23 May 2016

Fundraiser for Blessie's family tops $120k

12:42 pm on 23 May 2016

A fundraising page set up to help the family of Blessie Gotingco take the Corrections Department to court has raised more than $120,000 since it began on Friday.

Photo of Blessie at funeral.

A photo of Blessie Gotingco at her funeral. Photo: RNZ / Mani Dunlop

Tony Robertson was out on special release conditions, after serving eight years in jail for convictions relating to abduction, indecent assault and attempted kidnapping of children, when he ran over, raped, then murdered the Auckland mother of three in 2014.

Last year Robertson was sentenced to at least 24 years in jail.

A government inquiry found no failings in the management of Robertson after his release from prison on child abuse charges, six months before he murdered Mrs Gotingco.

But it said more could have been done while he was still locked up.

When the report was released, Mrs Gotingco's husband Antonio read a statement saying it was the ineptitude of Corrections which lead to his wife's death.

The family was disappointed with the report and a family spokesperson said they wanted to know, if Robertson was being monitored, how it was possible for him to do what he did.

Antonio Gotingco launched the public donation campaign on the give-a-little website to raise money to try to take Corrections to court over its handling of Robertson.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs