Everything you need to know about Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne

Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne explores the case of a prominent New Zealand eye doctor accused of the murder of his wife, Pauline Hanna. Was it suicide? Or did Dr. Polkinghorne stage Pauline Hanna’s death?

In an exclusive, never before seen interview conducted while he was awaiting trial for murder, Dr. Philip Polkinghorne reveals his version of events for the very first time. Sexual deviance. Illicit drugs. Suspicious behaviour. Polk has an answer for it all.

In New Zealand’s trial of the century, the series features interviews from Julia Hartley Moore (Private Investigator); Madison Ashton (Philip Polkinghorne’s Girlfriend); Bruce Hanna (Pauline Hanna’s Brother); Pheasant Riordan (Friend of Pauline Hanna); Alysha McClintock (Crown Solicitor Auckland); Craig Kapitan (Journalist, New Zealand Herald), and Chelsea Daniels (Journalist, New Zealand Herald).

Speaking about the project, Julia Hartley Moore explains: “In February 2021, I received an unusual phone call from a Remuera woman concerning her husband’s behaviour, but the call was short as her husband arrived home.

“Seven weeks later, local media broke the news of the death of a Remuera woman, and I had a feeling that phone call and this case were connected. The unexplained circumstances of Pauline’s death sparked a massive police investigation and intense media scrutiny, and I found myself drawn into the case both as a private investigator and personally.

“I now believe that woman was Pauline Hanna after hearing her voice in the ‘Longlands’ recordings in court.

“Everyone in town was talking about the Polkinghorne case - except Pauline’s husband Philip Polkinghorne, a respected Remuera eye surgeon. That piqued my interest, as I have somebody at hand who can get anyone to talk; a man with a very particular set of skills as they say.

“Over the course of many months a cordial relationship was formed between Philip and this man, who then after some time arranged for Philip and me to finally meet to discuss the idea of telling his story.

“Incredibly, Philip, who had recently been charged with murder, was very open to the idea and within a few days my film company BA Films Ltd began shooting interviews with him. The result is the remarkable interviews that form the basis of this series.”

What happened in the Polk case?

On April 5th, 2021, Pauline Hanna, wife of acclaimed eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne, was found dead in their home in Remuera, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.

However, upon arriving at the scene, police treated the case as suspicious, with questions being raised over whether Hanna deliberately killed herself, or if she was murdered by her husband, who then staged it to appear as a suicide.

It took police 16 months to arrest Polkinghorne, who has always maintained his innocence, and the trial took place in July 2024.

What followed was a court case that argued two different versions of events.

The prosecution claimed Polkinghorne – who pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine in court during the murder trial – had become erratic and reliant on the drugs and had killed his wife before staging it to look like suicide, planning a future with an escort with whom he had transferred $100,000.

The defence argued that Hanna has a long-standing history of depression, including a previous suicide attempt. They claimed she had been put under immense pressure as she worked during the Covid-19 vaccination rollout, had become aware of her husband’s infidelity and drug use, and was grieving the loss of her mother, further hindering her mental health.