The judge is adjourning court for the day, but is reminding the jury to follow directions around not communicating with anyone about the case.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield is now cross-examining Detective Constable Brooke Everson.

He asked if she was someone who wore acrylic nails. She said she was not.

She was shown a nail that was found by police in a pocket of a dressing gown Hanna was wearing and it appeared to resemble the nails on the victim's body.

She thought it appeared to be more of a fingernail than a toenail.

She confirmed Hanna had hair clips in her hair. They were bobby pin-type clips.

Everson confirmed there were markings on Hanna's neck when the body was bagged and sealed.

She was asked why it was necessary to seize bags that were put around a victim's hands, feet and head. Everson said this was to check if any evidence had fallen off those body parts during transportation.

The purpose of taking nail clippings was to see if there was any DNA of another person under the nail clippings, in case there had been a struggle or a fight, Mansfield said.

"It may be," Everson said.

The clippings were taken by the pathologist. 

The neck swabs were to secure any DNA on the neck of Hanna, Mansfield said.

Everson said they were taken for testing.

The following day, Detective Constable Brooke Everson was to attend the post-mortem.

She retrieved the key then travelled to the mortuary and unlocked the fridge about 8.40am.

A Cat scan was carried out. The body remained in the body bag while this occurred. Body then returned to fridge and it was padlocked again.

The body was removed again at 9.42am to perform the post-mortem.

Present were Everson, two detectives, a pathologist and a mortuary technician. A police photographer was also present.

Exhibits were obtained during the post-mortem.

These included the security tag seal and name tag, the left- and right-foot paper bags, the bag from the head, bags from the left and right hand, a small piece of foil, the white robe and waist tie, a solid gold band, another band with stone and another band with four stones, a body bag, a hair clip, fingernail clippings from both hands, two blood samples, swabs from the neck, swabs from the fingers and a medical examination kit.

The items were individually bagged and sealed with tape. They were then locked in the patrol car and taken to the police's Auckland City exhibit store.

Everson later observed the body was missing an acrylic painted toenail from the right foot. They were painted "purpley-gray", she said.

Detective Constable Brooke Everson is now giving evidence. She was the officer in charge of Pauline Hanna's body on the day she was found dead.

Everson said she arrived at the address about 11.10am.

She took charge of the body and was responsible for its movement to the mortuary.

Upon arrival, she put on protective clothing, overalls, gloves, mask and booties.

She entered the property and saw the body on the floor of the entrance way.

Everson said the victim was on the ground covered by a blanket with a pillow under her head, lying on her back. She was wearing a white dressing gown tied in a knot at the waist with a robe waist band.

The detective constable had to move the duvet to make those observations.

The gown was pulled down around her waist. She had no underwear on beneath the gown.

Her head was tilted to the left and there were obvious markings on her neck. The markings were about 3cm in width with a criss-cross type pattern.

There appeared to be a cut to the left side on the bridge of her nose. It appeared reasonably fresh. It wasn't scabbed over. There was blood coming out of her left ear.

There was some bruising on her inner right thigh.

On her left hand there was blood between her fore and middle fingers. It didn't appear to be a cut. It was just blood.

It was then time to prepare the body for removal from the scene.

Before placing the body into the body bag, paper bags were put on the feet, hands and head to capture any forensic material that may fall off the body during transportation.

The bags were put on and then secured with tape.

The body was then placed in the body bag. Clothing and jewellery remained on the body and went into the body bag. The blanket remained at the scene.

Another police officer helped Everson put the body in the bag. It was then zipped up and a seal was placed on the bag to maintain the integrity so come post-mortem, it was clear nobody had opened that bag.

The body was then removed from the scene and loaded on to a hearse that was waiting outside the property.

The hearse then left. Everson followed with the undertaker on the journey to the mortuary.

The body was moved to the hearse at 3:25pm and arrived at the mortuary at 3.45pm.

Mortuary staff opened the fridge door and loaded the body. The door was then locked with a padlock. Everson seized the key to the padlock as an exhibit.

This happened at 3.54pm. Everson then left the mortuary.

Constable Max Jones is now giving evidence.

Jones said there was some confusion about which property they had to respond to.

Once they confirmed the property, he took a photo from outside the property.

As he approached the property, he saw ambulance staff working on the deceased.

He then went downstairs and photographed a BMW parked in the driveway.

He was tasked to go to the lower level of the property and look for a suicide note.

He took photos as he went. No suicide note was found. He was looking on counter tops and bench tops.

Jones went back outside and discussed doing a walk around outside the house, looking for signs of forced entry. None were found.

Jones saw Polkinghorne walk past the deceased and say something to the effect of "it looks like she moved".

He then went downstairs.

Jones observed the rope hanging from above in the foyer area but didn't see the other rope sitting on the stairs.

After the walk around the house, he remained outside the property.

He noticed there was breakfast in the midst of being prepared in the kitchen and a wine glass with red lipstick on it.

He is now looking at photos of property, one showing a bottle and glasses of wine. Another shows the toaster, kettle and open bags of bread.

The witness has now finished giving evidence.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield is now cross-examining the witness.

Gwillliam had been a police officer for 16 years at the time of this incident.

He had attended "at least" 10 to 20 hanging suicides in that time. About half were full suspension hangings. The rest were partial or incomplete hangings.

When Gwilliam arrived, police were dealing with the event as a hanging.

He informed the coroner police were at the scene of a suicide by hanging. He was instructing his staff to investigate a suicide by hanging on behalf of the coroner and the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) needed to be advised.

CIB staff took over once they arrived.

At 9.45am, Gwilliam was advised the scene was being treated as suspicious.

He was aware that a constable was taking a statement at the time from Polkinghorne and accepted that statement was completed at 10.24am.

Gwilliam couldn't recall the statement being handed to him by Constable Rowland.

Mansfield put to Gwilliam that the statement finished at 10.24am but by 9.45am, a detective constable was already treating the scene as suspicious, without having access to the statement. He agreed.

Ligature marks were described on Hanna's necks like "diamond shapes". Gwilliam thought that pattern might be the same as the one on the belt.

Polkinghorne told police where he had put the belt and it was found there, in the kitchen.

The witness has finished given evidence. The judge is now taking the afternoon adjournment.

Sergeant Chris Gwilliam is now taking the witness box.

Gwilliam said he responded to the call-out to Upland Rd as the shift supervisor.

Two patrol units had already arrived and St John was also on site.

He began delegating responsibilities, including for an officer to take a statement from the last person to see the deceased alive.

He then starting checking the scene for information for the coroner. 

Gwilliam, who arrived at the scene at 8.35am, checked the upstairs of the house. Another officer checked the lower level.

Gwilliam had to contact the coroner and the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).

He spoke to a detective constable, who notified Gwilliam that the incident was believed to be suspicious.

"A constable said there was no belt on the stairs. So I went and confirmed the belt had been moved by Polkinghorne into the kitchen," he said.

The scene had been handed over to the CIB so Gwilliam returned to his normal responsibilities.

His staff remained on site as scene guards.

Gwilliam had been looking for suicide notes during his search of the property. None were found.

Apart from the belt being moved, he was not aware of any other objects being moved or disturbed.

Ron Mansfield is now cross-examining Constable Danielle Gear for the defence.

Gear said the woman and man sitting outside the house were Polkinghorne's sister Ruth and her partner. Ruth's partner was the man who had flagged down the ambulance in the street outside.

Gear said a sergeant arrived at the property and began giving directions to more junior officers.

Gear asked Polkinghorne about the belt during the statement and he confirmed he had put it in the kitchen.

Gear confirmed that Polkinghorne was not trying to hide the belt when he walked up the stairs coiling the belt. She assumed he was going to get changed at that time.

Mansfield asked Gear if she was present when Polkinghorne said he undid the belt then went upstairs to undo the knot. She said she was not.

The witness has now finished giving evidence. 

Constable Danielle Gear is now giving evidence.

Gear is describing arriving at the scene and entering the property from Darwin Lane.

As others stated previously, Gear also says a male and female were outside the address and another male was inside with the deceased.

Gear observed the deceased briefly from the door but mainly stayed outside.

She also collected the paperwork confirming the patient's death from the paramedics.

"When we first arrived, I could hear a male crying or wailing," she said.

After the paramedics left, she saw Polkinghorne inside the property. He was talking to another officer about giving a statement.

She saw him in a gown before he asked to get changed, then saw him again when he was dressed. 

She saw Polkinghorne with a belt in his hands "twirling it up" into a ball and coming up the stairs towards where Gear was standing at the front door and towards the kitchen.

When she saw him again outside making his statement with Rowland, she noticed a cut or graze on his forehead. It looked like it had been "scuffed".

A detective told Gear they shouldn't go back into the house and the statement needed to be taken outside.

"I think they didn't want anyone to be coming in and out of the house, that's all I got told," she said. 

Gear called Rowland on his mobile. He then came outside and continued the statement.

Gear observed the pair while the statement was being given. Polkinghorne was pretty calm and answering questions. He took some phone calls while giving the statement.

Gear heard him describing that Hanna was on the chair.

"He said that he located her on the chair. That's the only thing I remembered."

Inside, she noticed the orange rope hanging down into the foyer area. 

"It was bright orange so your eyes kind of go straight to it."

She looked up to see where the rope was and how it was tied. It was kind of weaved through the balustrade at the top of the stairs, she said.

She also noticed a second piece of rope sitting on the stairs.

Not long after the statement was completed, they returned to the police station.

Gear recalled that Polkinghorne's son arrived at the address while he was giving his statement.

The son left shortly after with Polkinghorne's sister.

Constable Alexander Rowland is now recounting how he arrived at the property, seeing two people outside, and then seeing Polkinghorne was wailing and crying inside.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield said other witnesses described him as being composed. Rowland agreed, other than crying, he was composed.

"You tell us he appeared to be crying and upset and I think you used the work wailing," Mansfield said.

"That's what I observed," Rowland replied.

Rowland confirmed he took several photos of the scene on his phone, but did not note what time he took the photos.

"To be fair your notes are rather brief and cursory, correct?" Mansfield said.

"Yes," Rowland replied.

Until taking the statement, Rowland said he was hanging back as paramedics carried out their work.

He confirmed that Polkinghorne became upset during phone calls to notify people about his wife's death.

Rowland took Polkinghorne outside to complete the statement after being told he should not be wandering around the scene.

Rowland said he had been a police constable at this point for about six years. He had attended previous hangings. Some of them had been fully suspended hangings. At others, the victim had already been cut down.

He was aware that communication staff sometimes advised people to cut down a hanging victim. He was not surprised therefore to find Hanna lying on the ground upon his arrival, having been cut down by her husband.

Mansfield is now asking Rowland about the statement he took from Polkinghorne.

Rowland confirms the statement was written by himself, summarising answers given by Polkinghorne.

It was therefore as accurate as it could be, Rowland agreed.

He agreed with Mansfield that there was always room for mistakes to be made and confirmed the misspelling of Philip as Phillip in his statement.

At one point during the statement, another constable came and asked Polkinghorne about the belt. It had earlier been at the bottom of the stairs, but he confirmed coiling it up and putting it in the kitchen.

Polkinghorne was receiving a number of calls on his phone and dealing with his own work and patients, telling them he would be unavailable today.

Mansfield said Rowland then handed the statement to his sergeant. Rowland agreed this would have been the first time other officers became aware of Polkinghorne's version of events and how he found his wife.

In the statement, Polkinghorne told Rowland they had planned to go the gym that morning and his wife had been planning a holiday with friends.

The sergeant told Rowland the scene was suspicious.

"That thought was already being conveyed to you," Mansfield said.

"Yes," Rowland replied.

Rowland said it seemed like he was in a state of disbelief that his wife had taken her own life.