Philip Polkinghorne arrives at the Auckland High Court for the first day of his trial for the murder of his wife Pauline Hanna New Zealand Herald photograph by Michael Craig 29 July 2024 Photo: NZME/Michael Craig
- Former eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne denies killing his wife, Pauline Hanna, in April 2021.
- Polkinghorne earlier pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and a pipe.
- The Crown argues a combination of financial problems, infidelity, and meth use led Polkinghorne to murdering his wife and stage her death as a suicide.
- The defence argues Hanna killed herself after struggling with depression for many years.
Philip Polkinghorne looked up "leg edema after strangulation" the day after his wife's death, a court has heard.
The former Auckland eye surgeon is on trial, accused of murdering his wife Pauline Hanna in 2021 and staging it as a suicide.
The Crown argues Polkinghorne strangled his wife and went to great lengths to stage her death as a suicide. But his defence argues Hanna ended her life after after struggling with depression for many years.
Police detective Andrew Reeves told the High Court in Auckland on Friday that Polkinghorne used the search engine Duck Duck Go to get information about strangulation on 6 April 2021.
Reeves said Duck Duck Go was designed to be untraceable, but police were able to recover the search result.
After seizing Polkinghorne's electronic devices, Reeves said police also found he accessed WhatsApp minutes before calling police the day Hanna died, but these messages were deleted.
Reeves said all of Polkinghorne's WhatsApp messages before 5 April were deleted, which he found odd.
After his first police interview on 5 April, Detective Reeves said Polkinghorne searched on Safari how to delete iCloud storage. Polkinghorne deleted phone call logs three days after Hanna died, Reeves said.
Reeves also analysed USB drives belonging to Polkinghorne. He said one had saved images of knot-tying techniques.
Another had a photo of a meth pipe with "Sweet Puff" written on the side. Polkinghorne could be seen in the reflection of the photo.
"He's naked while taking a photo," said Reeves.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard the meth pipe was found at Polkinghorne's workplace, Auckland Eye.
An investigation by Auckland Eye could not determine the owner of the pipe.
Polkinghorne discussed living with sex worker after wife's death
Reeves said Polkinghorne regularly messaged Sydney escort, Madison Ashton, and another sex worker after his wife died.
Detective Reeves said Ashton told Polkinghorne what to wear to his wife's funeral.
"Do not wear a f***ing bow tie at the funeral."
Reeves said Polkinghorne booked flights to visit Ashton in Australia between 20 April and 2 May 2021.
He said Polkinghorne and Ashton discussed living together.
Ashton was found with Polkinghorne at a luxury lodge in Mt Cook in April, where police seized her phone.
On 12 April, Polkinghorne also contacted another sex worker known as Rachel/Alaria that he had thought about Ubering to her, Reeves said.
'I cannot live' - Dramatic note found on Pauline Hanna's computer
In court, defence lawyer, Ron Mansfield KC, read out a document found on Hanna's laptop, created in March 2019.
In the document, Hanna wrote that after a dinner the couple got into an argument.
"I talked too much in the car coming home. The rest is ugly and I don't know what to do.
"Then all hell breaks loose - I have not behaved as he wanted - and I cry - I am gutted, been holding it in for so long.
"He is angry and doesn't want to know me or my issues or me for that matter."
Hanna wrote she could not live after Polkinghorne called their marriage a waste of time.
"HURT HURT HURT- in fact wrecked. All these years, 27, did I get it wrong that he was the only person who truly loved me as his number 1.
"I was number 1 in someone's life - as he was in mine. Have we got that wrong? God what a prospect - I cannot live if that is the result that I got it wrong."
Justice Graham Lang told the jury it was getting the the "sharp end of the trial", but said it was too early to come to any conclusions.
The trial continues on Monday.
