The final week of evidence in the Philip Polkinghorne trial

Saturday, 14 September 2024

Warning: The evidence in the Polkinghorne trial details suicide. Some readers may find the content distressing.

After seven weeks, and over 80 witnesses, a jury has heard all the evidence in the long-anticipated trial of eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne, who is accused of killing his wife, Pauline Hanna, and staging their Remuera home to look like suicide.

He has pleaded not guilty and maintains Hanna tragically killed herself.

The Crown’s case is that Polkinghorne fatally strangled Hanna before reporting her death to police as a suicide. It argues he was living a double life, obsessed with meth and in a covert relationship with escort Madison Ashton in Sydney.

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

Suicide and risk factors were much of the focus in the seventh and last week of evidence.

The lawyers for the Crown and defence will close their cases to the jury early next week before it is then up to the jury of 11 to decide Polkinghorne’s fate.

Here are five moments from week 7:

‘Suicide impossible to predict’

The final witness called for the defence on Friday was associate professor Dr Sarah Hetrick - she gave evidence about suicide and the various myths surrounding it.

Hetrick said between 2/3 and 3/4 of people who have gone on to die by suicide have previous denied feeling suicidal.

'Human beings can compartmentalise, can present well, many people are very good at putting a front on professionally even to those friends and family and hiding and concealing what’s going on.'

Hetrick said there was no ability to predict suicide.

'It it impossible to predict who is going on to take their own lives.'

The professor said it was also a 'very common myth' that those who died by suicide have a pre-existing mental illness.

Plans and notes were also not common. Only 1/4 of people leave a suicide note, Hetrick said.

Under cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Alysha McClintock said there was no rule book when it comes to suicide. Hetrick agreed.

McClintock said Hetrick was unable to tell the court what happened in the case. She agreed.

The mystery 4am phone log debate

The debate over two logs on Pauline Hanna’s phone continued this week. It all boiled down to whether or not Hanna had accessed her phone at 4am and gone to send a message to her husband and her daughter’s friend.

Jun Lee, a digital forensic analyst for the police, maintained the logs were simply the phone running background checks on contacts. He said they could not have been user-generated as there weren’t other logs of the phone being accessed at that time and the messaging application being opened.

'There was no trace of it,' Lee said.

But Atakan Shahho, an IT expert called for the defence, said they had to be user-generated.

'The information that I’ve gathered tells me that a message was created but never sent - phone number or name typed in and abandoned and therefore no saving of that message on that phone,' he said.

Shahho said he disagreed with the Crown's digital expert opinion that it was just the phone doing background checks. Jun Lee maintained his position.

‘I am never good enough despite my efforts’

Polkinghorne sobbed as an email was read out in court that his wife had written and sent to herself in April 2020, speaking about struggles at work and her feelings of desperation.

'I am never good enough despite my efforts - today is the 25th day in a row - but I am not adding any value I want desperately to tell someone and cry and ask for help but everyone seems to think I am amazing and does not want to know that I have foibles and failings.

'So I have had 3 glasses of wine and a beautiful dinner thanks to PJP - but I don't know what to do with myself… So I will go to bed and not sleep. V. unusual for me - and it builds up - who knows what might follow.

'Have to tell someone even if no- one but God ever sees this. Pxxxx,' the email said.

Despite numerous emails and text messages previously read to the court, this was the first time this email had been referenced.

Digital IT expert, Atakan Shahho, said he extracted the email from Hanna’s laptop earlier this year.

Under cross-examination, McClintock pointed out this email had been sent a year before Hanna’s death and needed to be seen in context with emails sent by her seven minutes before 8.11pm on April 14, 2020.

An email sent seven minutes prior to a colleague referenced issues with PPE and the Covid-19 masks.

McClintock asked if this email came up in Shahho's search he did on Pauline Hanna's laptop.

'I would doubt it - it was an email between Pauline and someone at work - nothing in there that would have cross-referenced in my search.'

'These sit before the sending of that email don’t they,' McClintock asked. Which Shahho accepted. He also accepted these emails were sent a year before Hanna's death.

Suicide risk factors

Two psychiatrists called to give evidence on behalf of the defence team both took the jury through a number of suicide risk factors and concluded Hanna would have been at higher risk.

Dr David Menkes held the view that a cocktail of medications and other factors would have left Hanna at a higher risk of suicide.

'Ms Hanna had multiple risk factors that could have elevated her risk of suicide, bares emphasis however, suicide risk is dynamic and completed suicide is notoriously difficult to predict,' Menkes had concluded in his report.

McClintock asked the psychiatrist that he was not saying the combination of risk factors were operative on the night of April 4 for Hanna. He agreed.

In the week prior to hear death, it appeared Hanna had a “very disrupted sleep pattern” and likely contributed to her mood and potential suicidal thinking, Menkes said. The court has previously heard Hanna was sending emails late at night and in the early hours of the morning.

Hanna was taking a sleeping pill, Zopiclone, for at least six months prior to her death. Menkes said Hanna’s GP didn’t know about the Zopiclone which was a “considerable risk of harm”, given her other medication, Menkes said.

Under cross-examination, Menkes agreed with the prosecutor that Hanna had protective factors.

McClintock asked if there was anything in the days or weeks leading up to Hanna’s death that had significance as to whether or not she might try take her own life.

He said he didn't come to a conclusion about her trip to the tip or what significance it had.

'I think we already know she was a kind person and tried to be thoughtful, I wouldn’t have thought taking food out of the ordinary to a friend - but it would fit with her personal style.'

'While suicide can be very impulsive… nothing in the days prior to her death… no evidence she’s deteriorating/more unwell?' McClintock asked.

The only thing Menkes said was the sleep disruption in the days prior.

The planned 4WD trip to the South Island and opening of the vaccination were protective factors, Menkes agreed.

'She was extensively looking forward to both those things,' Menkes said.

Jury down to 11

On Wednesday afternoon, Justice Graham Lang discharged one of the jurors for personal reasons.

'One of your number has got commitments that are really important and she can’t change and we accept that, what we don’t ever want to do is put a jury or juror under stress to reach a verdict. The reality is if I sent you out on Wednesday… don’t want to put pressure on you.'

Lang said the juror had long standing plans and he had the power to discharged the juror.

'I thank you, it is a big step to sit here for six and a half weeks only not to see the job through, but the other issues you face are much more important in your life.'

The panel of 11 will begin deliberations after Lang has summed up either Tuesday afternoon or on Wednesday.