Speaker 1: Hilda. I'm Chelsea Daniels and from the team behind the
Speaker 1: front page the New Zealand Herald's daily news podcast, This
Speaker 1: is Accused The Pulkinghorn Trial. Over the next six weeks,
Speaker 1: in conjunction with our usual daily episodes, will be bringing
Speaker 1: you regular coverage as one of the most high profile
Speaker 1: trials of the year makes its way through the High
Speaker 1: Court at Auckland. A successful I surgeon, a celebrated DHB boss,
Speaker 1: an unexplained death in an affluent Auckland suburb over a
Speaker 1: long weekend. Today marks the beginning of a trial that
Speaker 1: has been years in the making.
Speaker 2: A post mortem is complete, but police are still investigating
Speaker 2: a sudden, unexplained death in Auckland's rama Weetder on Monday.
Speaker 2: Police are waiting for results from other inquiries and are
Speaker 2: still at the Upland Road address.
Speaker 1: Pauline Hannah was found dead at the Remuerra home she
Speaker 1: shared with her husband of thirty years, Philip Polkinghorn, on
Speaker 1: Easter Monday twenty twenty one. The sixty three year old's
Speaker 1: body was found inside the four million dollar Upland Road
Speaker 1: property and for sixteen months her death was treated as unexplained.
Speaker 1: That's until it emerged, Polkinghorn had been charged with murder.
Speaker 1: He pleaded not guilty in August twenty twenty two. Here's
Speaker 1: a report from me at that time. In twenty twenty two, Hannah,
Speaker 1: who worked at the county's Monico DHB and was involved
Speaker 1: in the COVID vaccine rollout, was found dead on April
Speaker 1: fifth last year. Her death has been described as unexplained
Speaker 1: until today's murder charge. Wearing jeans and a black leather jacket,
Speaker 1: he pleaded not guilty through lawyer Rachel Reid HC and
Speaker 1: will be released on bail. Polking Horn says he's shocked
Speaker 1: he's been charged. He says he won't comment further, but
Speaker 1: hopes the justice process will run its course and the
Speaker 1: truth will be known. Polking Horn retired after his wife's
Speaker 1: death and has moved out of the house. Police spent
Speaker 1: eleven days searching the couple's home after Hannah's death on
Speaker 1: April fifth, twenty twenty one. In a statement released through
Speaker 1: his lawyer at the time of his arrest, polking Horn
Speaker 1: expressed his shock at being charged. He said, I am
Speaker 1: shocked that the police have charged me. I have recorded
Speaker 1: that I am not guilty immediately now that the police
Speaker 1: have charged me. The matter is before the courts and
Speaker 1: I am not permitted to comment further.
Speaker 2: He said.
Speaker 1: The justice process must now run its course, and I
Speaker 1: trust the truth will be shown. I thank my family
Speaker 1: and friends for their enduring love and support. Polking Horn,
Speaker 1: who for he worked as a doctor at auckland I
Speaker 1: retired following his wife's death. Hannah had worked in various
Speaker 1: roles in the public health system, including as an executive
Speaker 1: project director at County's Monaco DHB and aiding with the
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen vaccine rollout. We're joined now by senior Herald
Speaker 1: reporter Carolyn Mgnee, who has also followed this case from
Speaker 1: the very beginning. First off, can you take us back
Speaker 1: to April twenty twenty one.
Speaker 2: How did all of this start?
Speaker 3: It was an intriguing story, and I think the reason
Speaker 3: why this case is of high interest public interest is
Speaker 3: because it involves Philip Polkinghorn, a very highly acclaimed and
Speaker 3: accomplished auckland Is surgeon, and his wife, Pauline Hannah, who
Speaker 3: was a half executive at County's Monocal for about twenty years,
Speaker 3: and she was also very, very highly involved in the
Speaker 3: emergency response during COVID at that time. And I guess
Speaker 3: it also is a case that you know, has all
Speaker 3: the elements of a great mystery in a way, I mean,
Speaker 3: you know, wealth, wealth factor, the elite. I suppose also
Speaker 3: the fact that the death was unexplained so long as well,
Speaker 3: so long, I mean Pauline died on April the fifth,
Speaker 3: twenty twenty one. Philip Pockinghorn wasn't charged till seventeen months
Speaker 3: later and appeared in court. We've had to wait two
Speaker 3: years for this trial to start.
Speaker 1: You and I are attending the trial which starts today.
Speaker 1: For the audience, we can kind of explain what happens
Speaker 1: from the outset. The audience might read here or see
Speaker 1: articles from a trial, but may not know the actual
Speaker 1: process of how we got to this point and what
Speaker 1: happens from here. So from today what happens.
Speaker 3: We do know, and we've been told that the trial
Speaker 3: will take six weeks. We understand that there will be
Speaker 3: quite a number of witnesses I assume probably lots of
Speaker 3: family members attending on behalf of both sides. Ron Mansfield
Speaker 3: is heading up the defense side along with his assistants,
Speaker 3: and the Crown is Brian Dickey and Alisha McLintock.
Speaker 1: And from today we kind of go through the process
Speaker 1: of finding that jury pool, and there's no clue as
Speaker 1: to how long that will take.
Speaker 3: Well, no, and I think they will have to be
Speaker 3: very very meticulous about this because there has been a
Speaker 3: lot of publicity in the past. It will be very
Speaker 3: interesting to see how they vetoed or packed art to
Speaker 3: be honest, and given the nature of the case as well,
Speaker 3: we don't.
Speaker 1: Know how long selecting a jury pool will take. After
Speaker 1: that we get to hear the Crown and the defense
Speaker 1: and their opening addresses and what kind of evidence or
Speaker 1: witnesses they'll be calling over the next however, many weeks.
Speaker 3: Absolutely what will be interesting I think watching the jury
Speaker 3: being chosen I always find interesting, particularly in cases like this,
Speaker 3: high profile cases, the gender balance, age, even sometimes ethnicity.
Speaker 3: I find that sort of very interesting.
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us, Caro. So let's talk about the
Speaker 1: key players we'll see and hear from over the next
Speaker 1: month or so of this trial for the Crown. Crown
Speaker 1: Solicitor Brian Dickey is a barrister at bank Side Chambers.
Speaker 1: He led his first High Court trial at the age
Speaker 1: of twenty three, and his first murder trial in two
Speaker 1: thousand and three. He was appointed Crown Solicitor in twenty
Speaker 1: fifteen and spent several years with a focus on commercial
Speaker 1: litigation and white collar crime, including the run of finance
Speaker 1: company cases following the global financial crisis. He's been at
Speaker 1: the front and center of some of the country's biggest
Speaker 1: murder trials. On the defense side, Ron Mansfield k C
Speaker 1: is a senior criminal lawyer with more than thirty years
Speaker 1: of experience. He was appointed to the senior rank of
Speaker 1: King's Council in twenty twenty one. He's defended client and
Speaker 1: serious criminal cases in some of New Zealand's highest profile trials,
Speaker 1: as well as those charged with criminal offenses. Mansfield also
Speaker 1: has a strong social justice streak. He's represented high profile
Speaker 1: activists in cases involving social justice issues. So you might
Speaker 1: be wondering how does a trial work. Well, today, work
Speaker 1: will begin on impaneling a jury of twelve people. There
Speaker 1: is never an indication on how long this will actually take.
Speaker 1: It starts with the court registrar calling people's names out
Speaker 1: to be potential jurors, which a lawyer can then challenge.
Speaker 1: They don't have to explain why they challenge people, but
Speaker 1: it's a tool that is used to ensure a good
Speaker 1: cross section of a society on a final jury. The
Speaker 1: judge usually makes opening remarks at the beginning of a
Speaker 1: trial and explains the role of a jury, and they'll
Speaker 1: explain how the law works and help jurors understand the
Speaker 1: evidence that is presented in court. After a jury is
Speaker 1: chosen or impaneled, the prosecution will begin outlining their case
Speaker 1: with an opening statement. It includes what the defendant is
Speaker 1: charged with and an explanation of the kinds of evidence
Speaker 1: they'll present to the court. This is where the public
Speaker 1: learns what the crown believes happened and how it intends
Speaker 1: to prove it. The defense may also make an opening statement.
Speaker 1: At this point. Witnesses will then be called to testify
Speaker 1: one by one, questioned first by the prosecution and then
Speaker 1: by the defense. That's called a cross examination. After the
Speaker 1: prosecution's witnesses, the defense has then the chance to present
Speaker 1: its evidence. If they intend to call witnesses, they too
Speaker 1: will present an opening statement. When all the evidence is presented,
Speaker 1: the prosecution and defense will make their closing statements to
Speaker 1: the jury, and then the judge summarizes the case and
Speaker 1: describes how the law applies to it. The jury then
Speaker 1: goes out to deliberate. That could take hours or dace.
Speaker 1: Regardless of how long it takes, we'll be bringing you
Speaker 1: regular episodes over the coming weeks with insight from those
Speaker 1: covering the trial. You can listen to episodes of Accused
Speaker 1: the Polkinghorn Trial through the front Page podcast feed or
Speaker 1: find it on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: This series is presented and produced by me Chelsea Daniels,
Speaker 1: with producer Ethan Siles and sound engineer Patti fox And.
Speaker 1: For more coverage of the Polkinghorn Trial, head to enzidherld
Speaker 1: dot co dot enz