust the truth will be shown. I thank my family and friends for their enduring love and support.”
Polkinghorne, who formerly worked as a doctor at Auckland Eye, retired after his wife’s death.
Hanna had worked in various roles in the public health system, including as an executive project director at Counties Manukau District Health Board and aiding with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
The Crown
Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock oversees the prosecution of serious crime in the Auckland region. She was appointed to the role at Meredith Connell in 2023.
McClintock has more than 20 years’ experience prosecuting for the Crown.
She’ll be joined by Brian Dickey, now a barrister at Bankside Chambers. He led his first High Court trial at the age of 23 and his first murder trial in 2003.
He was appointed Crown solicitor in 2015 and spent several years focused on commercial litigation and white-collar crime, including the run of finance company cases after the Global Financial Crisis.
He has been front and centre of some of the country’s biggest murder trials.
The Defence
Ron Mansfield KC is a senior criminal lawyer with more than 30 years of experience. He was appointed to the senior rank of Kings Counsel (KC) in 2021.
He has defended clients in serious criminal cases in some of New Zealand’s highest-profile trials.
As well as those charged with criminal offences, Mansfield also has a strong social justice streak. He has represented high-profile activists in cases involving social justice issues.
Today, work will begin on impanelling a jury of 12 people. There is never an indication of how long this will take.
It starts with the court registrar calling people’s names out to be potential jurors, whom a lawyer can “challenge”. They don’t have to explain why they “challenge” people, but it’s a tool that is used to ensure a good cross-section of society on the final jury.
Judges usually make opening remarks at the beginning of the trial and explain the role of the jury. They will explain the law and help jurors understand the evidence that is presented in court.
After a jury is chosen, or “impanelled”, the prosecution will begin outlining its case with an opening statement. It includes what the defendant is charged with and an explanation of the kinds of evidence it will present to the court.
This is where the public learns what the Crown believes happened, and how it intends to prove it. The defence may also make an opening statement.
Witnesses will be called to testify one by one – questioned by the prosecution first, then the defence in what is called a cross-examination.
After the prosecution’s witnesses, the defence has the chance to present its evidence. If it intends to call witnesses, the defence will present an opening statement.
When all the evidence is presented, the prosecution and defence will make closing statements to the jury. The judge then summarises the case and describes how the law applies to it.
The jury then goes out to “deliberate”. This could take hours or days.
The trial, which is being heard in the High Court at Auckland, is set down for six weeks.
The Herald will be covering the case in a daily podcast, Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial. You can listen to the podcast through The Front Page feed.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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