Police suspicious after just an hour at Polkinghorne home

Tuesday, 30 July 2024

In Philip Polkinghorne's trial, first responders testified about the scene of his wife's death, which he claims was a suicide. Police initially found the situation suspicious, noting injuries and inconsistencies.

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.

Police officers first on the scene of an apparent suicide in Auckland’s Remuera immediately had suspicions.

Eye doctor Philip Polkinghorne has admitted charges of possessing methamphetamine and a pipe to smoke the A-class drug but has denied murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna.

Hanna was found dead in the entranceway to their Remuera home on April 5, Easter Monday, in 2021.

Polkinghorne was arrested 16 months later.

Philip Polkinghorne at the High Court in Auckland.

The Crown’s case is that Polkinghorne was obsessed with sex, spending money on sex workers and meth and was in a covert relationship with an escort in Sydney.

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

Jurors at the High Court in Auckland have heard evidence from ambulance staff and the first police officers who arrived after his 111 emergency call.

Constable Alexander Rowland said he arrived to find Hanna lying on the floor of the Remuera house entranceway, mostly covered by a duvet.

The Upland Rd property in Remuera where Pauline Hanna died.

“Mr Polkinghorne was walking around upset and audibly wailing and crying.”

Rowland said he had a look around and saw a bundled rope and a black belt on the stairs heading down to the garage. Another length of rope hung from the railing nearby.

Rowland said he took a statement from Polkinghorne who was upset but calmed down as they talked.

Part way through the statement, Polkinghorne became emotional when he took a phone call from his brother.

“I could hear crying coming from the other end of the phone.”

Polkinghorne told him that Hanna had been working long hours, in her role with the Covid-19 health response team. He also spoke of her history of depression.

Polkinghorne said the night before the couple drank wine, had dinner and watched Netflix before retiring to separate rooms.

“I recall asking in detail how he described his wife in the morning. He didn’t seem to get emotional. He just got straight to the point.”

Rowland said Polkinghorne told him he woke at about 6am, and left his bedroom an hour and 45 minutes later, heading downstairs to make breakfast for Hanna.

He found her slumped in a chair, leaning forward with a belt around her neck.

He said the belt belonged to him and she'd been using it as a cord for her dressing gown.

'I was very flustered, I knew she was deceased as she was blue and bloated,' Polkinghorne said.

Rowland said during the interview a colleague called him to say they didn’t want Polkinghorne walking around the scene and they moved outside.

As he left his Sergeant wrote “1C” on his hand.

He told the court that was police code for “suspicious circumstances”.

Under cross-examination from Polkinghorne’s lawyer, Ron Mansfield KC, Rowland confirmed Polkinghorne appeared to be in a “state of disbelief” at times.

He confirmed that he overheard Polkinghorne tell his sister: “Did she seem like she wanted to give up to you?”

Sergeant Chris Gwilliam told the jurors he and another officer did a sweep of the house, searching for a suicide note but found nothing.

Detective Brooke Everson was appointed as the officer in charge of Hanna’s body.

That meant her job was to guard Hanna’s body and ensure it was under lock and key at the morgue, together with any exhibits such as clothes and jewellery.

She told the Court she noticed a cut on the side of Hanna's nose that appeared 'reasonably fresh', blood coming out of her left ear, bruising on her right thigh and there was blood between the forefinger and middle finger on her left hand.

Earlier the jurors also heard from ambulance staff.

Paramedic Hannah Matheson was part of the ambulance crew first on the scene.

She told the court that she and her team found Hanna under a duvet with her head on a pillow at the foot of the stairs in the entranceway.

Her partner paramedic Bernard Doo attached leads to Hanna’s chest in an effort to monitor her heart but Hanna was dead.

She said while Doo carried out his work, she looked to a balding man, aged in his 60s who identified himself as a doctor. It was Polkinghorne.

Matheson described Polkinghorne as appearing “reasonably calm” until he made a phone call to someone, telling them Hanna had died.

Matheson said she later noticed Polkinghorne had a graze or scratch on his forehead.

“I asked him how he had received the marking and if he needed… if he wanted us to clean it up and he declined. He was unaware of the mark on his forehead.”

She said Polkinghorne seemed surprised about the mark.

The trial, before Justice Graham Lang and a jury, is due to hear at least six weeks of evidence.