Blessie case: Family gather to share grief

Blessie Gotingco

The three children of slain mother Blessie Gotingco were last night reunited with their father at their family home where a steady flow of relatives, friends and neighbours came to pay their respects.

Her daughter Bea told the Herald the family were spending time together after her father Antonio's arrival home from the Philippines, where he had been on a work trip.

"Family has just arrived. We just really want to be with the family now. [Apart from] the obvious that we're devastated, we can't really say anything further than that."

Her brothers Vincent and John briefly left the Salisbury Rd home to thank neighbours.

The pair walked down the road with a family friend, stopping briefly at the memorial for their mother at the entrance of Inwards Reserve.

Later in the afternoon, one of the sons hugged neighbours Jacqueline and Rudi Brand, who were with their 15-month-old son Liam, in the driveway.

Struggling to speak through tears, Mr Brand said: "He was upset." He added: "They are lovely people, Antonio is a lovely, lovely guy. It's just so unfair."

Investigators confirmed that Mrs Gotingco took the bus from Lower Albert Street to Birkdale just after 7pm on Saturday night. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A family friend, who declined to be named, told the Herald: "Now that she's [Blessie] actually been found, she's being looked after.

"The father's here now and the three children really found it too hard. They were struggling.

"They've just said to the police 'do your job'. They're grieving at the moment."

Two cousins arrived last night with several pizzas for the large group of relatives and friends who had gathered inside the home.

Several neighbours dropped off flowers and at the Salisbury Rd entrance of Inwards Reserve - which the Gotingco home backs onto - about 20 heart-shaped cards and several bouquets of flowers had been pinned to a fence for a memorial to Mrs Gotingco.