The New Zealand Media Council has upheld a complaint against the Rotorua Daily Post over its coverage of a 50-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of Mona Blades. The article, published on May 31, 2025, titled Cold Case: Former cop’s dying regret, revisited theories by retired police officer Tony Moller, who believed a former colleague who is now deceased was involved in the case. This is a majority decision with a dissent.
The daughter of the former colleague, who was named in the article as the object of Mr Moller’s suspicions, lodged the complaint, arguing the article breached Media Council principles of accuracy, fairness, and balance. She said the front-page coverage unfairly implicated her father, who was never charged or identified as a suspect, and relied on unsubstantiated allegations. The article included claims that her father had disposed of a large object on his property, taken cement without permission, and made threatening remarks — none of which were proven. It also linked him to another unsolved murder, that of 13-year-old Tracey Ann Patient, based solely on a single line in a police email.
The Rotorua Daily Post responded by stating that it stands by its reporting and believes that it was balanced. It contacted Ms Davies offering her an opportunity to comment, and Ms Davies advised that she had nothing to add (Ms Davies responded saying that she received the offer only hours before the deadline). The Rotorua Daily Post noted that the 50th anniversary of a high-profile cold case is a reasonable time to publish a story about it.
While the Media Council found the article to be factually accurate in reporting Mr Moller’s theories and noting they were unproven, it ruled that naming the complainant’s father was unfair, breaching Principle (1). The Council stated that the article could have discussed Mr Moller’s regret and theories without identifying the complainant’s father, who was never charged or named by the police as a suspect, especially given the distress caused to his family and the lack of new evidence. This unfairness was compounded by referring to him as suspected by Mr Moller of another unsolved murder, again without foundation, causing undue harm.
The Media Council did not uphold complaints regarding the headline or the photograph used, finding both to be relevant and not misleading. The headline focused on Mr Moller’s regret, which was a central theme, and the photograph showed a legitimate moment during the investigation.