August 12, 2024 • 18 mins
Day 10 saw the jury visit to the home of Pauline Hanna and Phllip Polkinghorne to see where Pauline had died.
That was before a parade of ex-colleagues took to the stand to shed light on their relationship with Pauline, and what she told them about her concern for her marriage and her finances.
Plus, an explanation as to why Pauline Hanna’s niece recorded a family conversation.
You can listen to episodes of Accused: The Polkinghorne Trial through The Front Page podcast feed, or find it on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
This series is presented and produced by, Chelsea Daniels, with producer Ethan Sills and sound engineer Paddy Fox. Additional reporting by Craig Kapitan and George Block.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Kyoda. I'm Chelsea Daniels and from the team behind the
front page The New Zealand Herald's daily news podcast, This
is Accused The Polkinghorn Trial. Over the next six weeks,
in conjunction with our usual daily podcasts, will be bringing
you regular coverage as one of the most high profile
trials of the year makes its way through the High
(00:28):
Court at Auckland. A warning, this podcast contains disturbing content,
a home visit, a parade of ex colleagues, and an
explanation as to why Pauline Hannah's niece recorded a family conversation.
The trial of Philip Polkinghorn has entered its third week.
(00:51):
He's accused of murdering his wife, but maintains she took
her own life. The jury called a little early to
court on day ten ahead of a visit to the
Polkinghorn home in Remuera. Justice Graham Lang explained how the
morning would work before they set off. Journalists aren't allowed
(01:12):
inside for house visits like this, but they are allowed
to watch from the scene and photograph the judge and
lawyers from the street, though not the jury. I spoke
with The Herald's Craig Captain, who was there. Can you
tell me, Craig where you are at the moment.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah, I'm at the Rema home of the jury has
been transported to hear of your bus today to do
a site visit, which is pretty rare in our trials
in New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
What are the rules around the site visit.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, they want to be very careful not to have
this sort of testimony while in the house, so joris
are allowed to talk themselves. They've been accompanied by police officer,
but he's not allowed to answer questions or really give
it to or he's just going to be standing a
little bit out of distance so that they can talk
amongst themselves. The judge also said this is probably common sense,
(02:10):
but no going through drawers or closets because this is
still a private home that's being used.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
What was the process like this morning? So they met
at the court room.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yes, the Jewels showed up a little early today, fortre
minutes early, and if the judge just gave them a
very quick rundown of what they would be doing, and
he suggested they bring the evidence with them that had
the layout of the house and he's kind of told
them what the order was going to be of how
they will walk through the house to emphasize that it's
not either to gain new evidence so much as just
(02:39):
to be able to visualize the layout of the house
so that they can contemplate the case better.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
And what's it like being there? I suppose media aren't
allowed in and so is everyone just kind of outside?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, I got to say, it's a little strange. We
are all standing around as the media, lawyers, police officers,
and of course the jury and the judge all kind
of ly about in this lushighborhood, and the of the
residents with a little confused by a presence, which makes sense,
but I guess that happens. We're going to all with
a big case that attracts.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
About the media and have a lot of them decided
to walk their dogs this morning at this specific time.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I don't have sent a scout of how many people
walk their dogs, and rema and how often it does
seem to be quite a bit just pausis sect Sorry
apologies for that. Jury was walking by the alley where
I was standing.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So have they finished?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, the jury have just finished, and now Brian Vicki
is leading another single flow line of lawyers and the
judge into the house. He's with Alicia McClintock, who was
his replacement as consolicitor, and then the defense lawyers, including
Ron Mansfield, are also in the line along with Judge.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Thanks for joining us, Craig.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, no problem, have a good one.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Whenever a witness is called to the stand, they have
a choice whether or not they want to be filmed
or recorded. It's completely up to them. For example, on
day nine, the final witness was Donna Baker, a work
friend of Pauline's, and she didn't want to be recorded,
but we can report what she said. They both worked
at Middlemoor Hospital in the years before Pauline's death. Baker
(04:21):
spoke highly of Pauline, saying she was larger than life,
worked hard, and had high standards. Baker recalled having a
drink with Pauline where she discussed her embarrassment at Philip
failing to turn up for a family holiday at their
batch at rings Beach in the Commandel Hannah was forced
to lie and say he was at a work conference.
(04:41):
Baker remembered. Pauline then asked her what it was like
to be a single woman of a certain age. She
said to me, she wasn't happy in her marriage and
hadn't been for a long time. Baker remembered so. On
day ten, once the jury was back in the courtroom,
several witnesses chose not to be re coded, so we
can't play the audio of their testimony. First to take
(05:04):
to the stand was Claire Thompson. She'd known Pauline Hannah
for at least a decade. Thompson worked at Health Source
with her. She said her friend and colleague was a
high achiever, always immaculately dressed. She mentions the story Hannah
had also told Donna Baker about having to lie to
his children about why he didn't turn up for a
(05:24):
family Christmas at their Corimandel batch. Thompson remembers Hannah had
entered her office one day in late twenty twenty distraught.
She was worried her husband was seeing someone romantically in Northland.
She feared he was siphoning money away ahead of divorcing her.
She said she was tearful, upset, which was unlike her.
(05:45):
When Hannah was paid, she told her work friend about
two thousand to two thousand, five hundred dollars was disappearing
from her account. Pauline had once confided in the witness
about going through Philip's laptop and finding a photo with
him and another woman. They spoke about the possibility of
hiring a private investigator. They had dinner at an Italian
(06:06):
restaurant on the waterfront. They enjoyed a couple of glasses
of wine. Hannah confided in her about how Philip was
demanding sexually. She said he was now demanding sex in
the morning. She said she didn't want to be by
herself in her sixties. She was in high spirits. The
dinner ended with a hug. On cross examination, Ron Mansfield
(06:27):
asks whether she was aware of the group sex in Sydney.
Was she where Hannah sometimes saw sex workers on her own,
He asked she wasn't. He referred to Hannah's work emails,
including some cent at about two am, six am and
seven am on the same day. Was this usual? He
read out more times two am, four am, five am.
(06:50):
Thompson said she would occasionally send emails at that time
if she'd remembered something and couldn't sleep. Pauline Hanna's friend
Margaret White, was called to the stand. She too didn't
want to be filmed or recorded. She started working with
Hannah about two thousand and four at Counties Monaco, DHB.
(07:11):
In the two to three years before Hannah's death, they
were working closely together. She knew her very very well,
she said. White said her work friend was amazing, bright, capable, determined,
absolutely reliable. Most of the time she's known Hannah, she'd
always talked about her husband's infidelity. About a year or
(07:32):
so before her death, she messaged White to say, sorry,
I can't work on it tonight. Philip's become beastly. More
texts between the pair were read out White's voice breaking.
Mansfield later asked her whether she was aware Hannah had
participated in group sex with Polkinghorn on at least one
occasion in Australia. Yes, says White. She drunk a bottle
(07:55):
of wine and just went along with it. She said, certainly,
there was no suggestion that she was a willing participant.
She wasn't into it, asks Mansfield. Of course not, said White,
her longtime work friend. I thought that she deserved better
(08:17):
for coverage of other news happening around New Zealand and
the world, including the state of the country's biggest city.
Listen to the front page The Herald's Daily News podcast
wherever you get your podcasts. Week three began with Pauline's
niece Rose Hannah on the stand.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
She's the one.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Responsible for the recording of a family dinner we heard
on day nine, known as the Longlands recording. So why
did she record that family dinner conversation? On the day
of the recording, Pauline had gone to Hawk's Bay to
catalog her mother's items and artworks. Rose was helping, writing
down all the eye items on her laptop. Later in
(09:02):
the day, she says, the family began talking about the
items again, but Rose didn't have her laptop handy, so
she hit record on her phone. The jury didn't hear
the talk about all the items, only from the point
when the conversation quickly turned. Once the conversation subsided into
Christmas plans, we heard Pauline invite Rose to family dinner
(09:23):
in Auckland. The Crowns. Brian Dicky asked Rose whether she
went to that Christmas in Auckland.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
No, I've got it. There's an email somewhere that I
was shown last week that I provided, and it's Pauline
basically saying that she doesn't want me to stay in
the house and she wants me to instead be in
a hotel, and that Philip had become I rate that
she had made Christmas dinner into an event by inviting me,
(09:54):
so I didn't attend Auckland. I was only coming up
for her, and I didn't want to make trouble by
b here.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Was that the email there that you were talking about? Yes,
you provided that to the police.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yes, yep, she said, PJP on the ceiling with four
exclamation points, and I don't want you to experience that.
So would you mind if I find you somewhere lovely
to stay Saturday night that is close by love youp
with lots of crosses?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Did you take her up on that offer of putting
you up somewhere.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
No.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I called her and I said that if it's going
to make things difficult for her, then I just won't
come up.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Rose had dinner with Pauline in August twenty twenty, where
the idea of contacting a divorce attorney came up. They
also discussed Pauline looking into hiring a private investigator.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
She said that during the early stages of the pandemic,
she was signing documents all day every day, and Philip
had passed her things to sign, and she was crying,
saying that she'd been incredibly naive and trusting and was
worried that she had no money her name anymore. Why
was she worried about that, she explained, because he had
(11:07):
explained to her, Philip being he that it was easier
to invest the money with a single signature required, so
he had signed it over over the assets into his
name so that he could then invest it easier, and
she had trusted him, so she didn't think that she
had any money in her name.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Rose said her aunt was terrified. She was worried she
couldn't afford to leave her husband because she didn't have
any money to her name. The couple sold a pappatoy
toy property, which was in Pauline's name, for about a
million dollars, but the money was in Polkinghorn's name so
he could invest it for her. Pauline asked Rose to
help her find a divorce lawyer in Auckland. Dicky and
(11:48):
Rose discussed a message Pauline sent her after the conversation
captured in the Longlands, recording.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yes I don't feel good about today or sharing some
of Philip's foibles with you. He will come right. I
can't say how much I want to get rid of
twenty nineteen. It has not been the most auspicious year.
Thank you again, darling girl, love you so much.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
Pee and you've responded saying you're glad that she'd shared.
That's half the battle, and I paraphrase.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Yes, I can tell you don't feel good about the
weekend where she could just go to Hastings on Saturday
and spend more time with Grandee. Let me know if
I can help it all. Keep in touch, lots of love, Rosie.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
On cross examination, defense lawyer Ron Mansfield asks Rose about
whether she was aware of the issues happening at Auckland
I more about Christmas in twenty nineteen, and how she'd
learned of her aunt's death. She told the court it
just didn't make sense, Hope.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
This.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Terrible question.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
But had you had experience I have someone close to
you having taken their life by suicide before. No, you
just thought that didn't seem like the Auntie Pauline I knew.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Correct, Especially that method that was mentioned to me, it
wouldn't have been doesn't make sense.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
And that's hanging correct, and that's all you've been told.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Yes, Mansfield asked Rose about her communication with John and
Victoria Riordan. Victoria goes by Pheasant. They were family friends
of the Hannahs. They were always at family dinners, birthdays
and events. Rose spoke to them over the phone, and
she still remembers Pheasant screaming down the line in disbelief.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
You tell them we, presumably you and your dad, don't
believe that Pauline has committed suicide.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
It was days later Pheasant called me because all I'd
managed to get through to her the night before was
that Pauline was dead, that she'd taken her own life.
And then the next morning she called me and said,
it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
So it was out the seventh then, yes, yeah, that
makes sense.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
I remember sitting out on in the sun saying I
don't think it makes sense.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Either, And that's what you say back right, yes. And
that's because just what you've told us, you didn't think
that Auntie Pauline might be someone that would contemplating and
take your life, let alone by way of a fullhand,
correct Anstein. And it seems that the Roydens, when they
(14:24):
had their conversation with you, seemed to share the same view.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
They were relieved that it wasn't just their thinking.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
The Crown called Paul Adrian's to the stand, a hairdresser
who knew Polkinghorn by a mutual friend, Lee Peterson. It
was good friends with Peterson meeting her about seven years ago.
Paul told the court polking Horn would pay Lee to
have sex. She was a prostitute. He said. He confirmed
he met his client through their respective relationships with Lee.
(14:57):
Sarah Prentice worked with Hannah in the health sector. She'd
been alongside her off and on for about ten years.
She was proud of everything she was doing. Sarah said
she worked incredibly long hours. On the Wednesday after her death,
Hannah was set to open a new vaccination center in
South Auckland. The trial earlier heard she was looking forward
(15:18):
to this opening. Prentice is the latest in a parade
of co workers. They all say similar things, that Pauline
was hard working, an effective manager, and always immaculately turned out.
They included Elsa Claire, a former chief executive of the
Auckland DHB. She was also part of the COVID vaccination
program and said Hannah ran the procurement and logistics for
(15:41):
the centers. She would often see her in twenty twenty one,
and they worked closely together. She was very hard working,
she said of Pauline, it felt like she was thriving
in that environment. Sharon Alabastro had much the same view
of Pauline's work ethic. Alabastro was a pro project manager
at Health Source and involved in supporting dhb's She knew
(16:04):
Hannah from March twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
In June or July of twenty twenty, I reported directly
to Pauline Hannah. She was a lovely person. I had
a very good working relationship with her.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
She was impressed at the cool and composed manner in
which Hannah carried herself. If Hannah saw her working late,
she'd tell her to go home and be with her family.
She was meant to see Hannah at the Manyideua Mariah
Vaccination Center on April fifth, the day Hannah died. She
found out she died on her way there. On cross examination,
(16:37):
Ron Mansfield asked her about their work hours. Were they long?
Speaker 4 (16:41):
You've told the police there an average of one hundred
hours a week was pretty accurate.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
There were days, especially in the weekdays they were long,
and then parts of weekend that we have to work.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Still yes, but.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
In total for a weekundred hours.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Was it that right?
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
They'd both be on their phones and laptops at home
as well, working hard to make sure the vaccine rollout
went as smoothly as possible. They looked out for each other,
they knew how much pressure they were under. Mansfield at
length went through email after email sent between the witness
and Hannah and others to hammer home his point that
they worked all hours of the day. Sorry that this
(17:25):
is a bit onerous, he tells the witness. At one point,
I feel a bit fatigued myself now, he said. The
trail continues tomorrow. You can listen to episodes of Accused
the Polkinghorn Trial through the Front Page podcast feed or
find it on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
(17:46):
This series is presented and produced by me Chelsea Daniels,
with producer Ethan Seles and sound engineer Patti Fox. Additional
reporting from the Heralds Craig Captan and George Block, and
for more coverage of the polking Horn Trial, head to
Nsidherld dot co dot nz
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Mm hmm
Kyoda. I'm Chelsea Daniels and from the team behind the
front page The New Zealand Herald's daily news podcast, This
is Accused The Polkinghorn Trial. Over the next six weeks,
in conjunction with our usual daily podcasts, will be bringing
you regular coverage as one of the most high profile
trials of the year makes its way through the High
(00:28):
Court at Auckland. A warning, this podcast contains disturbing content,
a home visit, a parade of ex colleagues, and an
explanation as to why Pauline Hannah's niece recorded a family conversation.
The trial of Philip Polkinghorn has entered its third week.
(00:51):
He's accused of murdering his wife, but maintains she took
her own life. The jury called a little early to
court on day ten ahead of a visit to the
Polkinghorn home in Remuera. Justice Graham Lang explained how the
morning would work before they set off. Journalists aren't allowed
(01:12):
inside for house visits like this, but they are allowed
to watch from the scene and photograph the judge and
lawyers from the street, though not the jury. I spoke
with The Herald's Craig Captain, who was there. Can you
tell me, Craig where you are at the moment.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah, I'm at the Rema home of the jury has
been transported to hear of your bus today to do
a site visit, which is pretty rare in our trials
in New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
What are the rules around the site visit.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, they want to be very careful not to have
this sort of testimony while in the house, so joris
are allowed to talk themselves. They've been accompanied by police officer,
but he's not allowed to answer questions or really give
it to or he's just going to be standing a
little bit out of distance so that they can talk
amongst themselves. The judge also said this is probably common sense,
(02:10):
but no going through drawers or closets because this is
still a private home that's being used.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
What was the process like this morning? So they met
at the court room.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yes, the Jewels showed up a little early today, fortre
minutes early, and if the judge just gave them a
very quick rundown of what they would be doing, and
he suggested they bring the evidence with them that had
the layout of the house and he's kind of told
them what the order was going to be of how
they will walk through the house to emphasize that it's
not either to gain new evidence so much as just
(02:39):
to be able to visualize the layout of the house
so that they can contemplate the case better.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
And what's it like being there? I suppose media aren't
allowed in and so is everyone just kind of outside?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, I got to say, it's a little strange. We
are all standing around as the media, lawyers, police officers,
and of course the jury and the judge all kind
of ly about in this lushighborhood, and the of the
residents with a little confused by a presence, which makes sense,
but I guess that happens. We're going to all with
a big case that attracts.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
About the media and have a lot of them decided
to walk their dogs this morning at this specific time.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I don't have sent a scout of how many people
walk their dogs, and rema and how often it does
seem to be quite a bit just pausis sect Sorry
apologies for that. Jury was walking by the alley where
I was standing.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So have they finished?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, the jury have just finished, and now Brian Vicki
is leading another single flow line of lawyers and the
judge into the house. He's with Alicia McClintock, who was
his replacement as consolicitor, and then the defense lawyers, including
Ron Mansfield, are also in the line along with Judge.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Thanks for joining us, Craig.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, no problem, have a good one.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Whenever a witness is called to the stand, they have
a choice whether or not they want to be filmed
or recorded. It's completely up to them. For example, on
day nine, the final witness was Donna Baker, a work
friend of Pauline's, and she didn't want to be recorded,
but we can report what she said. They both worked
at Middlemoor Hospital in the years before Pauline's death. Baker
(04:21):
spoke highly of Pauline, saying she was larger than life,
worked hard, and had high standards. Baker recalled having a
drink with Pauline where she discussed her embarrassment at Philip
failing to turn up for a family holiday at their
batch at rings Beach in the Commandel Hannah was forced
to lie and say he was at a work conference.
(04:41):
Baker remembered. Pauline then asked her what it was like
to be a single woman of a certain age. She
said to me, she wasn't happy in her marriage and
hadn't been for a long time. Baker remembered so. On
day ten, once the jury was back in the courtroom,
several witnesses chose not to be re coded, so we
can't play the audio of their testimony. First to take
(05:04):
to the stand was Claire Thompson. She'd known Pauline Hannah
for at least a decade. Thompson worked at Health Source
with her. She said her friend and colleague was a
high achiever, always immaculately dressed. She mentions the story Hannah
had also told Donna Baker about having to lie to
his children about why he didn't turn up for a
(05:24):
family Christmas at their Corimandel batch. Thompson remembers Hannah had
entered her office one day in late twenty twenty distraught.
She was worried her husband was seeing someone romantically in Northland.
She feared he was siphoning money away ahead of divorcing her.
She said she was tearful, upset, which was unlike her.
(05:45):
When Hannah was paid, she told her work friend about
two thousand to two thousand, five hundred dollars was disappearing
from her account. Pauline had once confided in the witness
about going through Philip's laptop and finding a photo with
him and another woman. They spoke about the possibility of
hiring a private investigator. They had dinner at an Italian
(06:06):
restaurant on the waterfront. They enjoyed a couple of glasses
of wine. Hannah confided in her about how Philip was
demanding sexually. She said he was now demanding sex in
the morning. She said she didn't want to be by
herself in her sixties. She was in high spirits. The
dinner ended with a hug. On cross examination, Ron Mansfield
(06:27):
asks whether she was aware of the group sex in Sydney.
Was she where Hannah sometimes saw sex workers on her own,
He asked she wasn't. He referred to Hannah's work emails,
including some cent at about two am, six am and
seven am on the same day. Was this usual? He
read out more times two am, four am, five am.
(06:50):
Thompson said she would occasionally send emails at that time
if she'd remembered something and couldn't sleep. Pauline Hanna's friend
Margaret White, was called to the stand. She too didn't
want to be filmed or recorded. She started working with
Hannah about two thousand and four at Counties Monaco, DHB.
(07:11):
In the two to three years before Hannah's death, they
were working closely together. She knew her very very well,
she said. White said her work friend was amazing, bright, capable, determined,
absolutely reliable. Most of the time she's known Hannah, she'd
always talked about her husband's infidelity. About a year or
(07:32):
so before her death, she messaged White to say, sorry,
I can't work on it tonight. Philip's become beastly. More
texts between the pair were read out White's voice breaking.
Mansfield later asked her whether she was aware Hannah had
participated in group sex with Polkinghorn on at least one
occasion in Australia. Yes, says White. She drunk a bottle
(07:55):
of wine and just went along with it. She said, certainly,
there was no suggestion that she was a willing participant.
She wasn't into it, asks Mansfield. Of course not, said White,
her longtime work friend. I thought that she deserved better
(08:17):
for coverage of other news happening around New Zealand and
the world, including the state of the country's biggest city.
Listen to the front page The Herald's Daily News podcast
wherever you get your podcasts. Week three began with Pauline's
niece Rose Hannah on the stand.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
She's the one.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Responsible for the recording of a family dinner we heard
on day nine, known as the Longlands recording. So why
did she record that family dinner conversation? On the day
of the recording, Pauline had gone to Hawk's Bay to
catalog her mother's items and artworks. Rose was helping, writing
down all the eye items on her laptop. Later in
(09:02):
the day, she says, the family began talking about the
items again, but Rose didn't have her laptop handy, so
she hit record on her phone. The jury didn't hear
the talk about all the items, only from the point
when the conversation quickly turned. Once the conversation subsided into
Christmas plans, we heard Pauline invite Rose to family dinner
(09:23):
in Auckland. The Crowns. Brian Dicky asked Rose whether she
went to that Christmas in Auckland.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
No, I've got it. There's an email somewhere that I
was shown last week that I provided, and it's Pauline
basically saying that she doesn't want me to stay in
the house and she wants me to instead be in
a hotel, and that Philip had become I rate that
she had made Christmas dinner into an event by inviting me,
(09:54):
so I didn't attend Auckland. I was only coming up
for her, and I didn't want to make trouble by
b here.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Was that the email there that you were talking about? Yes,
you provided that to the police.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yes, yep, she said, PJP on the ceiling with four
exclamation points, and I don't want you to experience that.
So would you mind if I find you somewhere lovely
to stay Saturday night that is close by love youp
with lots of crosses?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Did you take her up on that offer of putting
you up somewhere.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
No.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I called her and I said that if it's going
to make things difficult for her, then I just won't
come up.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Rose had dinner with Pauline in August twenty twenty, where
the idea of contacting a divorce attorney came up. They
also discussed Pauline looking into hiring a private investigator.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
She said that during the early stages of the pandemic,
she was signing documents all day every day, and Philip
had passed her things to sign, and she was crying,
saying that she'd been incredibly naive and trusting and was
worried that she had no money her name anymore. Why
was she worried about that, she explained, because he had
(11:07):
explained to her, Philip being he that it was easier
to invest the money with a single signature required, so
he had signed it over over the assets into his
name so that he could then invest it easier, and
she had trusted him, so she didn't think that she
had any money in her name.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Rose said her aunt was terrified. She was worried she
couldn't afford to leave her husband because she didn't have
any money to her name. The couple sold a pappatoy
toy property, which was in Pauline's name, for about a
million dollars, but the money was in Polkinghorn's name so
he could invest it for her. Pauline asked Rose to
help her find a divorce lawyer in Auckland. Dicky and
(11:48):
Rose discussed a message Pauline sent her after the conversation
captured in the Longlands, recording.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yes I don't feel good about today or sharing some
of Philip's foibles with you. He will come right. I
can't say how much I want to get rid of
twenty nineteen. It has not been the most auspicious year.
Thank you again, darling girl, love you so much.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
Pee and you've responded saying you're glad that she'd shared.
That's half the battle, and I paraphrase.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Yes, I can tell you don't feel good about the
weekend where she could just go to Hastings on Saturday
and spend more time with Grandee. Let me know if
I can help it all. Keep in touch, lots of love, Rosie.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
On cross examination, defense lawyer Ron Mansfield asks Rose about
whether she was aware of the issues happening at Auckland
I more about Christmas in twenty nineteen, and how she'd
learned of her aunt's death. She told the court it
just didn't make sense, Hope.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
This.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Terrible question.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
But had you had experience I have someone close to
you having taken their life by suicide before. No, you
just thought that didn't seem like the Auntie Pauline I knew.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Correct, Especially that method that was mentioned to me, it
wouldn't have been doesn't make sense.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
And that's hanging correct, and that's all you've been told.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Yes, Mansfield asked Rose about her communication with John and
Victoria Riordan. Victoria goes by Pheasant. They were family friends
of the Hannahs. They were always at family dinners, birthdays
and events. Rose spoke to them over the phone, and
she still remembers Pheasant screaming down the line in disbelief.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
You tell them we, presumably you and your dad, don't
believe that Pauline has committed suicide.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
It was days later Pheasant called me because all I'd
managed to get through to her the night before was
that Pauline was dead, that she'd taken her own life.
And then the next morning she called me and said,
it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
So it was out the seventh then, yes, yeah, that
makes sense.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
I remember sitting out on in the sun saying I
don't think it makes sense.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Either, And that's what you say back right, yes. And
that's because just what you've told us, you didn't think
that Auntie Pauline might be someone that would contemplating and
take your life, let alone by way of a fullhand,
correct Anstein. And it seems that the Roydens, when they
(14:24):
had their conversation with you, seemed to share the same view.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
They were relieved that it wasn't just their thinking.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
The Crown called Paul Adrian's to the stand, a hairdresser
who knew Polkinghorn by a mutual friend, Lee Peterson. It
was good friends with Peterson meeting her about seven years ago.
Paul told the court polking Horn would pay Lee to
have sex. She was a prostitute. He said. He confirmed
he met his client through their respective relationships with Lee.
(14:57):
Sarah Prentice worked with Hannah in the health sector. She'd
been alongside her off and on for about ten years.
She was proud of everything she was doing. Sarah said
she worked incredibly long hours. On the Wednesday after her death,
Hannah was set to open a new vaccination center in
South Auckland. The trial earlier heard she was looking forward
(15:18):
to this opening. Prentice is the latest in a parade
of co workers. They all say similar things, that Pauline
was hard working, an effective manager, and always immaculately turned out.
They included Elsa Claire, a former chief executive of the
Auckland DHB. She was also part of the COVID vaccination
program and said Hannah ran the procurement and logistics for
(15:41):
the centers. She would often see her in twenty twenty one,
and they worked closely together. She was very hard working,
she said of Pauline, it felt like she was thriving
in that environment. Sharon Alabastro had much the same view
of Pauline's work ethic. Alabastro was a pro project manager
at Health Source and involved in supporting dhb's She knew
(16:04):
Hannah from March twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
In June or July of twenty twenty, I reported directly
to Pauline Hannah. She was a lovely person. I had
a very good working relationship with her.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
She was impressed at the cool and composed manner in
which Hannah carried herself. If Hannah saw her working late,
she'd tell her to go home and be with her family.
She was meant to see Hannah at the Manyideua Mariah
Vaccination Center on April fifth, the day Hannah died. She
found out she died on her way there. On cross examination,
(16:37):
Ron Mansfield asked her about their work hours. Were they long?
Speaker 4 (16:41):
You've told the police there an average of one hundred
hours a week was pretty accurate.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
There were days, especially in the weekdays they were long,
and then parts of weekend that we have to work.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Still yes, but.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
In total for a weekundred hours.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Was it that right?
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
They'd both be on their phones and laptops at home
as well, working hard to make sure the vaccine rollout
went as smoothly as possible. They looked out for each other,
they knew how much pressure they were under. Mansfield at
length went through email after email sent between the witness
and Hannah and others to hammer home his point that
they worked all hours of the day. Sorry that this
(17:25):
is a bit onerous, he tells the witness. At one point,
I feel a bit fatigued myself now, he said. The
trail continues tomorrow. You can listen to episodes of Accused
the Polkinghorn Trial through the Front Page podcast feed or
find it on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
(17:46):
This series is presented and produced by me Chelsea Daniels,
with producer Ethan Seles and sound engineer Patti Fox. Additional
reporting from the Heralds Craig Captan and George Block, and
for more coverage of the polking Horn Trial, head to
Nsidherld dot co dot nz
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Mm hmm
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