How Auckland eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne came to be on trial for the murder of his wife Pauline Hanna

Warning: This story contains discussion of suicide.

It was the court case that grabbed the attention of the nation.

A case that struck at the heart of Auckland society, centred in one of the most exclusive suburbs and involving drug use, escorts and infidelity.

On Monday, an Auckland jury found former Auckland eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne not guilty of murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna.

It took eight weeks and 80 witnesses for the verdict to be delivered.

Ultimately, it was a whodunnit.

On 5 April 2021, Hanna was found dead in the home she shared with the 71-year-old.

Crown prosecutors, led by Alysha McClintock and Brian Dickey, argued the couple were unhappy, that Polkinghorne lived a secret "double life" with prostitutes and meth. These combined led him to kill Hanna during a violent, possibly drug-induced struggle, and then stage it as a suicide, they argued.

Laying out the defence's case, Ron Mansfield KC, said it was "easy to get distracted" by Polkinghorne's meth use, relationships with Australian escort Madison Ashton and other sex workers. But at it's core, there was no evidence of a struggle, Hanna was suicidal, and her death was self-inflicted, he said.

An eager-eyed audience

Several dozen came to the High Court in Auckland to eyeball the trial of the former eye surgeon that captivated the country.

Each day a crowd of law students and well-to-do women wearing opulent fur coats packed the public gallery hanging on to every intimate detail.

Getting into the Polkinghorne trial was more exclusive than the private members club that Hanna frequented, up the road from the court, the Northern Club.

Hanna's brother, along with his wife and daughter, and some of her friends, sat in the public gallery wearing white ribbon pins, often worn as a symbol to end violence against women.

When the defence opened its case, Polkinghorne's three sons and sister came to court, seated in the front row of the gallery. They, along with Polkinghorne himself, did not give evidence in the trial.

The Crown opens

Detectives at the scene found the rope Hanna allegedly used to take her life suspicious, arguing it was too loose to have been used for suicide.

They performed tension checks, and the rope quickly unravelled. Tests were replicated by an international forensic rope expert to a similar result.

The jury was shown Hanna driving a red ute the day before she died, which one detective confirmed had been at Polkinghorne's house, carrying an object tied down with what appeared to be the same orange rope found at the scene.

Polkinghorne's blood was found around the house, including in the bed Hanna slept in.

While detectives found the state of the bedroom where Hanna slept strange, there wasn't proof the body had been moved.

Toxicology tests revealed Hanna had anti-depressants, a diet drug, and twice the recommended level of a sedative sleeping pill, Zopiclone, in her system. Further testing revealed she had been taking zopiclone for up to six months before her death.

Police interview: 'Maybe I just didn't listen'

The jury were shown an hours-long video of Polkinghorne's interview with Police, the morning of Hanna's death.

He told detective Ilone Walton he had gone downstairs, put the kettle and toaster on, before finding his wife dead in the entranceway.

He said he was "sobbing uncontrollably" during the 111 call, and was told to lie Hanna down.

He wondered if he put too many expectations on her for her work, or didn't listen to her concerns.

During cross-examination, Mansfield asked why Polkinghorne wasn't told he was under suspicion during the interview.

A 'sweet puff' pipe

Philip Polkinghorne pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and a pipe before the trial began.

The court heard much about the Class A substance throughout the trial, including evidence of the drug was found at their Remuera home and at Polkinghorne's place of work.

A meth pipe, embossed with the words 'sweet puff' on the side, was also found at Polkinghorne's work.

Possession of a pipe or utensil for smoking methamphetamine can mean a one year prison term or a fine of up to $1000.

Jurors also heard from an expert witness, who described the effects of meth use, that it could increase libido, energy and alertness, but also could cause low levels of dopamine, as well as a loss of sleep amid other "negative, unpleasant, agitating," effects.

Sex and Money

Polkinghorne spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on prostitutes, with one of them, Madison Ashton, receiving $106,131.

Polkinghorne had a relationship with sydney-based Ashton in the years leading up to his wife's death, and three weeks after the fatal April day, was found by Police staying with her at a Mount Cook chalet.

In one of the shocks of the trial, Ashton did not appear to give evidence, despite being called at the opening of the crowns case.

Forensic account Margaret Skilton told the court there were eight different women paid by Polkinghorne between 2018 and 2021.

Skilton said the accounts and spending of the couple amounted to, in her opinion, financial control.

'He's a sex fiend' - secret recording

In a secret recording made by her niece at a family gathering in 2019, Pauline Hanna called her husband an "angry man" and "sex fiend".

She said she wouldn't let it "destroy her", and pleaded with family not to think of him as a "beast".

Her brother, Bruce Hanna, said she wasn't happy in the relationship and was pushed into sex acts, like group sex, that she wouldn't otherwise engage in.

Niece, Rose Hanna, said Pauline was worried she had no money, having signed it over to Polkinghorne for investments.

Rose said her aunt would describe Polkinghorne's anger as "on the roof", or "on the ceiling".

Hanna's friends took the stand, claiming she was fearful of her husband and found him sexually demanding.

One, Victoria Riordan, said a year before her death, Hanna had told her Polkinghorne had attempted to strangle her.

A fraught marriage

Documents written to each other, found on the couple's laptops, shed light on their dynamic and problems.

In a letter written in 2020, Hanna responded to criticism she didn't contribute financially or around the house. She wrote she still had "bucketloads of love".

In an email written by Polkinghorne to Hanna, he said he felt devoid in their relationship and criticised her financial contributions.

"I don't know where the bucket load of love went but there you have it."

In another document seemingly written to herself in 2019, she wrote she could not live after Polkinghorne called their marriage a waste of time.

A history of mental ill-health

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield shocked the courtroom when he revealed Hanna had attempted suicide before, in the early 1990s after her fathers death.

While her brother, Bruce Hanna, and friends were unaware of the claim, her sister, Tracey Hanna, said she'd overheard Pauline claiming she'd attempted suicide in an argument.

Pauline Hanna's GP said she'd had suicidal thoughts in 2019, had been on antidepressants since 2001 and drank up to a bottle of wine a night.

The defence painted a picture of long hours spent at work and the pressure of Hanna's role leading the rollout of protective equipment in the Auckland region during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Her colleagues told the court long hours were normal - but in emails written by Hanna and read in court, she said she was stressed and feared media scrutiny.

The star pathologist

Australian forensic pathologist, Dr Stephen Cordner, told the court he found Hanna's death consistent with a partial hanging, not a strangulation.

In fact, he said evidence you'd expect to see of strangulation, of an assault and resistance, were entirely missing.

"I really want to be clear that we're we're not in the ballpark of assaultive injuries or the number and severity and location of injuries where any forensic pathologist would say we could conclude assault," Cordner said.

He said the eye doctor would have had to shift the body into a partial hanging position to create the marks on her body recorded, a "mind boggling" manoeuvre to imagine.

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