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- Philip Polkinghorne was found not guilty of murdering his wife Pauline Hanna after a two-day jury deliberation.��

- Criminal defence lawyers Roderick Mulgan and Elizabeth Hall praised the verdict as an example of the justice system working.��

- Mulgan noted a Coroner may find Hanna didn’t commit suicide, but a Coroner’s inquest is not a criminal inquiry.��

Following the trial that gripped the nation a criminal defence lawyer says the��Polkinghorne trial��is an example of the criminal justice system working.��

The jury found eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne not guilty of the murder or manslaughter of his wife Pauline Hanna at their Remuera home in April 2021.��

The verdict was returned yesterday afternoon following 10 hours of deliberations that stretched over two days.��

For eight weeks the jurors listened intently to evidence from the Crown which��alleged Polkinghorne murdered his 63-year-old wife Pauline Hanna��at their home in Remuera and arguments from the defence which claimed she took her own life.��

Criminal defence lawyer Roderick Mulgan told����һ�ǿ�����talk ZB��that he wasn’t surprised by the verdict because of the significant doubt present.��

Philip Polkinghorne leaves Auckland High Court with sister Ruth Hughes after being found not guilty of murdering his wife Pauline Hanna. Photo / Dean Purcell��

“I think many people saw that coming.��

• Watch: ‘**** off’: Polkinghorne and sister shun questions as they arrive home after verdict
• Sex, drugs and despair: Inside the Polkinghorne murder trial, which gripped the nation
• ‘Let Pauline rest in peace’: Polkinghorne not guilty of murdering wife

“If there is doubt, you’ve got to have an acquittal, even though many people were suspicious it was just not enough. It is a high bar.”��

Mulgan said it is difficult to convict people on circumstantial evidence.��

“Judges say to juries all the time, even if you think it is likely somebody did it that’s not enough to be sure.”��

Roderick Mulgan. Photo / Supplied��

What if the Coroner says Pauline Hanna’s death was not suicide?��

Mulgan said the Coroner has a different standard of evidence and a Coroner’s inquiry is a balance of probabilities of what’s more likely.��

He says a Coroner’s conclusion is not a criminal enquiry.��

“The Coroner is free to come to a different conclusion if they think the evidence merits it.”��

He said you can have the jury claiming doubt and the Coroner saying it’s likely to be murder and “those two things can sit side by side”.��

Mulgan said a retrial is very unlikely because “a re-trial is big and it’s complex”.��

A new trial could only happen if there was substantial new evidence.��

“It just doesn’t exist, everything here is circumstantial.��

“There was never an eye witness, there was never a photograph, there was never a fingerprint.”��

Mulgan said he believed a retrial was not going to happen and Polkinghorne was likely a free man for good.��

Defence lawyer Elizabeth Hall. Photo / Supplied��

Criminal defence lawyer Elizabeth Hall told����һ�ǿ�����talk ZB’s��Mike Hosking that the verdict was a prime example of our criminal justice system working and that it is encouraging for all defence lawyers to see.��

When asked how much weight she would put on Madison Ashton’s non-appearance, Hall said the jury wasn’t missing anything.��

“Come on Mike, everything that woman has to say was already before the jury.��

“The only thing that the jury missed out on was seeing what that outfit that woman wore to court.”��

Hall said she thought it was a red herring to focus on what Ashton might have added to the trial.��

She said she didn’t think the trial gripped the nation, “I think it has gripped those people who like clickbait on media, it’s just justice working.”��

Both the Crown and defence have worked very hard, the verdict is what it is, and New Zealanders need to see that it’s justice working, Hall said.��