The Trial

After nearly two months and more than 80 witnesses, the jury returns with their finding in the murder trial of Philip Polkinghorne.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

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The defence and the prosecution present their final arguments after nearly two months of evidence. The Judge delivers a summing up and gives the jury directions before they retire to consider a verdict.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time, the court hears emails, found by the defence, that Pauline Hanna wrote to herself. Psychiatrists talk about the possible impact of the mix of medication she was taking. IT experts are at odds over whether texts were started - and deleted - on Hanna’s phone at 4am on the day her death was reported.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The jury returns with a verdict in the Polkinghorne trial.

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Expert defence pathologists offer different conclusions about the cause of death to their Crown counterparts. Colleagues at Auckland Eye describe Polkinghorne as kind and generous. And we hear from the “fishing boys”, who knew “Polky” from trips to their holiday homes in The Coromandel.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the defence case begins, Polkinghorne’s lawyer describes the police as being “intoxicated” with the idea of murder, and cautions the jury against being distracted by evidence about sex and drugs. Pauline Hanna’s sister says Hanna told her of a suicide attempt more than 30 years ago and Polkinghorne’s ex-wife takes the stand.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Details of Philip Polkinghorne’s relationships with wife Pauline Hanna and Sydney-based sex worker Madison Ashton emerge when police scrutinise their digital devices. Among their discoveries, thousands of sexual images, and personal correspondence about the state of the marriage. A forensic accountant tells the court that Polkinghorne paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to half a dozen women, including Ashton.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Crown case nears its end, a close friend and colleague alleges Polkinghorne made sex and meth admissions that “shocked” her. There are questions about tensions in the operating theatre, financial stress and positive meth tests at Auckland Eye. An expert explains the ways meth can change behaviour.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two pathologists face detailed questions about the significance of a mark on Pauline Hanna’s neck, with one asked why they didn’t mention it in their autopsy report. The court hears more about Hanna’s medical history, including her use of unprescribed sleeping tablets and the prescriptions she was given by her GP.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a recording played to the jury, Pauline Hanna talks about the state of her marriage to eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne and their sex life. Close friends recall her sharing an alleged strangulation threat by her husband. The defence challenges them and family members, asking if their recollections are clouded by the belief that Hanna wouldn’t have taken her own life.

Stuff Extra subscribers can listen to The Trial early and ad-free. Join Stuff Extra at listen.stuff.co.nz/extra  or on Apple podcasts.

WARNING: This podcast references suicide right from the start and throughout the episode. Some listeners might find this distressing. Help is available across New Zealand:

The Trial: Philip Polkinghorne is scripted and presented by Philippa Tolley.

Sound design, audio editing and mixing is by Connor Scott. 

The series associate producer is Jen Black and the executive producer Chris Reed. 

Special thanks to Stuff journalists Edward Gay and Catrin Owen and Stuff’s senior legal counsel, Charlotte Foster.

Podcasts like this one take a lot of time and resources to create. To help cover some of that cost, you will hear some ads during this podcast. For an ad-free experience and early access to new episodes subscribe to Stuff Extra. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify, or go to listen.stuff.co.nz/extra to get access to this and other Stuff True Crime podcasts ad-free… and you’ll be helping us make more podcasts like this one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices