Pauline Hanna died in her home in the Auckland suburb of Remuera on Easter Monday last year. Police are treating her death as "unexplained". Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Pauline Hanna died in her home in the Auckland suburb of Remuera on Easter Monday last year. Police are treating her death as "unexplained". Photo / Norrie Montgomery
The brother of a woman whose death remains “unexplained” says his family has no answers and no closure after a year of waiting.
Pauline Hanna died in her home in the Auckland suburb of Remuera on Easter Monday last year.
Hanna's brother Bruce said it was hard to believe the63-year-old had gone.
"Even though 12 months have passed, it is still very raw for me and my family. We still have no answers and no closure."
Hanna was married to eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne. She worked at Counties Manukau District Health Board as an executive project director and was involved in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
In the aftermath of Hanna's death on April 5, Polkinghorne told the Herald he was a "person of suspect" but said his wife was remarkable woman and they had a "perfect relationship".
Polkinghorne, who could not be reached for comment, pleaded not guilty to a charge of careless driving in Auckland District Court this week. He was not in court and the plea was entered through his lawyer.
Pauline Hanna was married to eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Polkinghorne resigned from Auckland Eye a month after Hanna's death and has since retired.
Police refused to answer questions on their investigation. They have previously said they are treating the death as “unexplained”.
Former police detective Lance Burdett told the Weekend Herald police would likely be under huge pressure to solve the mystery.
"The trail has gone cold. You get a window of 10 days to solve something, then it gets harder and harder," Burdett said.
"There's not a lot of detail out there and it's been kept secret for now. It's either they know or they don't, and just because they haven't found anything it doesn't mean there is nothing to find," Burdett said.
He believes Hanna's death "sounds like a homicide inquiry".
That did not necessarily mean murder, Burdett said, but it meant someone else may have been involved.
"There could also be a covert investigation underway. The answer sits in that house."
Over the past two decades, Hanna worked in various roles in the public health system. It was in her role as an administrator at Auckland's ophthalmology department in the 1990s that she met Polkinghorne. They were married for 22 years; it was her first marriage and his second.
Police have interviewed dozens of people in relation to Hanna's death, including a barber and a masseuse.
In July last year, the home where Hanna died was put up for sale. The Herald understands Polkinghorne has moved out of the property and moved in with his sister.
However, the house was taken off the market a few months later. Ray White agent Gerard Charteris told the Herald the four-bedroom, three-bathroom Remuera house was expected to be worth more than $5 million. It was last sold for $1.025m in November 2002.
Charteris said he hadn't heard from Polkinghorne since the house was withdrawn from the market in October.
He said Hanna’s death in there hadn’t deterred buyers.
"I think there will always be some uncertainty in people's minds, but we had good offers during the campaign," Charteris said.
“It’s a very specialised house in a wonderful location; the master suite is amazing.”
Ben Polkinghorne posted on Facebook shortly after she died that Hanna had been "horrendously stressed" at work and that it had taken a heavy toll on her mental health. Photo / Facebook
To her friends and family, Hanna was an elegant, accomplished woman who worked hard for her community.
Polkinghorne earlier told the Herald she adored his sons, John, Ben, and Taine, and considered them "her children".
Ben Polkinghorne posted on Facebook shortly after she died that Hanna had been "horrendously stressed" at work and it had taken a heavy toll on her mental health.
Richard Aldous, the chief financial officer and joint interim CEO, at Healthsource, where Hanna was a senior executive at the procurement company said: "Pauline was a valued member of the HealthSource team and continues to be missed by all of us. Our condolences go out to her family at this difficult time."
Next week a group of close friends is marking the first anniversary of Hanna's death over lunch. Polkinghorne isn't on the guest list.
"A year has passed and we still don't know what has happened and no one has been held accountable," one friend told the Weekend Herald.
“We used to get together with Pauline and we still get together now. I am sad Pauline’s memory has been sullied.”
