Cop who caught Blessie killer Tony Robertson: 'He's dangerous and in denial about his crimes'

Tony Robertson in Rotorua High Court in 2006. Photo / The Daily Post

A former Tauranga detective sergeant described Blessie Gotingco's murderer as a "very cold, dangerous offender" who "remains in complete denial about his crimes".

In May this year, Tony Douglas Robertson, 28, was convicted by a jury of raping and murdering the 56-year-old North Shore mother of three on May 24 last year.

In December 2005, Robertson kidnapped and molested a 5-year-old girl and attempted to abduct two other children in Tauranga. He served almost eight years in jail and was released in December 2013.

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Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times yesterday, retired Detective Sergeant Pete Blackwell the officer in charge of the Tauranga kidnapping and molestation case, said he was not surprised by Robertson's latest crime.

"When I learned of Robertson's involvement in the sad, cold and callous offending in relation to Mrs Gotingco, sadly I was not surprised. Sadly, as his latest offending has shown, he is capable of serious violence.

Detective Sergeant Pete Blackwell described Blessie Gotingco's murderer as a "very cold, dangerous offender."

"Robertson has always been very high risk because he ... remains in complete denial about his crimes."

Mr Blackwell said the 2005 case was one he would never forget. "I remember that morning clearly, when every available police officer in the Western Bay joined the search to find the 5-year-old little girl. We searched everywhere we could think to find her."

Sergeant Dave Thompson, acting on a gut feeling, located the little girl in Robertson's car at Kaiate Falls, about 45 minutes after she was snatched.

Mr Blackwell said: "Robertson has always stuck in my mind as a very cold, dangerous offender. The whole investigation team back in 2005 shared my view that Dave Thompson's actions that day saved the victim's life."

Mr Blackwell said he and Detective Sergeant Trevor Brown interviewed Robertson at Tauranga Police Station.

"We spent many frustrating hours interviewing him but, despite our best efforts, we never got close to getting him to open up and tell us the truth in relation to any of his actions or motivations.

"Even at his trial he was standing in the dock, swearing and abusing the prosecutors, and blaming me and the other police for framing him and planting evidence.

"He took no ownership, even though the victim's underwear was found on the back floor of his motor vehicle. He couldn't even acknowledge that."

Mr Blackwell said Robertson was the sort of person to hold a grudge.

"I have dealt with many serious offenders, including multiple murderers and other serious violent offenders, but he is one of a few offenders in the back of my mind I thought that one day he would want to seek some revenge against me for what he believed was his wrongful imprisonment."

Mr Blackwell would not comment on the sentence Robertson received for his 2005 crimes.