Philip Polkinghorne has been found not guilty of murder after a weeks-long trial over the death of his wife Pauline Hanna in 2021.
The prosecution argued Polkinghorne strangled Hanna to death and staged the scene to make it look like suicide before he called police to the property on April 5 that year.
The defence argued that Polkinghorne was innocent and had simply woken, gone downstairs and found his wife dead.
Today, in room 11 at the High Court in Auckland, the jury’s foreperson stood and delivered the verdict: “Not guilty.”
He was also found not guilty of her manslaughter.
It brings an end to one of New Zealand’s most high-profile trials in recent memory.
Justice Lang discharged the jury “with the thanks of the community”.
Polkinghorne still has to return to court, requiring sentencing on the two methamphetamine charges he pleaded guilty to at the start of the trial.
This will be in November.
Hanna’s family, some holding hands, one with their head in their hands, were in the public gallery.
Outside court, Polkinghorne gave a short statement to the media.
“Today’s outcome is a huge turning point in our lives. This process has taken a massive toll on so many of us. But now we can grieve and let Pauline rest in peace.
“That is the best gift we can possibly give her.”
He didn’t take any questions.
Alysha McClintock, Crown Solicitor for the prosecution team, said she respected the jury’s verdict.
“They worked hard on this difficult case.”
She said it was important to remember the tragedy of Hanna’s death and the impact it had on her friends and family.
Hanna’s brother Bruce said the verdict was “not the decision we wanted”.
He was joined by his son Jacob and wife Shelley – who held a framed picture of Pauline Hanna.
Bruce Hanna thanked the police and the prosecution “for their dedication and hard work”.
He said the proceedings were “fair” and that “as disappointed as we are, we need to respect the decision and move on”.
Death was ‘either a murder or a suicide’
The marathon case began when Polkinghorne was arrested on August 16, 2022 – about 16 months after Hanna’s death – but the trial heard police suspicions were raised much earlier.
Officers who went to the couple’s Remuera home on April 5, 2021 had flagged concerns over the scene that very day.
Alysha McClintock, Crown Solicitor for Auckland, led the prosecution team. She said at the trial’s opening: “This reported suicide did not add up.”
She added that Hanna’s death “could only have been either a murder or a suicide”.
The jury heard weeks of evidence related to Polkinghorne’s methamphetamine use – before the trial began, he pleaded guilty to possessing meth and a meth pipe – and his extensive spending on sex workers.
He was leading a double life, the prosecution argued.
“Matters came to a head sometime on either the night of April 4 or morning of April 5,” McClintock said in her opening.
“He strangled her… perhaps while angry and high, or low, or just plain strung-out on meth.”
Officials, experts, family and friends took the stand during the trial.
In response, Polkinghorne’s defence team argued that there was “nothing unexplained” about the death.
Ron Mansfield KC said the couple was content. He said in his opening, nearly two months ago: “Their lives were open, their relationship was open, certainly their sexual relationships were open.”
Mansfield said Hanna’s death was simply a “successful suicide attempt by a woman who was prone to depression” and who had previously attempted suicide.
“It would have to be a perfect murder,” he said later in the trial. “Can I suggest it was not?”
Mansfield said his client was the subject of a “one-eyed investigation” based on “misguided” suspicion.
Hanna was a senior figure at the Counties Manukau District Health Board, closely involved in rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic. The pair had been married for over 20 years.
