Eye surgeon may give evidence at inquest into wife's death

Otago Daily Times

3 days ago

Philip Polkinghorne. Photo: RNZ
The Auckland eye surgeon found not guilty of killing his wife after a lengthy murder trial last year may give evidence at her coronial inquest next year.
Pauline Hanna, who managed the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine as an executive director at Counties Manukau Health, died in her Remuera home on April 5, 2021.
Her husband, former Auckland eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne, was found not guilty of her murder after an eight-week trial.
A pre-hearing conference took place in the North Shore District Court this morning with a number of key figures from the trial appearing in court once again.
Polkinghorne and his lawyer Ron Mansfield were present, alongside Pauline's brother Bruce Hanna, and niece Rose, and lawyer Alysha McClintock representing the police.
There was also a large media presence, including author Steve Braunias who has written a book about the trial, Polkinghorne, and documentary maker Mark McNeill.
Coroner Tania Tetitaha laid out a timeline for lawyers to produce evidence for the inquest.
She gave them 28 days to come up with agreed facts and contested evidence.
The Coroner asked if Polkinghorne would be available to appear before the inquest in August next year.
His lawyer Ron Mansfield said Polkinghorne could make himself available.
She deemed it relevant, saying he would know best the stressors in her life leading up to Hanna's death, as her husband.
Mansfield raised concerns around how far back evidence would be collected for the inquest, calling a submission filed by the police a "pseudo-prosecution" of Polkinghorne.
"The main issue is going to be what happened on that evening, I have no doubt about that," Tetitaha said.
It was revealed in July that Australian sex worker Madison Ashton, Polkinghorne's former lover, had asked to give evidence at the inquest.
Coroner Tetitaha brought up Ashton's potential evidence, saying it would be useful to hear from Polkinghorne on what was presented.
The Crown argued during his criminal trial held in the High Court at Auckland that Polkinghorne killed his wife after a possible violent struggle, while he may have been under the influence of methamphetamine.
His defence maintained Hanna died by suicide after many years of struggling with depression, compounded by work-related stress.
The inquest is expected to get under way in August 2026.