Philip Polkinghorne trial: Video of Pauline Hanna the day before her death played to jury

Friday, 2 August 2024

Warning: The details of this case may be distressing for some readers.

Health boss Pauline Hanna was found dead on April 5, 2021 at the Remuera home she shared with her husband.

After an extensive and lengthy police investigation, her husband, eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne, was charged with murder.

Polkinghorne has pleaded not guilty and the trial under way at the High Court at Auckland.

After two power cuts at the High Court in Auckland, day 5 of the Philip Polkinghorne trial got under way with the jury shown a video of Pauline Hanna visiting a rubbish tip the day before her death.

Polkinghorne, a 71-year-old eye doctor, has admitted charges of possessing methamphetamine and a pipe to smoke the A-class drug but has denied murdering Hanna, his wife. Hanna was found dead in the entranceway of their Remuera home on April 5, Easter Monday, in 2021.

The Crown’s case is that Polkinghorne was living a double life, that he had obsession with sex and meth and was in a covert relationship with an escort in Sydney. It argues Polkinghorne murdered Hanna before staging their home to make it look like suicide.

Polkinghorne’s defence is that Hanna had a history of mental health issues, was on medication, exhausted by work and tragically took her own life.

Cross-examination of detective

On Friday, Ron Mansfield KC, Polkinghorne’s lawyer, continued his third day of cross-examining Sergeant Christian Iogha.

Iogha, who was a detective back in April 2021, was one of the first to arrive at the Upland Rd home after Polkinghorne called emergency services telling them he’d found his wife dead.

But when Iogha arrived and inspected the knots of the orange rope found tied to balustrade - rope said to have been used by Hanna in her death - Iogha said they were loose.

“I didn’t believe it was able to sustain any weight,” he said.

This is when he informed his supervisor, and the scene was soon determined suspicious, he earlier told prosecutor Alysha McClintock.

Iogha told the court shortly after conducting the tension check, Polkinghorne walked past him to fetch a belt. Iogha escorted him back outside.

Mansfield asked Iogha whether that might have been an opportunity to discuss with Polkinghorne how the rope was secured.

“It could have been,” Iogha replied, but he didn’t.

Iogha told Mansfield he didn’t inform Polkinghorne about the rope tests he conducted.

Footage of Pauline Hanna played to jury

Mansfield also played CCTV footage of Hanna visiting a rubbish tip in Onehunga on the afternoon of April 4.

Hanna can be seen driving a red ute with items on the back of the vehicle secured with an orange rope.

Brian Dickey, one of the prosecutors, said the court could accept the orange rope was the same rope found at the Polkinghorne home.

Iogha, who hadn’t seen the footage before, said it appears in the footage Hanna unties the rope and then unloads items before later driving off and leaving the tip.

Alysha McClintock asked in re-examination whether Iogha knew if that footage was when Hanna was last seen alive. Iogha said he didn’t know.

Iogha was previously questioned at length by Mansfield about the lack of drag marks or damage to the walls or balustrade, given the Crown’s argument there’d been a struggle before Hanna’s death.

The sergeant told McClintock no evidence was brought to his attention that Hanna had been dragged to where she was found lying down, and no forensic evidence of note was found.

Forensic scientist called to Remuera home

Forensic scientist Fiona Matheson was the second Crown witness on Friday.

Matheson was called to the Remuera home on April 5, 2021 by Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Allan.

He’d told her police were at the property and that there was a consideration at the time that the scene may be suspicious.

She was at home for the first week and then returned on April 15, conducting forensic testing for blood and DNA.

Matheson took the jury through the various rooms in the house where she conducted the testing and her analysis.

The trial, which is expected to last for at least 6 weeks, before Justice Graham Lang and a jury continues.