Philip Polkinghorne murder trial: Day off for jurors at Auckland High Court

Prosecutors have called in police officers and a Canadian rope expert who said the bright orange nylon rope hanging from the upstairs balustrade of the couple's home was too loose to support a person's weight. Testimony also included friends and relatives of Hanna, who described several incidents in which she raised suspicions of infidelity, vague plans to leave Polkinghorne if he did not improve, his alleged anger issues and fears that he might have swindled his way into control of their joint fortune.

“I love my husband, but he's someone who gets very angry at the world when the world doesn't go his way,” Hanna said in a recorded 2019 conversation with her brother and niece that was played to jurors. “… He's out of control because he doesn't know how to control himself, but he loves me more than anything in the world. I'm his building block. He's mine.”

“But it will happen at some point. If it continues like this next year, I'll say no… I'm not going to be 63 until February and I'm not prepared to do this until I'm 93.”

She stressed in the recording that Polkinghorne had abused her emotionally but not physically.

But months later, in January 2020, she revealed to two close friends that Polkinghorne had “strangled” her without fatal consequences and suggested he could do it again at any time, the friends testified during successive visits to the witness stand.

“Just know that if something happens to me…” another friend said Hanna once told her on the phone after explaining that Polkinghorne had behaved “bestially.” Either the thought died down or the friend couldn't remember how it ended, but she remembered those words exactly, she told the jury.

Although the defence has not yet had the opportunity to examine its own witnesses, the facts were made clear through extensive cross-examination of the witnesses by lawyers Ron Mansfield KC and Hannah Stuart, who claimed that it was simply a case of suicide.

Hanna had quietly battled depression for decades, had attempted suicide in the early 1990s and reported suicidal thoughts again in December 2019, lawyers noted. Her mental health issues were exacerbated by her stressful job helping with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, lawyers said, pointing to emails sent at all hours of the night that her manager had discussed with her.

The defense also pointed to a “powerful cocktail of drugs” Hanna had taken, including weight-loss pills, over-the-counter sleeping pills and Prozac for depression. The defense has indicated that it will present evidence later in the trial that some of the drugs, when combined or taken with alcohol, may increase the risk of suicide.

However, Hanna's primary care doctor has testified that there were no signs that she had reacted negatively to Prozac or the weight-loss drug. The doctor, whose name is not yet known, said she had no concerns even after Hanna sought help for her drinking problem.

Judge Graham Lang told jurors on Friday that there was no need for them to return to court on Monday. Polkinghorne's lawyer has another case before the Supreme Court today and is not expected to finish until this afternoon at the earliest.

The trial is “largely on schedule,” but jurors should have a better idea of ​​the schedule by the end of this week, the judge said.

Craig Captain is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has been covering courts in three newsrooms in the United States and New Zealand since 2002.

The Herald will cover the case in a daily podcast, Defendant: The Polkinghorne TrialYou can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotifythrough The front page Feed or wherever you get your podcasts from.