Pauline Hanna’s niece today told the High Court at Auckland that she did not believe her aunt took her own life.
Warning: This article contains content that could be disturbing to some people.
Rose Hanna told the jury at the trial for her aunt’s husband, Philip Polkinghorne, that it “didn’t make sense”.
Rose also told the court her aunt was looking at hiring a divorce lawyer before her death and had asked for her help.
“She wanted to leave because she was unhappy but was aware Philip’s lawyer was the best divorce lawyer in Auckland,” Rose said.
She said Hanna was also stressed by finances and feared she wouldn’t be able to afford a lawyer.
She passed on contact details through text to Hanna the following day, with her aunt responding saying “I’m sure it won’t get to that”.
Hanna was found dead in the entranceway of the couple’s Remuera, Auckland home on April 5, 2021.
The crown argues Polkinghorne was living a double life, involving drugs, infidelity and financial stress, which led him to murder Hanna and stage the killing as a suicide.
However, the defence claims Hanna took her own life and Polkinghorne found her.
Contacted police with concerns
Rose, who lives in Tauranga, told the court her last contact with her aunt was the night before her death.
“She’d sent a text message to my brother and me, wishing us a happy Easter,” she said. “It wasn’t out of the ordinary, she would always send a text on holidays.”
She said she contacted police the following day about her concerns around her aunt’s death.
“It just didn’t make sense. Especially that method that was mentioned to me, it didn’t make sense,” she said.
Speaking of their relationship, Rose said she’d become “increasingly close” with her aunt over the last few years of her life.
She said she would see her on Christmas and birthdays and would stay with the couple when visiting Auckland.
“I got on well with my aunt and Philip was sort of there,” she said.
Rose spoke of phone calls with her aunt, where Hanna would refer to Polkinghorne as “being on the roof” or “through the ceiling”, but that “everything was fine and she would call me tomorrow”.
She also spoke of a recording played to the court last week, where Hanna discussed her marriage at her brother Bruce Hanna’s home in Hawke’s Bay in November 2019.
The voice memo was recorded by the witness, who says she was recording a conversation on what the family wished to do with certain family belongings.
‘Sex fiend’
In the recording, Hanna referred to the defendant as a “sex fiend” and said he “wanted to have sex with everyone”, as well as detailing his relationship with a woman in Sydney.
Rose then discussed a dinner she had with her aunt and her partner in August 2020, where Hanna spoke of her marriage once again.
Hanna was visiting Tauranga, helping Polkinghorne’s sister move into a new home.
The conversation was triggered after a phone call Hanna had with Polkinghorne, where Hanna asked if “Sharon” was there with her.
When asked by Rose who Sharon was, Hanna said Sharon was a colleague at Auckland Eye Surgery, who she believed Polkinghorne was spending more time with outside of work.
Rose then told the court her aunt was seeking to find a divorce lawyer.
The trial continues.
