The High Court at Auckland has heard that Philip Polkinghorne was "consumed by sex" and financially supporting Sydney sex worker Madison Ashton at the time of his wife's death.
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Polkinghorne is accused of killing his wife Pauline Hanna in April 2021. He denies doing so.
Prosecution lawyer Alysha McClintock told the court this afternoon, on the first day of Polkinghorne's trial, that Hanna was was “concerned about” her husband's infidelity.
At the time of her death, he was in "a long-term relationship” with Sydney sex worker Madison Ashton, McClintock said.
Hanna knew he saw her and she told friends about it.
“In a way, she was reluctantly accepting of the fact that he had sex with Ms Ashton when he was in Australia.”
And there were times in years prior where she joined the pair in threesomes in Australia, McClintock continued. She did this "for her husband", the Crown said - it was not something she enjoyed and she drank alcohol in order to cope with it.
There were also occasions of other threesomes, again to please Polkinghorne, McClintock said.
Hanna was becoming concerned about her husband’s “obsession” with group sex, she continued, adding Hanna didn't know Polkinghorne had an “extensive, covert relationship” with Ashton that had moved from professional to personal.
Hanna had a “reluctant tolerance” of her husband sleeping with Ashton, but did not know he was also seeing sex workers in Auckland, McClintock said.
“[This is] not a court of morals,” McClintock stressed - but the Crown said it "demonstrates this was a marriage in steep decline".
“Polkinghorne treated his wife with a level of disdain that, combined with his meth problem, explains why he would suddenly kill her when, perhaps to the outside world, it appeared these two had it all.”
Polkinghorne also financially supported Ashton without his wife’s knowledge, the Crown said, adding he was “very concerned about” Hanna’s use of finances while “he was using money freely on himself to no advantage to the marriage”.
The court also heard that the Crown did not believe Hanna used meth.
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