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# Face of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/face-of-the-day-1554/
- Published: 2026-08-11T18:30:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-11T18:30:04.000Z
- Description: Philip Polkinghorne got a call midway through from his friend, defence lawyer Tony Bouchier, who told him his house was a crime scene and he was likely a suspect. Police had not told him that, he said.
- Author: Good Oil Staff
- Tags: Face of the Day

> Philip Polkinghorne says he began to delete photos and data on his phone from sex worker Madison Ashton when he realised he was the [“prime suspect” in his wife’s death](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/528771/how-auckland-eye-surgeon-philip-polkinghorne-came-to-be-on-trial-for-the-murder-of-his-wife-pauline-hanna?ref=goodoil.news).  
>  
> He told a [coroner](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/868763/inquiry-into-death-of-pauline-hanna-to-begin-today-at-coroners-court?ref=goodoil.news) he felt “betrayed” by the police who had been interviewing him for several hours before a defence lawyer friend called him to tell he was likely a suspect.  
>  
> Polkinghorne was found [not guilty two years ago of the 2021 murder of Pauline Hanna](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/528770/jury-finds-philip-polkinghorne-not-guilty-of-murder?ref=goodoil.news) and was giving evidence today at an [inquest into her death](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/881363/philip-polkinghorne-breaks-down-at-inquest-into-his-wife-pauline-hanna-s-death?ref=goodoil.news).  
>  
> He did not testify during the trial.  
>  
> His lawyer, Ron Mansfield, asked him to explain why he had deleted pictures and data from his phone after Hanna’s death.  
>  
> “It was embarrassing. I wanted to keep it private.”  
>  
> There were also messages from other sex workers, he said.  
>  
> “It had compromising material that I didn’t want anyone to see,” he said.  
>  
> Polkinghorne said he had gone to the police station to be interviewed the same day he found his wife.  
>  
> He got a call midway through from his friend, defence lawyer Tony Bouchier, who told him his house was a crime scene and he was likely a suspect.  
>  
> Police had not told him that, he said.  
>  
> “I felt I had been betrayed and that they had taken advantage of my vulnerability,” he said.  
>  
> RNZ

[Read More](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/961996/philip-polkinghorne-deleted-sex-worker-photos-when-he-realised-he-was-a-suspect-in-wife-s-death?ref=goodoil.news)