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WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT
Two people know Auckland Philip Polkinghorne, Ophthalmologist and Wife Pauline Hannah It depicts an ophthalmologist’s grief after his wife’s death.
“It was one of the worst conversations I’ve ever had,” a longtime friend testified today Juror Return to Auckland High Court Polkinghorne’s sixth high profile week Murder Trial.
Polkinghorne, 71, is accused of strangling his wife of 24 years at their home in Remuera on April 5, 2021, and staging the scene to make it look like suicide by hanging.
Prosecutor It took nearly five weeks to call witnesses. to support their theory that the surgeon, high on methamphetamine, lashed out at his wife, possibly over his relationship with overseas escort Madison Ashton or a dispute over hundreds of thousands of dollars he spent on her and other sex workers.
Defense attorney currently Second day of witness callinghas repeatedly suggested that Hannah’s death was as people initially believed – a self-inflicted injury by someone who had long suffered from depression and was under great work pressure.
The story behind the blog continues
The story continues
Today’s first witness, a medical professional who has been granted temporary anonymity protection, recalled that on February 2, 2021, two months before Hannah’s death, she spoke about her work stress during dinner at the couple’s Coromandel villa.
“The calls she’s received sound terrible,” he said of her job, which involves helping manage the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. “The fact that she’s trying to manage this with one hand tied behind her — it’s very political…
“I know it’s a very stressful job for her.”
The witness said he tried to call Polkinghorne on the day of Hannah’s death but he was busy talking to police. He was able to contact Polkinghorne by phone the next day. At the end of the “devastated” call, the witness said Polkinghorne asked him to attend Hannah’s funeral, which he said surprised him because he didn’t consider himself a particularly close friend of the couple, but it would be an “honour”.
Sharon Jenkins, a receptionist at Auckland Eye, where Polkinghorne worked, was asked about six times over several years about looking for the Polkinghornes.
She recalled seeing the defendant once in his office after his wife died.
“He was obviously very upset and distraught,” she recalled. “He had obviously been crying.”
Several defence witnesses were asked today to describe Polkinghorne’s work ethic and they all spoke highly of it.
“His patients loved him,” Jenkins said. “He always treated them well.”
If patients needed him on weekends, he would go, she and others said. If patients couldn’t pay, the doctor would waive the fee, they said.
Jenkins said she did notice weight loss and fatigue around 2018.
“I did wonder if he had cancer or something because it was so dramatic,” she said.
Former Auckland Eye Surgery hostess Leonie Darlington described the defendant as a perfectionist at work with very high standards.
“His attitude towards patients was outstanding — he always put the patients first,” Darlington said.
Jillian Blakely, a former nurse at Auckland Eye Hospital, offered similar praise, adding that if tensions were high in the operating room he could be “a bit rude” unless he kept quiet. But she said he always thanked staff after surgery and made patients feel at ease.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said it took Polkinghorne about 15 years of medical training to reach his level of medical expertise. He said while other ophthalmologists might become senior lecturers, Polkinghorne was somewhat rare in that he achieved the senior position of associate professor at Auckland University.
None of the witnesses recalled ever seeing the surgeon taking drugs.
Under cross-examination, the witness, who did not want to be named, said he was surprised the defendant was taking drugs, let alone having the equivalent of 370 doses of methamphetamine hidden in his home. He was also surprised by his friend’s relationship with Sydney sex worker Ashton.
“I found out about the same time as everyone else in Auckland,” he said.
Today, two witnesses were called to discuss the couple’s finances.
One of them served as the trustee of the Hannah Polkinghorne Trust, a bank account that was mentioned repeatedly in testimony by a forensic accountant called by the prosecution. Prosecutors said funds from the sale of Hannah’s $1 million property were deposited into the trust and then misappropriated within a year, with some of the funds going into accounts that Polkinghorne fully controlled to pay sex workers.
The witness said he became a trustee around 2000 but took a hands-off approach and had little knowledge of where the funds were going. He said he thought he was primarily acting as a referee when needed, but that was not the case. He recalled that Hanna was involved in the accounts and sometimes asked him to sign documents.
Tony Glucina, an investment adviser at JBWere, said the couple invested $500,000 from the sale of their home with the goal of generating income in retirement. He said Polkinghorn was the principal investor, so he was the one dealing with him. He said if Hannah had called to check on the investments, he couldn’t give her any information without checking with Polkinghorn first. But he said Hannah never called.
Mr Grusiner also recalled having dinner with the couple at Coromandel House a few months before Hannah’s death and recalled leaving with the impression that Hannah was stressed out by work. He said he and his partner noticed, as they discussed afterwards, that Hannah had left her three-course meal untouched.
He recalled that Polkinghorne and Hannah had discussed a farce involving “COVID protective equipment” that was later exposed.
“She was very nervous,” he said, explaining that this was not an observation but the couple’s own words that gave him that impression. “They talked about it a lot.”
Testimony will continue before Judge Graham Lang and the jury this afternoon.
Captain Craig is a reporter based in Oakland covering courts and judicial affairs. He joined The Herald He took up the position in 2021 and has covered court news since 2002 from three newsrooms in the United States and New Zealand.
this The Herald will be covering the case in a daily podcast, Defendant: Polkinghorne CaseYou can follow the podcast at Love Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotifypass front page feedOr wherever you get your podcasts.
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