Pauline Hanna inquest adjourned while Polkinghorne documentary footage is narrowed down

The inquest into the death of Pauline Hanna has been adjourned until Thursday afternoon, so footage from the cutting room of a documentary about her husband Philip Polkinghorne's criminal trial can be narrowed down.

Ms Hanna died in her Remuera home, which she shared with Polkinghorne in April 2021.

Dr Polkinghorne was found not guilty of murdering her in 2024.

At the Coroner's Court in Auckland on Wednesday, Coroner Tania Tetitaha ordered a documentary company, Blonde Razor Productions, to hand over four hours of raw footage from their interview with Dr Polkinghorne, which RNZ understands was filmed in 2022.

Excerpts of the interview were used in the documentary Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne, which aired on ThreeNow in 2025.

On Thursday morning, Coroner Tetitaha agreed to give Police counsel and interested parties in the inquest, including Dr Polkinghorne, who is being represented by his lawyer, Ron Mansfield, time to select clips of the interview to play in court after 2:15pm.

The Coroner said she was only interested in clips relevant to the scope of the inquest, which is to determine how Ms Hanna died and the circumstances surrounding her death.