Michael Morrah: NZ Herald reporter on Philip Polkinghorne being found not guilty of murder or manslaughter

Gasps from the public gallery as Philip Polkinghorne was declared not guilty of murdering his wife Pauline Hanna in 2021 - nor of manslaughter.

He's been discharged, but will be back in court in November for sentencing on meth possession charges.

NZ Herald reporter Michael Morrah was in court.

He says it was very tense as the verdict was announced.

"Some people in the public gallery were in tears, Polkinghorne himself just stood still, head down - and was pretty much expressionless when that verdict of 'not guilty' was read out."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And I surgeon Philip Polkinhorn was found not guilty of
murdering his wife Pauline Hannah this afternoon. The jury, have
you reached a unanimous verdict, that is the one on
which all eleven of you agree on charge one, the
charge of murder. Do you find the defendant, Philip John Polkinhorn,
guilty or not guilty? Philip Polkinghorn spoke to media outside

(00:21):
shortly after that verdict was read. The upcoming with it
a huge turning point in our lives.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
His posts has taken a massive toll on so many
of us, and now we can grieve and let Pauline
rest in peace. Now that is the best definite can
possibly give here.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Thank you. Herald journalist Michael Morrow was in the High
Court earlier to hear that it is with us now.
Hoy Michael. What was Philip Polkinghorn's reaction when that verdict
was read out.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, he stood with his head bowed, his eyes were closed.
It was quite tense in the courtroom, you know, everyone
was there, The jury all focused on the chairperson who
was reading the verdict, and the public gallery was pretty
much full when that not guilty verdict came out. There
were audible gasps from the public gallery. Some people in

(01:15):
the public gallery were in tears. Polkinghorn himself just stood still,
head down and was pretty much expressionless when that verdict
of not guilty was read out.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
What did you make of the question that the jury
asked earlier today?

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, I think this was really really interesting and I
think it was a massive turning point in the deliberations
for the jury. So they had been deliberating for about
ten hours. This was day two because they had a
day of leave on the Friday, and this was a
critical moment in my mind, because they came and said
to the judge that essentially they were having problems, and

(01:54):
what they articulated was that they were pretty much split.
They didn't know what decision to make, and they said
that most of the jurors believed that this was not
a case of suicide, but at the same time they
felt the Crown had not provided enough evidence to prove murder.

(02:14):
And what the judge said at that point I think
was critical, and that was that you must be sure
to convict, you must be sure to be found guilty.
You must be sure.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
It has to be beyond reasonable doubts.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Absolutely, it could not be a case. The judge said,
if you think it's likely murder was committed, or even
very likely, it has to be a certainty. And at
that point he directed the jury to go away. Continued deliberations.
They had some subway at lunch time, and then it
was only straight after lunch that they came back with

(02:49):
this not guilty verdict just around quarter past two this afternoon.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
And how did Pauline Hannah's family react to this?

Speaker 2 (02:57):
They came outside, bought Bruce Hannah, Pauline's brother, was visibly
upset in tears, essentially said that this was not the
right decision. At the same time, he said he felt
that the corporateceedings were fair and we needed to accept

(03:17):
this even though it's so disappointing, and he acknowledged how
difficult the last eight to nine weeks has been for
him and all of Pauline's other family members.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
And also Madison Ashton, who was Polkinghorn's hooker mistress. She's
also reacted to the verdict.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Day yeah, she has. She actually refused to give evidence
in this trial, and she's been away on an overseas
trip visiting Morocco, London, has been in Athens, but she
has told my colleague Carolyn menye who's been speaking regularly
with her throughout this trial, that she claims Madison Ashton

(03:56):
claims that the police botched this murder investigation by not
taking her seriously and omitting crucial evidence she provided. She
also revealed that she had discussed getting married, buying a house,
and having children with doctor Polkinghorn. So quite a bombshell

(04:16):
of an interview there, that, yeah, my colleague Carolyn Menyee
has got from The Herald. However, of course she was
not in court. She was, in her own words, shaking
and shocked by the decision that the jury reached, you know,
but she didn't front up in court, has been away overseas.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Michael, Thank you, thanks very much for talking us through that.
Michael Morra, the Herald journalist who's been

Speaker 2 (04:38):
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