Almost $150,000 pledged to help Gotingco family fight Government

Saturday, 28 May 2016

Auckland man Antonio Gotingco plans to take legal action against the Department of Corrections for the death of his wife.

A Givealittle page set up to fund a private review of the management of Blessie Gotingco's killer has reached almost $150,000 – in little more than a week.

On Friday last week, Antonio Gotingco set up the fundraiser to ask the New Zealand public to contribute to an independent review of the 'mismanagement and non-monitoring of evil' that his family say enabled the rape and murder of Blesilda 'Blessie' Gotingco in May 2014.

Blessie was raped and murdered by Tony Robertson as she was returning from work to her Birkdale home on May 24, 2014.

If the review showed the family had legal grounds, the family would file a civil case against Corrections for Blessie's wrongful death.

Just more than a week later on Saturday morning, the amount pledged had reached $146,426 with donations from over 4,000 people.

The Gotingco family says Corrections failed to properly monitor Tony Robertson, and it was only a matter of time before he would commit another crime.

* Funds for Blessie's family fight against Govt reaches $100,000**

*** Blessie Gotingco's killer Tony Robertson loses appeal bid

* Blessie Gotingco: family remember a year after her death

* Blessie's killer could have been locked up for good

* Blessie's killer 'one of New Zealand's worst'**

Antonio Gotingco, Blessie's husband, said he would follow murderer Tony Robertson 'to the gates of hell' during an interview on Newshub's The Nation.

In an open letter to New Zealanders, the Gotingcos called for support as they raised money to undertake their own review of the case.

Gotingco, 56, was raped an murdered by Robertson as she was returning from work to her Birkdale, Auckland, home on May 24, 2014.

Her body was dumped in the Birkenhead Cemetery.

Robertson was released from prison five months earlier after serving a jail term for abducting and indecently assaulting a child and was subject to an extended supervision order which included 24-hour GPS tracking.

Antonio Gotingco said Corrections didn't properly monitor Robertson, and it was only a matter of time before he would commit another crime.

He said while it was the family's hope that no other family would experience the tragedy they went through, there was no guarantee 'unless we get our acts together'.

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