Philip Polkinghorne at day 1 of his trial for the murder of his wife at the High Court at Auckland. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro
The jury in the trial of retired eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne has asked the court for guidance saying some don't believe there's enough proof he caused his wife's death, while most say there isn't enough proof of her suicide.
Jurors resumed their deliberation on Monday morning, after starting at the High Court in Auckland last week.
Polkinghorne has been accused of murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna, and staging her death as suicide.
Justice Graham Lang addressed the jury, going over a question they had about the evidence in Hanna's death:
"Most of the people on the jury do not think there is enough evidence to support Pauline committing suicide," Lang read out to the court.
"However, some people on the jury do not think that the Crown has supplied enough evidence that we can answer yes to the question: 'Has the Crown made you sure the Dr Polkinghorne caused the death of his wife, Pauline Hanna, by intentionally strangling her? Please can we have some direction?'"
Lang told jurors they must be convinced of their verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.
"At the end of the day, it's not sufficient for you to think that Dr Polkinghorne is probably guilty, or even very likely guilty," he said. "You've got to be sure, beyond reasonable doubt, that the Crown has proved that he is guilty."
Lang said the defence did not bear the onus of proving Pauline Hanna killed herself, and sent jurors back into deliberation.
