Retired eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne is on trial at the High Court in Auckland. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro
Warning: The contents of this story mentions suicide
The niece of an Auckland woman allegedly killed by her husband three years ago has told the court her aunt broke down in tears discussing money troubles before she died.
Retired eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne is on trial at the High Court in Auckland, accused of murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna, and staging her death as suicide.
Hanna's niece, Rose Hanna, told the court her aunt was worried Polkinghorne had signed her money over to him for investment purposes.
"My whole life she was really quite intimidating to me, personally, because she had such a high standard for herself and everyone around her," Rose Hanna said.
"And all of a sudden, she was sitting there in tears, in public, telling me that she has no money, and that she can't afford to, with retirement in the next year or two, she couldn't afford to leave, because she didn't have money to live on."
Rose Hanna said Pauline Hanna had told her she had been incredibly naive and trusting.
Pauline Hanna told Rose Hanna during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, Polkinghorne had passed her documents to sign.
"He had explained to her, Philip being he, that it was easier to invest the money with a single signature required," Rose Hanna said.
"So, he'd signed over the assets into his name, so he could then invest it easier, and she'd trusted him, so she didn't think she had any money in her name."
Rose Hanna said she sent her aunt information to help her find a divorce attorney if she wanted leave Polkinghorne.
Pauline Hanna told her niece she did not think it would come to that.
Rose Hanna said she was familiar with Polkinghorne's temper, and the term her aunt used to describe it, with Polkinghorne being "on the roof", or "on the ceiling".
She had recorded a tense exchange, played in court last week, of the family expressing concern about Pauline Hanna and Polkinghorne's relationship.
Being questioned by Polkinghorne's defence lawyer, Ron Mansfield KC, Rose Hanna was asked if it was clear from the recording that 2019, the year the recording was taken, had not been a good year for her relationship with Polkinghorne.
She said that was correct.
Mansfield asked whether Pauline Hanna stressed throughout the recording that she loved Polkinghorne and that he loved her.
"Yes," replied her niece.
"But none-the-less, no doubt, and it seems clear from your own comments in the recording, you just didn't think that that relationship was appropriate, given what you knew about their sexual relations outside of their marriage?" Mansfield asked.
"Well, she said that he verbally abused her, but loved her, in the same sentence, so it was quite contradictory," Rose Hanna said.
The trial continues.
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