Philip Polkinghorne murder trial live updates: Pauline Hanna’s hair stylist, couple’s accountant testify
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT
A Remuera hair salon owner who had Pauline Hanna as a client for about 25 years told jurors today that Hanna appeared “fine” during her final three appointments but was quite obviously being kept busy with work.
Anne Millar’s testimony came as the march of defence witnesses continued for a third day in the murder trial of Hanna’s widower, eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne, in the High Court at Auckland.
The defendant, 71, is accused of having fatally strangled his wife before staging the scene inside their home on April 5, 2021, to look like a suicide by hanging. Polkinghorne’s lawyers have argued that police were too distracted by salacious details of the couple’s personal life to see the obvious: that it was indeed a suicide by someone suffering long-term depression and immense work stress.
STORY CONTINUES AFTER LIVEBLOG
Pauline Hanna's birthday surprise for husband
Andrew Laxon
No further questions from either Auckland Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock or defence lawyer Ron Mansfield KC. Mechanical engineer Andrew McGregor is free to go.
Mansfield tells the court he has a witness ready to go, who has travelled here and whose evidence is set to be very short.
Mansfield has called Regina Gay Haysom.
Mansfield is leading her evidence.
Haysom lives in Ōrere Point near Auckland's southern border, on the entrance to the Firth of Thames.
She used to run a business called Body Shots Photography.
In March 2010, Hanna contracted with her business to provide a number of photos of herself for the purposes of a surprise present for her husband? asks Mansfield.
"Yes, that's what the record said," Haysom says.
She attended a shoot and Haysom produced a booklet of photographs.
There were two wall portraits, each more than a metre both horizontally and vertically, and framed, Haysom confirms.
That concludes her evidence-in-chief.
Auckland Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock, in cross-examination, asks Haysom what year the photographs were taken.
It was 2010, Haysom confirms.
No further questions.
Mansfield confirms it was March 2010.
"I think they were all ready by her husband's birthday. I think that was the purpose," Haysom says.
Justice Graham Lang calls it a day. We will resume at 10am tomorrow but the trial will not sit on Thursday.
Defence asks 'where's the question?'
Andrew Laxon
McClintock's cross-examination is now into suppressed territory again on the mechanics of the method.
Mansfield interjects: "Are we actually going to get to a question which the witness can answer?" before adding that making a submission is not normally allowed in cross-examination.
McClintock says the witness relied entirely on Polkinghorne's police interview, she's just drawing his attention to what Polkinghorne said before asking her question.
Expert 'relied on Polkinghorne's account'
Andrew Laxon
Auckland Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock is beginning her cross-examination of mechanical engineer Andrew McGregor.
She asks who was present. It was himself, a model and an assistant, he said. Polkinghorne was at home but wasn't present for the simulation.
"You’ve had to rely entirely on his account of things in order to do what you did?" McClintock asks.
"Yes I did," McGregor says.
McClintock asks if the main issue is whether Hanna could have committed suicide with the rope found at the scene.
(To recap, police found the rope connected to the balustrade was unable to support much force, and unravelled when pulled by a detective. Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield said it unravelled because Polkinghorne was told by a 111 call-taker to loosen it when he found his wife.)
McGregor says he's not sure he can answer her question.
McClintock says no disrespect, but you're an engineer, and do not have a pathology qualification?
McGregor says that's correct.
He confirms he had to do some research on partial hangings before the simulation.
Were you aware if Hanna had any engineering qualifications? McClintock asks.
He's not.
Were you aware if Hanna did any research like you did on partial hangings? McClintock asks.
No, I'm not sure of that, says McGregor.
But even you as an engineer, understanding angles, weights, things like that, had to do research in order to simulate a partial hanging? McClintock asks.
(McGregor's response is covered by the suppression order).
Were you aware no other witness in the case had seen Hanna how Polkinghorne said she was arranged? McClintock asks.
"I probably did read it, it didn't feature foremost in my considerations," McGregor says.
McClintock says her point is that he really is having to rely on Polkinghorne's account.
No witness, says McClintock, saw Hanna in any other position than lying on the tiles in the landing.
"Were you aware that's the evidence?" she says.
McGregor is not sure, but says he read the account of the attending paramedics.
"I didn't really need to dwell on that in order to conduct my simulations."
Hanging simulations – the findings
Andrew Laxon
The witness, mechanical engineer Andrew McGregor, has reached the point in his evidence where he is describing the findings of his simulations.
To recap, he was asked by the defence to simulate the method Polkinghorne said Hanna used to hang herself at their Remuera home at Upland Rd on the morning of April 5, 2021.
Details of his simulations are suppressed, but Justice Lang has allowed the media to report his findings.
McGregor says his four simulations all generated enough force to cause death, though he wasn't able to say how long it would have taken.
Suppressed hanging evidence continues
Andrew Laxon
The jury returns for more evidence from Andrew McGregor, the mechanical engineer who conducted a simulation, at the request of the defence, of how Polkinghorne said Hanna hanged herself at their Remuera home.
Much of his evidence is suppressed, including the mechanics of the simulation, but the Herald will be able to report his findings when they are entered as evidence shortly.
Court adjourns
Andrew Laxon
We are taking the afternoon adjournment. The evidence from this witness remains in suppressed territory.
Prosecutor Brian Dickey, formerly the Auckland Crown Solicitor but now practising privately as a barrister, has told the court today is his last day at the trial.
Dickey has a longstanding personal commitment overseas, the jury has heard.
For the past five-and-a-bit weeks he has sat on the front bench, where the prosecution sit, alongside current Auckland Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock and prosecutor Pip McNabb.
Justice Graham Lang tells the jury this commitment has long been known to the court.
"Ms McClintock will lead alone for the Crown from now on," the judge said.
Why is the Herald's live coverage suspended? And a recap
Andrew Laxon
The Herald's live coverage is taking a break because the evidence being given now was suppressed by Justice Graham Lang this morning on the basis that its publication could endanger people's safety.
It relates to a simulation carried out by mechanical engineer Andrew McGregor, at the request of the defence, to see if the arrangement described by Polkinghorne in his police interview could generate enough force to cause his wife's death by suicide in a partial-suspension hanging.
The Herald is allowed to report the fact of the simulation and its findings when given in evidence.
To recap the evidence already heard today.
Robert John Willis, Polkinghorne’s former accountant, gave lengthy and at times dense evidence of the series of trusts and companies used by the defendant and his wife.
He said it was a standard sort of arrangement used by people to protect their assets and insulate their properties from the risks inherent in a trading company.
Polkinghorne was not employed directly by Auckland Eye, instead consulting via a company that was paid by the practice.
Willis said he had identified errors in some of the account statements relied on by police forensic accountant Magaret Skilton.
He had not sought to correct the errors as police never contacted him or asked for a statement, he said.
Willis said he met with Polkinghorne sometime in 2023 to discuss the Skilton report.
Anne Theresa Millar, who cut and dyed Hanna’s hair at her Remuera salon Headquarters for more than 20 years, said Hanna was always immaculately turned out, kind and generous.
At her last appointment, about two weeks before her death, she was late, which was unusual, the witness said. She also had to rush out because of another work commitment.
At earlier appointments that year, she was so busy she had to undertake Zoom meetings while waiting with her foils in during the hair-dyeing process, the jury heard.
Investigation into 'sufficient force'
Andrew Laxon
McGregor confirms he was asked to undertake investigations to see whether a partial hanging such as Polkinghorne described could allow sufficient force to result in her death.
McGregor is now describing how he conducted his simulation, which the Herald is unable to report without breaching the suppression order.
Witness investigated 'partial hanging'
Andrew Laxon
Ron Mansfield KC has called Andrew McGregor.
Aspects of this witness's evidence were suppressed by the trial judge, Justice Graham Lang, earlier today under Section 205(2)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
That section allows evidence to be suppressed if its publication could endanger the safety of any person.
McGregor is a mechanical engineer who is director of Prosolve Ltd, an investigative engineering firm.
He's a chartered professional engineer and holds a degree from the University of Auckland.
Prosolve's services include forensic and investigative engineering services.
He was instructed by Polkinghorne's legal team to investigate the circumstances of what was said to be a "partial hanging" at the doctor's Upland Rd home, and was provided with a copy of Polkinghorne's police statement.
Justice Lang has suppressed the details of the simulation.
But he has allowed the media to report the fact of the simulation, and McGregor's findings, once they are given in evidence.
Trust 'in limbo'
Andrew Laxon
Mansfield asks if it's unusual for accounts to be amended from first drafts to subsequent drafts, referencing the issue/error the witness earlier said he identified and corrected in the accounts.
No, accounts often go through several iterations, says Willis.
After extensive questioning on when dates are created on financial statements in the Xero accounting software, Willis clarifies the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust was unable to be wound up.
"The trust is more or less in limbo," the witness says.
That ends Mansfield's re-examination and Willis, the chartered accountant, is free to go.
Witness: 'I have no idea who these people are'
Andrew Laxon
Robert John Willis, Polkinghorne's former accountant and patient, is back in the witness box for more cross-examination by prosecutor Brian Dickey.
Just a couple of matters to finish, says Dickey. He asks about the history of how the Hoteo property in South Auckland came to be held by the joint venture, with its majority stake (75.5%) controlled by the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust.
Willis says he doesn't know. But he says he's never seen any evidence it was debt-financed.
Dickey asks about the application of the sale proceeds to JBWere (two lots of $250,000) and a sum to Polkinghorne's son Ben, earlier heard to be a bit over $100,000.
The prosecutor asks if he's aware of a $72,000 payment to a Polkinghorne-controlled account in Australia.
Willis says he's not aware of that.
Nor is he aware of the payments to a woman called Jody, or to Madison Ashton, Polkinghorne's long-time sex worker companion, who lived in Australia.
"I have no idea who these people are," Willis says.
Mansfield has a couple of questions in reply.
Willis clarifies Polkinghorne had made him aware of the Skilton report – the police financial analysis – and later provided a copy.
He can't recall if the copy came from his legal team or from Polkinghorne himself.
But he is sure the discussion and the supply of the report came after he was charged with murder on August 16, 2022.
Mansfield clarifies the Skilton report was disclosed to the defence on March 22, 2023.
Court about to resume
Andrew Laxon
Court is about to resume and members of the public are filtering back into the gallery, led by members of the families of Hanna and Polkinghorne.
The defendant's son Taine and his sister Ruth are in court again – they did not attend during the Crown case.
Crown to continue cross-examination after adjournment
Vera Alves
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey asks: Don't these accounts show money still owed to Pauline Hanna?
No, accountant Robert Willis says.
Willis explains that if you follow the money, you go from the Hoteo joint venture to 75% of the funds to the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust, then to the Ophthalmic Trust Number 2 then to Philip Polkinghorne.
The Ophthalmic Trust Number 2 shows a debt to the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust, then on the other side an advance to Polkinghorne, says Willis.
Dickey produces yet another document. Willis says "these accounts are wrong as well" as a result of the earlier error.
There is a second iteration of these accounts as well "which you probably need to get a copy of", says Willis to the prosecutor.
"If you follow the cash, the money still ends up in the hands of Philip Polkinghorne," says Willis.
Margaret Skilton, the police accountant, didn't get these second set of corrected accounts, Willis says. But he would have provided them if police had asked, he says.
Dickey asks where the money went, but Justice Graham Lang says we will take lunch and return to that question after the break.
Court will resume about 2.15pm.
Vera Alves
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey is asking about the error accountant Robert Willis said he identified in the accounts towards the end of 2021. They said a capital distribution had occurred from the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust.
But it could not have happened because Hanna had died and she was a trustee, so could not give the instructions required, and the other trustee, who has name suppression, had previously resigned.
Willis says he doesn't know if Hanna would have seen the accounts before she died.
Crown questions purpose of Hanna Polkinghorne Trust
Vera Alves
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey asks accountant Robert Willis if the purpose of the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust was to give Hanna a separate accumulation of wealth, as the witness said earlier.
If that was the case, says Dickey, then it would entirely make sense that upon the sale of its only asset – the Hoteo medical centre rental property – for the funds of that sale to be distributed to the trust, not to Polkinghorne?
"You'd have to look into the minds of the trustees at the time the property was sold to determine what they intended," says Willis.
Crown questions accountant's discussion with Polkinhorne after police report
Vera Alves
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey asks about a second set of accounts, dated January 25, 2022. Accountant Robert Willis says that's the date the accounts were published but they haven't been finalised or acted upon.
If you were thinking at the time police were looking at the wrong set of accounts, asks Dickey, would you not have wanted to correct those accounts?
"That wasn't my role to do that," Willis says.
If the police accountant Margaret Skilton had contacted him, he would have said there was a different set of corrected accounts, but no one from police had contacted him, Willis says.
"So you put your head together with Dr Polkinghorne and discussed the Skilton report?" asks Dickey.
No, we didn't put our heads together, says Willis, we just discussed a couple of aspects of it.
The Skilton report is the police report on Polkinghorne's financial affairs, by police accountant Margaret Skilton. The Crown claimed it showed Polkinghorne making payments to sex workers in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and hiding money from Hanna, including much of the salary she earned.
Crown cross-examines Polkinghorne's accountant
Vera Alves
Brian Dickey is beginning his cross-examination of accountant Robert Willis.
"Just tell me how well you know Dr Polkinghorne?" Dickey asks.
"Well he was my ophthalmologist and I was his accountant," Willis says.
He would see the doctor every three to six months for an eye exam, and maybe or or two other times during the year.
They had four other social events. One was a pool match at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, another was a stand-up drinks and nibbles affair at the Bouchiers', their mutual friends.
He had then had Polkinghorne and Hanna visit his Princes Wharf apartment, and had later dined at the Remuera home.
Willis says he saw Polkinghorne just once after Hanna's death, in 2023.
Polkinghorne had received a financial report prepared by police via disclosure.
Willis says he went to his Remuera home for a brief discussion about the report.
The discussion touched on the $2000 transferred fortnightly from their joint account, the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust, Willis confirms.
"I can't remember exactly when," says Willis.
"Try," says Dickey.
He isn't sure.
Vera Alves
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield continues leading the evidence with witness Robert Willis, who was Polkinghorne's accountant.
Mansfield asks if Willis was able to see where the payment to Polkinghorne referred to earlier went, and whether it was used for any form of investment?
Willis is aware that $500,00 was paid to JBWere, there was a payment made to Polkinghorne's son Ben to help him buy a home, "and then there were other payments made to other individuals who I had no knowledge of". (The trial heard earlier, during the Crown case, these payments were made to women.)
To summarise, says Mansfield, through a shareholding in the initial company that owned the Hoteo property, Polkinghorne was the effective owner, holding 100% of shares in the company as the registered owner?
Correct, says Willis.
And then he and Hanna have set up a joint venture? Mansfield asks.
Their trusts set up a joint venture, Willis says.
There's no evidence you've seen of any payment by the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust to acquire an interest in the Hoteo property? Mansfield asks.
Willis doesn't know the mechanics of the trust.
(Mansfield's point is that the Hoteo medical centre rental property was effectively Polkinghorne's before its sale, not jointly owned.)
Willis says he was at RSM when police sought to obtain the file, working as a consultant.
He was not involved in providing documents to them.
Have you been approached by any officer of the NZ police to provide a statement on Polkinghorne's or Hanna's financial circumstances or those of any of the trusts? Mansfield asks.
"No," says Willis.
Accountant found an error in the accounts in 2021
Vera Alves
Willis says he identified an error in the accounts towards the end of 2021. They said a capital distribution had occurred from the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust. But it could not have happened because Hanna had died and she was a trustee, so could not give the instructions required, and the other trustee, who has suppression, had previously resigned.
Instead, trust capital was "more or less advanced" to the Ophthalmic Trust Number 2, amounting to about $1.2 million.
The equity was reinstated to the trust, where it remains, says Willis.
The advance amounted to a loan from the Ophthalmic Trust Number 2 to Polkinghorne, which came after he instructed the lawyer to pay the money to him.
"The money still remained the property of the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust," says Willis.
Vera Alves
Now on to how the sale proceeds were treated.
They were received by the lawyers, Blackwells, and upon instructions from Polkinghorne, they were paid into his bank account, accountant Robert Willis says.
The witness says they then had to "reconstruct what notionally happened to those monies".
Willis says 75.5% belonged to the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust and 24.5% was to go to the Ophthalmic Trust Number 2.
Vera Alves
The trustees of the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust were Hanna, Polkinghorne and the ophthalmologist with name suppression who gave evidence yesterday. Among the beneficiaries were some of Hanna's relatives.
The Hoteo medical centre property was sold to Deans Holdings in mid 2020 for a shade over $1 million, the trial hears.
The sale of the Hoteo property would have required instructions from all trustees, Willis agrees.
Vera Alves
Mansfield continues pressing his point via the witness that the trusts and companies weren't set up to hide wealth or to move Hanna's salary into his control.
Instead the defence is suggesting, via this witness, it was a normal way to run your affairs, protect assets and grow wealth, and upon separation there would have been a 50/50 matrimonial property split anyway.
Second trust set up to 'give Pauline a separate accumulation of wealth'
Vera Alves
What was the purpose of the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust? asks defence lawyer Ron Mansfield.
Polkinghorne's accountant Robert Willis says he was told it was set up to "give Pauline a separate accumulation of wealth".
Trial resumes with Polkinghorne's accountant giving evidence
Vera Alves
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield resumes leading the evidence of accountant Robert Willis.
He's on to the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust. Willis took over managing it in 2010, like their other trusts and company.
The Hanna Polkinghorne Trust owned 75.5% of the Hoteo Medical Centre Joint Venture. The remainder was held by the Ophthalmic Trust Number 2.
To recap: part of the Crown case is that Polkinghorne used money from the sale of the Hoteo property, used for a Papatoetoe medical centre, to pay multiple women and to fund investments in his own name.
Doctors would pay rent to use rooms at the Hoteo Medical Centre. Tht rent would be paid into the Hoteo Medical Centre Joint Venture's bank account, Willis says.
The joint venture would make a small profit of about $15,000 to $25,000 per year, Willis says, of which 75.5% went to the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust and 24.5% to the Ophthalmic Trust Number 2.
Mansfield takes the witness to land transfer documents obtained by police showing the Hoteo property's certificate of title. It shows the owners' names as Hoteo Medical Centre Ltd.
Initially there were two owners of the shares in that property, but before Willis' involvement in 2010, Polkinghorne purchased all of the shares in that company.
Until 2006, he was a 25% shareholder in that company, and after that he was a 100% shareholder.
Polkinghorne was not employed by Auckland Eye, was a consultant via his own firm
Vera Alves
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield continues his questioning of accountant Robert Willis, now moving to a second document.
This is for the Ophthalmic Trust Number 2.
Ruth Hughes, his sister, is the settlor. The trustees are Polkinghorne and Hughes.
Willis says the purpose of this trust is a "distribution trust" owning income-producing assets.
It pays tax and distributes wealth depending on where the trustees see fit.
While there was still debt on the Upland Rd and Rings Beach properties, this trust would take its capital and would give it to the Number 1 Trust, which can then repay its debt to the bank (i.e. a mortgage on the properties owned by the Number 1 Trust).
Willis doesn't know when the mortgage was repaid, because it was a private debt. About 2015 or so, give or take a year, the mortgages on the Remuera home and Rings Beach bach were repaid.
At that time, an investment strategy commenced by allocating the profits from the trust to fund managers JBWere.
It was never intended for the Number 2 trust to accumulate capital, Willis says.
Pretty much all the income to the Number 2 trust went to the Number 1 Trust, at least while there was a mortgage, Willis says.
Polkinghorne was not employed directly by Auckland Eye. He was a consultant to Auckland Eye via his firm 2020 Ltd.
2020 Ltd's income came from Polkinghorne's surgical fees. Auckland Eye would receive the fee from a patient, deduct perhaps 30% of the say, $10,000, and pay the remainder plus GST to 2020 Ltd.
2020 had its own expenses, for example paying rent to the Hoteo Rd company.
"It funded Dr Polkinghorne's overseas travel," Willis says, including to overseas conferences, and ran his car.
Polkinghorne's company structure under the spotlight
Vera Alves
The structure of Polkinghorne's company was in place when Robert Willis' firm took over as accountants in 2010.
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield asks if Willis would see that kind of structure commonly in similar situations?
"Yes, that was a very common structure," Willis says. The idea was you owned valuable assets such as real estate in one trust, while another trust ran the businesses.
"The idea was to isolate the Crown jewels or the properties from the trading entities," Willis says. "Because there's always risk with trading companies."
While the Crown was trying to say the network of trusts and companies were used to hide money from Hanna and squirrel away her salary in accounts he controlled, Mansfield's point, via this witness, is to suggest the structure of his companies and trust were standard practice for taxation purposes and to protect personal property.
The property at Upland Rd and the Rings Beach bach were owned by Ophthalmic Trust Number 1 to protect the family's key assets, Willis agrees.
I suppose what we might be concerned about in this trial is despite the setting up of these entities, says Mansfield, the limited liability company and two trusts. Did they all remain the matrimonial property of Hanna and Polkinghorne? the defence lawyer asks.
"They're relationship property to the extent that each of the parties to the relationship would have a residual interest in those properties," says Willis.
With that, Mansfield produces a bundle of documents as evidence. They're being handed to the jury and look fairly substantial.
The first document is a deed of resettlement of the Ophthalmic Trust Number 1, which owns the Remuera home and the Rings Beach bach.
It was already set up when Willis took over as an accountant in 2010, the trial hears.
What is a deed of resettlement? Mansfield asks.
Willis says there would have been a trust settled back in the 1990s, the original Ophthalmic Trust, and often trust assets are resettled on a new trust which can contain further clauses, additional beneficiaries or, because of the evolution of trust law, it might contain some other features.
But it's essentially the same trust, says Willis.
The resettling trustees were Polkinghorne and his sister Ruth Hughes.
The next lot of trustees were Hughes, Polkinghorne and Hanna.
It's quite common for an independent trustee to be appointed to a trust, so a husband or a wife, for example, can't be accused of just owning a property in their name, for example, Mansfield states.
It's a protection to ensure the credibility in law of the trust, Willis agrees.
Beneficiaries of the trust were Polkinghorne, any spouse of his, any children and any children of the children. That's standard wording, Willis agrees.
Up to a maximum vesting date of 80 years, trustees can distribute assets to beneficiaries as they see fit, Willis agrees.
Within the trust, Hanna was a trustee and by definition a beneficiary. It was the same with Polkinghorne.
Accountant says the couple appeared 'fine'
Vera Alves
Chartered accountant Robert John Willis, currently in the witness box, says he also saw the couple interact at other social occasions.
How would they appear? asks defence lawyer Ron Mansfield.
"They appeared fine," Willis says.
"I wouldn't have thought there was any problem with their relationship."
On to their financial affairs. He confirms he would deal with Polkinghorne but says Hanna was aware Willis was the accountant for their financial entities, including trusts and companies.
Willis did not have oversight of their personal accounts.
Instead, he oversaw 2020 Ltd, the company via which Polkinghorne worked for Auckland Eye, owned by Ophthalmic Trust Number 2.
There was also the Hanna Polkinghorne Trust, which owned the Hoteo Ave rental property in Papatoetoe housing a medical practice, and Ophthalmic Trust Number 1, which owned the homes at Rings Beach and Upland Rd.
Fees earned by Polkinghorne working for Auckland Eye would be paid to 2020 Ltd. It would accumulate profits and it would pay a salary after expenses, 80% of which would be paid to Polkinghorne as a shareholder salary.
Polkinghorne mulled sale of Remuera home - accountant
Vera Alves
Chartered accountant Robert John Willis met Polkinghorne in late 2009, when he was a patient of his.
During his time as a patient, while waiting for his eye to dilate, they got to talking about accounting matters, including taxation.
Shortly thereafter, Willis became professionally involved with Polkinghorne and Hanna, looking after their financial affairs until 2018, when he retired as a partner.
Willis transferred his clients to Craig Cooper, a younger partner at RSM, but stayed in touch with what Ron Mansfield calls "the Polkinghornes" regarding their financial affairs, and remained their first port of call for financial matters. (Mansfield calls Pauline Hanna "Mrs Polkinghorne", unlike the Crown who call her Pauline Hanna).
Willis met Polkinghorne and Hanna on about four social occasions over the years. He would speak to Hanna at these occasions, which once involved picking them up from their Upland Rd home and taking them to an event related to the Rugby World Cup.
Willis confirms he also knows Tony Bouchier, an Auckland lawyer whom the trial heard Polkinghorne spoke to on the phone during his police interview on the afternoon of April 5, 2021, after reporting his wife had hanged herself.
Willis recounts one occasion when Polkinghorne and Hanna visited his apartment in Princes Wharf in downtown Auckland. Willis maintains an apartment there along with his main residence in Karaka, the trial hears.
Polkinghorne had said the couple were interested in selling Upland Rd, spending more time at Rings Beach and were looking at the idea of buying a city apartment, perhaps in the viaduct, Willis confirms. They later went out for dinner at a restaurant in Princes Wharf.
Polkinghorne's accountant takes the stand
Vera Alves
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield has called Robert John Willis to the witness box.
Willis is a tall man in late middle age wearing a dark suit and carrying a satchel.
Mansfield is leading his evidence. He's an Auckland-based chartered accountant, who now practices part-time as he's moving towards retirement.
In 1985, he became a partner of Staples Rodway in Auckland. That was his first partnership. He left there in 1999 and joined what would become the firm Nexia, which then merged with RSM in 2016.
The trial heard earlier RSM was Polkinghorne's accountant.
Willis was involved in business services, looking after medium to small enterprises, he says.
He became a consultant around 2018, a transition role on the path to retirement allowing them to remain in touch with former clients, the jury hears.
He has practiced as a chartered accountant for 40 years. Willis agrees that offering a husband and wife accounting advice or helping manage trusts were part of his bread and butter.
Mansfield is asking Willis about the intricacies of trusts. Willis agrees the number of trustees in a trust is a matter for the settlers of that trust.
Mansfield: And when a company is incorporated, people investing in the company hold shares?
Willis: Yes.
Mansfield: But it's managed by its directors?
Willis: Yes.
Mansfield: And the number of directors are determined by the people who incorporate the company?
Willis: Generally, yes.
Mansfield: Does the use of a company or trust offer advantages in terms of limiting the liability of an individual?
Willis: Yes.
Mansfield: And tax advantages?
Willis: It depends.
Mansfield: Would it be common or uncommon within a couple for one of them to be a point of contact or manage their accounting affairs?
Yes, that was generally the way, says Willis.
It was more common for one of the parties in a marriage to take a greater interest in the trust- and company-related affairs, he says.
Hanna happy during her last hair appointment
Vera Alves
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey begins his cross-examination.
He asks if she was positive in her outlook, including in her final appointments.
"Yes, the whole time."
Was she looking forward to a four wheel drive trip with friends later in April 2021?
"Yes she was."
Millar also agrees she was enjoying family life, particularly her young grandchild, and spoke of Polkinghorne's children as her own.
No further questions.
Jury hears details of Pauline Hanna's hair appointments
Vera Alves
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield is asking the witness about Hanna's hair appointments.
Did she have time to have the usual chat? Mansfield asks.
"No," says Millar.
So it was all product on, waiting for that to work, then back into meetings? Mansfield asks.
"Yes," the witness says.
This evidence is serving two purposes. It's illustrating the point Mansfield repeatedly made about how busy and demanding Hanna's Covid role was, to the point she was having meetings at the hairdresser. And it's showing she had her hair dyed every month, as he said earlier, when emphasising how dye can affect hair before samples are taken for drug analysis.
ESR forensic scientist Helen Poulsen earlier told the court only Zopiclone was found in Hanna's hair, not the diet drug phentermine or antidepressant fluoxetine that were both also found in her blood, alongside the sleeping pill Zopiclone.
The lab didn't test for the anti-depressant but Poulsen said she would have expected to have seen the phentermine.
Her last appointment was March 20, 2021.
She was 10 minutes late, the trial hears.
"That was unusual for her," Millar says.
She apologised for being late, then had a meeting at 3pm.
Hairdresser says Hanna would take Zoom calls during hair appointments
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It was around lockdown and "people were panicking a bit, shall we say. Other people," continues Anne Theresa Millar, who was Pauline Hanna's hairdresser.
"She would take Zoom calls," during the tint and conditioning, says Millar.
"I would put the colour on first and then I would leave her while the colour was processing," says Millar. She would then go on her laptop and do zoom meetings.
"She was always very professional when she came into the salon."
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For context: Earlier in the trial, a Crown witness noted that a clip of Hanna's hair had been tested for methamphetamine and other drugs. There were no traces of meth, the witness said. The defence pointed out during cross-examination that hair-dyeing techniques can sometimes strip away indicators of drug use.
Pauline Hanna's hairdresser takes the stand as defence witness
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Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield has called Anne Theresa Millar, who is appearing via video-link. She is a hairdresser by occupation, the former owner of Headquarters, a Remuera hairdressing salon.
She sold the business two years ago.
Millar is beaming into the court from Truro, in Cornwall. She is on holiday, the court hears.
Millar and her husband owned and operated the Walton St salon for 27 years.
During that time, she got to know Pauline Hanna. She had been a client for 25 years, Millar says.
Millar would cut Hanna's hair, about every four weeks, she says.
"Would she have her hair tinted with a particular product?" Mansfield asks.
"Yes, it was a L'Oréal product," Millar says.
Millar has provided the court details relating to her hair dye.
It was the L'Oréal Professional iNOA rich oxidant 1000mL, the jury hears.
Mansfield presents an exhibit, relating to the type of hair dye and conditioner used by Hanna.
Mansfield moves to questions about the last three appointments Hanna had at headquarters.
Millar agrees Hanna came in on Saturday February 6, 2021 and had her usual treatment, a tint and a deep conditioning.
How did she appear? asks Mansfield.
"She was fine," Millar says.
How did she ordinarily appear? Mansfield asks.
"Immaculate," Millar says. "Hair nails, makeup, everything."
Millar says for a woman her age, she had an amazing figure.
On February 6, she provided the usual treatment and spoke about what she was up to later that night, namely having people over for dinner, she says.
When Hanna heard that, she came back to the salon and gave her a bunch of flowers.
Hanna was always generous around Christmas: "But not normally like that. And that's why I appreciated it," Millar says.
Hanna always came in on a Thursday night, Millar says. But when the Covid vaccination work started, she came in on Saturdays.
"I would sometimes stay later to fit her in," Millar says.
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The public are beginning to filter into the gallery and court is about to resume after a brief delay.
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There is a slight delay in court resuming today. The reason is not clear. People are massed outside the court waiting in anticipation.
Polkinghorne murder trial - day 25
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Welcome to the Herald’s live coverage of the second day of the sixth week of the murder trial of Philip Polkinghorne, the Remuera eye surgeon accused of killing his wife Pauline Hanna and staging the scene to look like a suicide. His version is that she hanged herself amid her gruelling Covid role and longstanding mental health issues. The trial has now heard from witnesses who support that theory.
While proceedings look set to run into the seventh week, beyond the six allotted for the trial, we are now well into the defence case. Polkinghorne’s legal team, led by defence lawyer Ron Mansfield, have now called 14 witnesses and the 15th will be called at 10am today.
Yesterday the trial heard from an electricity expert who said the power data he analysed from Polkinghorne’s Upland Rd home showed the washing machine in all likelihood didn’t run the morning of April 5, when the Crown says he killed his wife. The prosecution has repeatedly referenced a slightly damp top sheet found by police in the dryer of the guest bedroom. The bed where Polkinghorne said Hanna spent her final night was missing a top sheet.
Earlier, the jury heard from several co-workers of Polkinghorne, who said he was dedicated to his patients to the point of sometimes waiving his surgeon’s fee when they couldn’t afford important procedures. They said they enjoyed working with him. It’s unclear who will be called this morning but there are several expert witnesses for the defence yet to appear who Mansfield indicated he would be calling in his opening address, including pathologists, a psychiatrist and a suicide expert, who he said would dispel myths around suicide promulgated by the prosecution.
To recap each of yesterday’s witnesses:
- An ophthalmologist, who is pursuing permanent name suppression, said he was asked to be a trustee on one of the Polkinghorne family trusts. That was in line with the practice in previous years where someone known to the family would be brought on as a trustee; he saw his role as a tie-breaker. He asked to come off the trust about 2019 and said Hanna finally came to visit him with the form to sign in March 2021, the month before her death. After she died, Polkinghorne called him, distraught. “It was one of the worst conversations I’ve had,” he said. Polkinghorne was respected internationally for his work as an ophthalmologist, the witness said.
- Sharon Jenkins, a former receptionist at Auckland Eye. She house-sat for Polkinghorne and Hanna about six times in the years before Hanna died. Jenkins says Polkinghorne had a good relationship with staff at Auckland Eye. "His patients loved him," she said. "He always treated his patients really well." She told police in 2021 Polkinghorne’s home had “panic buttons” in the master and guest bedroom, red buttons on security panels. Prosecutor Brian Dickey in cross-examination questioned how she knew these were panic buttons and she said her ex-partner had identified them as such. Jenkins said Polkinghorne’s weight loss and tiredness was so pronounced she worried he might have cancer.
- Leonie Darlington, a former surgical booker at Auckland Eye. She said Polkinghorne was polite, courteous and generous to staff. "He was very good to his patients, they always came first, and he would do anything for them," she said. Sometimes he would forgo his surgeon's fee so a patient could undergo an important surgery, she said. "He was very good to work with. He was a perfectionist, he had a very high standard and he expected that from his staff as well.”
- Jillian Mary Blakely, a registered nurse specialising in ophthalmology, who worked with Polkinghorne on and off for 27 years, first at Mercy Hospital then at Auckland Eye. "He was very dedicated, he was very committed. He always had the patient's interest at heart and I really respected him for those attributes." The Crown has said there were complaints about Polkinghorne’s manner with nurses in theatre in the years before Hanna’s death. Blakely said she enjoyed working with him but said he could get a bit rattled during stressful moments, she adds. Blakely said he liked people to be interested in the case and preferred silence in the theatre when operating. "We had a good working relationship, I really enjoyed working with him," she said.
- Tony Robert Glucina, an investment adviser at JBWere who repeatedly touted the benefits of the firm's services in the witness box. He said Polkinghorne’s portfolio had done well, reaching $2.2 million. "It sounds a bit like an infomercial for JBWere,” said Mansfield at one point. "It's a wonder we've got anyone left in court, they'll all be running out of the court to invest in you." The Crown earlier repeatedly suggested Polkinghorne was squirrelling away money that was at least partly Hanna's, including transferring her salary to accounts he controlled, like the JBWere investment fund. Glucina said it was not unusual for a couple to have a fund only in one of their names. However, under cross-examination, he said the Privacy Act meant he would have been unable to disclose details of the fund to Hanna, and was unaware how much she knew. Glucina described a dinner with Polkinghorne and Hanna at their Rings Beach bach. He said his partner Buffy, a "well-known naturopath and nutritionist," noticed Hanna did not eat anything despite there being three courses and a substantial desert.
- Dr Timothy Scanlan, who appeared via video-link from Louisiana, who came up through the crime lab of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office before starting a forensic consulting firm. He said he travelled to the Polkinghorne home in March 2023 and took a sample from what appeared to be a blood stain on a staircase leading from the kitchen to the garage. The sample tested positive for both blood and Polkinghorne’s DNA, he said. In cross-examination, prosecutor Brian Dickey said ESR forensic scientist Fiona Matheson did not not detect any blood in that area. Dickey strongly suggested the delay between the April 2021 police examination and the defence expert’s scene exam, plus the presence of the suspect during the analysis, left the door open at least to the possibility of evidence tampering.
- Dominic Simon Foote, whose family also had a bach at Rings Beach in the Coromandel. He said he often dived with Polkinghorne, to this day. "Polky, some call him," he said "He's great, Kind generous, fantastic with my kids. Great neighbour." Dickey, during cross-examination, references the evidence of Stephen MacIntyre, another Rings neighbour. He was a Crown witness who said Polkinghorne had acted erratically in the years before his death, and he suspected he was on drugs. Foote saw nothing of the sort. "He was in bed by 930 every night for two and a half decades, even on New Year's Eve."
- Ronald Beatty, the defence’s power analyst, who has spent more than 50 years in the electricity industry. He said he analysed power usage since early 2020 at the Upland Rd home, a longer period than the Crown’s expert Paul Smith, whose analysis Beatty called into question. Beatty said he used the years of data to establish a normal baseline “standing load” of power consumption at the home, along with typical spikes when appliances were used, and the corresponding times. He found the power usage at the home was consistent with Polkinghorne’s version of events, that he got up about 6am, switched the lights on to read for a while, then came downstairs and turned on the toaster and kettle before finding his wife dead in a hallway. He qualified that by saying it’s unclear how full the jug was or how high the toaster was turned off, so it’s hard to know for certain if they were both used. He was confident the washing machine and dryer were not used the morning of April 5, and could only have been used during a period of high power consumption the night before.
🎧 LISTEN | Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial
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STORY CONTINUES
Millar, testifying via audio-visual feed from her holiday hotel room in Europe, recalled seeing Hanna every four weeks to retouch her hair tint and condition her hair.
There was usually no time for chatting during the appointments, she said, explaining that Hanna would sometimes be on Zoom meetings during the appointments.
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield KC has pointed out repeatedly throughout the trial that Hanna had an at times thankless job helping to manage the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Multiple witnesses called by the Crown have said Hanna felt immensely proud of the work she was doing, thrived in high-pressure environments and preferred to work long hours. But over the past two-and-a-half days of defence evidence, witnesses have described someone who seemed to be struggling with an assignment she never actually wanted but felt she had to accept.
During her third-to-last appointment on February 6, 2021, Millar said she could tell her client was busier than usual with Covid-19 response demands. During her second-to-last appointment on February 27, Hanna had her laptop out and was working, the witness said. And during her final appointment, on March 20, Hanna showed up uncharacteristically late and remained busy and distracted with her work throughout the appointment, before finishing early to leave for another meeting, Millar said.
The business owner agreed under cross-examination by the Crown that Hanna presented as a busy professional woman but was also remembered as positive in outlook and attitude. During her last visits, she had been looking forward to a South Island 4WD holiday and was enjoying being a grandmother, the witness agreed.
Millar was also asked by the defence to identify the products that were used to dye Hanna’s hair. Such products can sometimes strip hair follicles, causing false negatives for drug tests involving hair clippings, the defence had noted earlier in the trial. Police had tested Hanna’s hair dating back six months and found no traces of methamphetamine use.
The defence has previously suggested that the 37g of methamphetamine found in the couple’s home was for recreational use by both of them. But the Crown has suggested it was for Polkinghorne alone, and the amount found – the equivalent of about 370 doses – showed the surgeon had a serious issue with the drug.
The only other witness to testify this morning was chartered accountant Robert Willis, a patient of the defendant’s who went on to help handle the couple’s finances.
Willis was called by the defence in part to rebut earlier evidence from police forensic accountant Margaret Skilton, who outlined how the proceeds from the sale of a $1 million Papatoetoe property were put into a trust designed to benefit Hanna, before the funds were dispersed by Polkinghorne over the course of a year. The outbound payments, Skilton testified, included a $500,000 investment and money to Hanna’s stepson to help him buy a house. But the accountant also traced some of the money back to private accounts that Polkinghorne allegedly used to to pay sex workers.
Willis said he was initially told the trust was set up to “give Pauline a separate accumulation of wealth” but he didn’t know if the intent of the account had changed.
There had been an error somewhere along the way – which he emphasised was of no fault of the defendant – in which the money was paid to Polkinghorne’s account. He suggested the police forensic accounting report was based on erroneous information.
Under cross-examination, prosecutor Brian Dickey asked the witness why he didn’t tell police that, if he believed they were looking at the wrong set of accounts.
“That wasn’t my role to do that,” Willis replied, adding that he would have set the record straight had the police accountant ever contacted him.
Dickey noted that the witness and the defendant met sometime last year, while Polkinghorne’s murder charge was pending, and discussed the “Skilton report”. The witness, however, disagreed with the characterisation by the prosecutor that the two “put their heads together” to analyse the report at that time. Willis was later emailed a copy of the report, either by the defendant or one of his lawyers, he said.
The witness indicated there didn’t seem to be anything unusual about the account that would suggest money was being hidden from Hanna. Had Polkinghorne and Hanna separated, he noted while being questioned by the defence, their property would have been split down the middle, regardless of what accounts the money was in.
Lawyers are expected to continue questioning the accountant when the trial resumes this afternoon before Justice Graham Lang and the jury.
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.