Polkinghorne trial: Court told she had a relationship with a sex worker

A former Auckland eye surgeon accused of murdering his wife apparently had a relationship with a Sydney sex worker, a detective says.

Philip Polkinghorne is on trial in the High Court in Auckland. He is accused of murdering his wife Pauline Hanna and staging her death as a suicide.

The defense argues that Hanna ended her life after suffering from depression for years.

Detective Andrew Reeves continued his testimony on Monday, telling the court that the first communication police identified between Polkinghorne and sex worker Madison Ashton occurred in 2015.

He said a document showed that Polkinghorne paid $800 for a “one-hour girlfriend experience” offered by Ashton.

Reeves said Polkinghorne communicated regularly with Ashton in the days following his wife's death.

After April 5, 2021, the day Hanna died, WhatsApp messages were exchanged between the two.

Reeves suspected that Polkinghorne had deleted messages from his phone, but they were found on a phone belonging to Ashton.

However, Reeves told the court that the messages were “encrypted,” “illegible” and “difficult to understand.”

Police also seized iMessages between Polkinghorne and Ashton from April 17, 2021.

That day, Ashton sent Polkinghorne attachments related to a cosmetic surgery procedure she was scheduled to undergo.

He said she would look “more than sensational” and “unleash a tsunami of lust.”

Ashton responded with a heart emoji.

The court was told that they had sent each other messages about their relationship on April 23.

“If you died, I would never leave the house again,” she said.

He replied, “Darling, you and I are not going anywhere. We will live together for 100 years.”

Ashton sent Polkinghorne a property for sale in New South Wales on April 25.

“Interesting, something to talk about,” he replied.

Later news revealed that they were planning a holiday at a luxurious lakeside lodge in Mount Cook.

In one of these cases, Ashton said 14 months is a long time to not be in a relationship.

Polkinghorne replied that they would see how the trip went.

“Maybe there are similarities, maybe not,” he said.

Ashton asked if he was breaking up with her.

“Sounds like you're breaking up with me, what the hell…?”

“Hell… no, for God’s sake, never,” he replied.

On April 28, 2021, Polkinghrone told Ashton he wanted her to meet his sister, calling it “a big step.”

Ashton's two phones were seized by police on August 30 of that year while she was staying with Polkinghorne at Mount Cook Lodge.