John Riordan tells Alysha McClintock Hanna acted "completely different" around Polkinghorne.

He recalls being at the Upland Rd, Remuera home with his wife and having banter with Hanna, "and then Philip came in and Pauline withdrew within herself". 

"The mood of the day just went dead." 

Her demeanour changed "straight away" from bubbly to withdrawn, Riordan says.

"It was almost like she was careful about the words that she said for fear that she may say something wrong."

Justice Graham Lang adjourns the trial until 10am tomorrow when John Riordan will continue his evidence.

After Hanna told the family about the strangulation, she said she had no money, so couldn't leave Polkinghorne.

She then said he was remorseful and said it wouldn't happen again.

John Riordan says Hastings Hospital would have jumped at the chance of hiring Pauline Hanna and he was "strongly encouraging her to come home".

"I felt that she was very nervous about the idea of leaving Philip."

When she told her friends her husband had shown remorse, John Riordan told her that if he'd done it once, he'd do it to you again.

"We see this time and time again."

What was his wife Pheasant's reaction to this? asks McClintock.

He doesn't recall, he says, he was focused on Hanna's safety:  "getting her out and getting her home", in his words.

They carried on with the dinner but talked about the "possible permutations" of getting Hanna back to Hawke's Bay. 

But she wanted to get back to Auckland, John Riordan remembers.

He confirms Hanna was drinking and had had a couple of glasses of wine.

Afterwards, the Riordans went home. Pauline was staying at Porter's, a boutique hotel connected to the restaurant.

In response to questions from Auckland Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock, John Riordan says when they arrived, Hanna was at the restaurant with a family friend, who left soon after.

The conversation began with Hanna's mother, who was suffering from dementia.

"It was clear that she wanted to tell us about what was going on in her life," John Riordan says.

She then started talking about difficulties and arguments she was having with Polkinghorne.

Hanna said she had to be "very very careful" around her husband, otherwise he would blow out, John Riordan tells the court.

"What she was saying was becoming more and more serious."

"Then she stopped talking, and did this," and, like his wife earlier, John Riordan places his hands on his neck.

"Then she said 'he tried to strangle me'."

Riodan is 100%  confident Hanna said the words: "he tried to strangle me".

"I just said to her, pack up your bags, you're coming home with us."

John Riordan said to Hanna that if he'd done it once, he'd do it again.

John Riordan says Hanna told them she was at home when her husband tried to strangle her.

On that point, Corbett is free to go.

The Crown now calls John Riordan, the husband of Victoria Pheasant Riordan, who told the court today how Hanna had claimed Polkinghorne had placed his hands on her neck in what she interpreted as a threat that he could strangle her at any time.

The trial heard earlier John Riordan, his wife and son Connor and Hanna were at a January 2020 dinner at Malo in Havelock North, where the hands on the neck were mentioned.

Corbett says the practice was 100% behind Polkinghorne and trying to engineer the best possible retirement for him.

Mansfield asks if Polkinghorne was ultimately offered $450,000  upon retirement. Corbett isn't sure.

But Corbett agrees the other specialists received more like $650,000. He agrees Polkinghorne may have found that hard to take on a personal and professional level, given his longstanding involvement with Auckland Eye.  

Corbett agrees he told police he never saw Polkinghorne consume drugs or observed any behaviour that suggested he had used drugs.

He further agrees there was never any criticism of how he treated his patients or his skill as a surgeon.

And referring to the last time he saw Hanna and Polkinghorne, in mid-March 2021, he agrees they seemed happy.

Mansfield says the legal costs were more than the specialist who left received in remuneration, so there was criticism of the way Auckland Eye had managed it. 

But Corbett pushes back, saying the departure of the two ophthalmologists was "extremely unexpected" and a number of circumstances led to the shareholders agreement being rewritten.

The practice was working with Polkinghorne on "the most suitable, equitable way" for his exit when the two ophthalmologists left unexpectedly.

The departure of the two ophthalmologists and their request for an "extreme" sum of money created huge issues and endangered the company, necessitating legal advice, Corbett agrees.

But Corbett says Auckland Eye had managed the difficult situations well.

"It was matter of being patient and taking stock of the situation and making decisions moving forward," he says.

Mansfield says he is not trying to be critical of the management of Auckland Eye, but is trying to work out if the exit of the two eye doctors would have affected Polkinghorne's retirement plans.

Corbett says there were "many, many balls in the air" including capital and land issues, but concedes Polkinghorne may have seen the the exit of the two shareholders as a "substantial threat" to his exit plans.

Corbett had discussions with Hanna over her husband's retirement worries and he wanted to ensure Polkinghorne was being looked after and managing his stress.

Corbett told the police that Hanna had told him Polkinghorne was not going to be leaving without the same payout as the other two ophthalmologists, who left amid acrimonious circumstances and an acrimonious legal battle in 2019.

Polkinghorne was stressed when the two specialists left in difficult circumstances in 2019, because their payouts meant the practice was not so well-placed to pay him out on his proposed retirement a  few years later, Corbett agrees.

In his interview with police, Corbett spoke of a strategic planning day in 2020, part of which Polkinghorne had slept through.

He didn't see it himself but it was reported to him as a change of behaviour. Most of his awareness of Polkinghorne's behavioural change, Corbett says, was hearsay.

He agrees the room hosting the strategic planning day where Polkinghorne reportedly fell asleep was "quite stuffy".

Ophthalmology requires "incredible intelligence", Corbett agrees, and a lot of hard work as well and Polkinghorne was internationally respected for his work.

Despite his conduct in the operating theatre no longer being considered appropriate, Mansfield asks, was Polkinghorne very focused on his patients and achieving good outcomes for them? Corbett agrees.

Returning to Polkinghorne's weight loss about 2017 and 2018, Corbett admits he was not aware Polkinghorne and Hanna had become very focused on their diet and personal training regimens.

Corbett spoke to police in mid-June 2021, about two months after Hanna died. The intervention with Polkinghorne was about two years before that.

Operating on the eye is very detailed work, requiring a great deal of care and patience, Corbett agrees in response to Mansfield's questions, but pushes back on Mansfield's assertion that things can "easily go wrong".

"I think that we understand that the risk profile - the benefit profile - of what we're dealing with, and some operations carry with them greater risk than others," Corbett says.