The defence in Philip Polkinghorne’s murder trial has said there were panic buttons in the bedrooms of the couple’s home, and the court has heard the murder accused’s communications were lawfully intercepted for a time after his wife’s death.
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Former eye surgeon Polkinghorne is accused of murdering his health boss wife Pauline Hanna at their home in Auckland’s Remuera in April 2021. The defence has argued that she committed suicide.
The trial is in its fifth week. So far, the jury has heard from dozens of prosecution witnesses — but today will likely mark the end of the case against Polkinghorne, led by Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock and former Crown solicitor Brian Dickey.
The defence — led by Ron Mansfield KC — will soon start to bring its witnesses to the stand in room 11 at the High Court.
But first, the 12-person jury heard that a gram of meth cost about $350 in Auckland at the beginning of 2021 — meaning the 37.7g of meth found at the Upland Rd house after Hanna’s death was worth about $13,000.
And there were panic buttons in the couple’s home, the defence said today.
The prosecution case nears its end
Detective John Kennedy arrested Polkinghorne on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. He briefly took the stand this morning.
Kennedy explained that Polkinghorne and his legal team went to the Auckland Central police station on College Hill for a pre-arranged meeting that morning. There, he was arrested.
Kennedy cautioned Polkinghorne that day — “you have the right to remain silent” — before offering the alleged killer the chance to be interviewed again. He declined.
Under cross-examination, the witness was asked if Polkinghorne had been told ahead of the meeting that he’d be charged.
“I believe so,” the now-retired officer said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Allan, the officer in charge of the investigation, was up next.
He said that, in Auckland in early 2021, methamphetamine cost about $350 per gram. The court earlier heard that 37.7g of meth was found in the house in different rooms after Hanna’s death — so, about $13,000 worth according to Allan’s quoted price.
However, “there’s a little bit of a wholesale aspect if you’re buying in bulk”, Allan also said.
On the trial’s first day, Polkinghorne pleaded guilty to possessing meth and a meth pipe.
During Allan’s cross-examination, Mansfield said an Auckland Eye worker had told police there were “a number of panic buttons around the house” on Upland Rd. Allan said he couldn’t recall that.
Polkinghorne’s co-worker knew because she had been there to stay and look after the couple’s cats, Mansfield said.
He produced a number of photographs that appeared to show the buttons. He said there were buttons in both the master bedroom of the house and the guest bedroom, where Hanna was sleeping around the time of her death.
Mansfield also pressed Allan on whether police had an “open mind”.
He noted the phrase “homicide focus” in an early direction to forensic expert Fiona Matheson, but Allan said that relates to how the scene was to be treated and didn’t mean anything had been pre-determined.
Mansfield further contested the police’s “open mind”, pointing again to the length of time police were at the house.
Officers were on the scene on April 5, 2021, and the home wasn’t released back to Polkinghorne until April 16, the witness confirmed.
Polkinghorne still wasn’t charged until 16 months later, Mansfield said.
Allan said that officers were collecting evidence to assess in full at a later date before any decision over a charge or charges was made.
“It was some time and some further investigation that we required.”
Some exhibit testing was delayed by Covid, he added.
And Allan also confirmed Polkinghorne’s communications, including phone calls, were intercepted lawfully for 21 days from April 6.
In his opening last month, Mansfield said his client was the focus of a “one-eyed investigation” with a “drive to establish that what had occurred was a homicide when it wasn’t”.
