Pauline Davies against the Rotorua Daily Post
Case Number: 3767
Council Meeting: 8 September 2025
Decision: Upheld
Publication: Daily Post
Principle:
Accuracy, Fairness and Balance
Headlines and Captions
Photographs and Graphics
Ruling Categories:
Accuracy
Balance, Lack Of
Headlines and Captions
Photographs
Unfair Coverage
Overview
1. On 31 May 2025 the Rotorua Daily Post published an article titled Cold Case: Former cop’s dying regret.
2. Ms Pauline Davies alleges that the article breached the following Media Council principles: Principle (1) Accuracy, Fairness and Balance;
Principle (6) Headlines and Captions; Principle (11) Photographs and Graphics.
The complaint is upheld by a majority under Principle (1).
The Article
3. The article revisits a 50-year-old cold case on the anniversary of Mona Blades’ disappearance. It starts with a claim that one of the last conversations a former Policeman, Mr Tony Moller, had with his daughter before he died. Mr Moller told his daughter that he regrets failing to find “the smoking gun” to prove his theory about the disappearance of Ms Mona Blades.
4. The article notes that more than 500 suspects were investigated, and Mr Moller strongly believed that his former colleague Mr Derrick Hinton was involved. Mr Hinton’s family strongly reject this. Mr Moller retired from the New Zealand Police and conducted his own investigation. He compiled his concerns and went to Detective Inspector Mark Loper. The email exchange between the two were released to the Rotorua Daily Post under the Official Information Act 1982.
5. The article outlined the allegations supporting Mr Moller’s theory, namely;
a. Mr Hinton was seen with another man in a green Swanndri in the mid-1970s dumping a “large black polythene article” described as “big enough to have been a body” into a hole on Mr Hinton’s property. A concrete mixer was operating nearby.
b. Mr Moller says Mr Hinton had taken several bags of cement from another Kawerau man’s garage without asking.
c. Mr Moller alleges that Mr Hinton grabbed another woman by the throat and told someone he could “make people disappear”.
6. The article also accused Mr Hinton of being involved in the unsolved murder of 13-year-old Ms Tracey Ann Patient whose body was found in the bush of the Waitakere Ranges in January 1976. The article reported that Mr Hinton’s family adamantly deny these allegations.
7. As a result of Mr Moller’s allegations, the Police used excavators to drill into the laundry floor of a Kawerau property where Mr Hinton lived in the 1970s. Nothing was found. The article reported that although the Police closed their inquiries into Mr Moller’s claims, the Blades case remained open.
8. The article then proceeded to outline other lines of investigation such as:
a. The shooter at St Cuthberts College, Mr Freeman.
b. The search for an orange Datsun was also mentioned.
c. Another person of interest named Charlie Hughes who was interviewed by Police four times over a number of years but was never charged.
d. In 2003 that the Police investigated a report that Blades’ name had been found etched on a garage floor in a Huntly House, which was later proved to be futile.
e. In 2018 Detective Inspector Loper revisited the case and more attention was brought to the cold case through a television documentary. The documentary suggested crucial evidence could have been overlooked by Police. Alternative theories were provided to Police by other witnesses, the documentary alleged that they were not followed up.
9. After the documentary, another possible witness came forward to provide another alternative theory about Blades’ disappearance. The witness was interviewed by the Rotorua Daily Post in 2018, and his details were provided to Police, but the information did not lead to any progress in the case.
10. The article noted that the documentary revealed that the photographs of Blades released at the time of her disappearance were not the most accurate reflection of her appearance at the time.
11. The Rotorua Daily Post approached the Blades family for comment on this article and did not receive a response.
12. The article concluded by providing the most recent update on the Blades case. It explained that Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley of the Bay of Plenty Police is now in charge of the Blades case. DSS Yardley reported that members of the public were providing information about the case following media coverage, and the Police would review the information accordingly. He also encouraged anyone with any information about the case to come forward. A number was provided in the article to contact the Police if any member of the public had anything to share.
The Complaint
13. Ms Davies is the daughter of Mr Hinton. Ms Davies complains that the entire front page of was taken up by the allegations made by Mr Moller against Mr Hinton.
14. Ms Davies notes that a sub-headline in the online edition said that there is no evidence supporting the allegations, but the 'smoking gun' comment leaves an impression that the evidence is there, it just has not been found yet.
15. The article mentioned a website that Mr Hinton’s family set up to refute the claims against him. Ms Davies says there were photos and documents on the website which proved that the allegations against Mr Hinton were false. This website is no longer accessible.
16. Ms Davies points out that the current Police view does not implicate Mr Hinton. However, the front page and headline implicated her father without evidence. Ms Davies questions why his involvement was suggested in the front page and headline. Ms Davies labels the article’s approach as sensationalist and tabloid.
17. The article published a photograph of Mr Moller talking to a Policeman during the search of Mr Hinton’s property, despite the Police not locating anything of substance relevant to the investigation.
18. The article also linked Mr Hinton to the disappearance of Tracey Anne Patient without any basis other than one line in an email on the Police file.
The Response
19. The Rotorua Daily Post responded by stating that they stand by their reporting and believe that it was balanced. They contacted Ms Davies offering her an opportunity to comment and Ms Davies advised that she had nothing to add.
20. 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. As for the introduction, the article clearly referred to the fact that there was no evidence or body found. It also referred to Moller’s claims as a theory.
21. The Rotorua Daily Post advised Ms Davies that they would consider writing a follow-up story which could include an interview with Ms Davies.
Ms Davies Reply
22. Ms Davies responded to the Rotorua Daily Post further emphasising that Mr Moller’s claims were baseless. Ms Davies also alleged that Mr Moller had health issues which contributed to his claims against Mr Hinton. Ms Davies provided this information to the reporter and was disappointed that this information was not published in the article.
The Discussion
Principle (1) Accuracy, Fairness and Balance
23. Ms Davies’ complaint under this principle will be dealt with in three parts. Firstly, whether the article was accurate. Secondly, whether the article was balanced. Thirdly, whether the article was fair.
Accuracy
24. Ms Davies alleges that the article breaches Principle (1) because of the information published about Mr Hinton. Ms Davies also did not accept that as Mr Hinton had previously been linked to Ms Blades’ disappearance in the media, that it justified referencing him again in the article.
25. The Blades’ disappearance is one of New Zealand’s most high-profile missing persons cases. The article outlined multiple allegations against multiple suspects throughout the years. Publication of the allegations against the suspects named, including Mr Hinton can be considered accurate because the article explained that they were not charged. For Mr Hinton in particular, the article stated that it was a theory and the claims made by Mr Moller were not substantiated.
26. Ms Davies also mentioned that the “deathbed regret” was not corroborated and that statements from Mr Moller’s daughter should not have been published. Mr Moller’s daughter was interviewed for this article and her reflections from her father’s deathbed are consistent with allegations previously made by Mr Moller. The comments, in so far as they relate to Mr Moller and his beliefs, can therefore be considered accurate.
27. Accordingly, the Media Council considers the article, on the whole, to be accurate.
Balance
28. Ms Davies said the Rotorua Daily Post only gave her a few hours to comment. The Council is not aware of any particular time pressure for publishing the story, so the pressure to respond in a short timeframe could be seen as unreasonable. In responding to Ms Davies’ complaint, the Rotorua Daily Post offered Ms Davies the chance to be interviewed and said it would consider a follow up story. Ms Davies did not take up that offer, and we do not consider the offer itself persuasive, given there was no firm offer to publish anything. However, given the quotes setting out Ms Davies point of view were included in the story, as well as references making it clear the theory was largely discredited, we do not find the article in breach of the balance requirement in Principle (1).
Fairness
29. The question of whether it is fair to publish the names and details of people that were never charged and link them to the investigation must be raised. Mr Hinton was never charged in relation to the disappearance of Ms Blades, and apart from carrying out the dig at Mr Moller’s request, did not see fit to formally investigate him. Yet the article went into significant detail about the allegations made by Mr Moller against Mr Hinton, naming him. Naming previous persons of interest and publishing unsubstantiated theories around their connection to the disappearance is in certain circumstances unfair. Regardless of whether the article labels it as a theory, it still heightens the speculation around their involvement. The impact that this has on people that were not charged, and in this case their families, is understandably distressing. The article could have referred to the general circumstances of unsuccessful inquiries such as Mr Moller allegations, without specifically naming Mr Hinton.
30. It is noted that Mr Moller’s allegations against Mr Hinton have been previously published and dismissed. Indeed, the much publicised digging up of Mr Hinton’s floor based on Mr Moller’s allegations of a body being buried there revealed nothing. The purpose of rehashing Mr Moller’s allegations in great detail including naming Mr Hinton is therefore unclear. Plainly the Police decided not to take Mr Moller’s discredited allegations any further.
31.To compound the unfairness the article also implied Mr Hinton’s involvement in another homicide not connected to the disappearance of Ms Blades. Mr Hinton was never charged for this alleged crime either.
32. It can be legitimate, in certain circumstances, for the media to keep cold cases alive and to refer to suspects. There is certainly no rule against that if there is some factual basis for a suspect to be named, such as a previous charge or statement by the Police that the person was a suspect.
33. However, this article was deeply unfair to Mr Hinton and his family. He is named as the object of one man’s discredited and unsubstantiated theory, and this is compounded by reference to him having yet another theory about Mr Hinton committing a second terrible crime. In these particular circumstances it was unfair to name Mr Hinton as the subject of those theories and cause grief to his family. As we have stated, the unsolved murder and Mr Moller’s regret could all have been referred to without stating the name of Mr Hinton. The article could still have referred to Mr Moller and the Mona Blades case without naming Mr Hinton.
34. It was therefore the unnecessary naming of him on the flimsy and entirely unsubstantiated theory of one deceased man which was unfair, and which warrants an uphold.
35. This complaint is upheld under Principle (1).
Principle (6) Headlines and captions
36. Headlines, sub-headings, and captions should accurately and fairly convey the substance or a key element of the report they are designed to cover. A headline that focuses on serious allegations in a case with high public interest must therefore be worded with care.
37. The key element of the article is about Mr Moller’s regret. The headline, therefore, accurately describes a key element of the article. As we have said, if the article had not named Mr Hinton, there could be no complaint about it, and the headline does not mention or imply his name. It is not the recounting of Mr Moller having a regret that is the issue, it is about the reiteration of his discredited allegations against a named former colleague.
38. Headlines provide a brief description of the article and can also be a way to entice readers to engage with the content. This headline is both an accurate description of the article and a hook to draw readers in. The Media Council finds there is no breach under Principle (6).
Principle 11: Photographs and graphics
39. Ms Davies made a complaint under this principle because the article published a photograph of Mr Moller talking to a Policeman during the search of Mr Hinton’s property. The photograph published is relevant to the substance of the article. The photograph, in itself, was not manipulated or distressing.
40. The complaint is not upheld under Principle (11).
Decision: The complaint is upheld under Principle (1).
Dissent by Tim Watkin, Rosemary Barraclough, Guy MacGibbon, Hank Schouten:
Reviewing cold cases is commonplace and ensures victims, such as Mona Blades, and unsolved cases are not forgotten. While we sympathise
with the distress felt by the complainant and her family, we believe ruling the article is unfair under Media Council principles goes too
far. It sends a worrying signal to newsrooms that they cannot fairly report on unproven crime theories or use details already on the public
record. Journalists are rightly taught to be as precise as possible in their reporting. Mr Hinton’s name and the theory of his involvement
in Mona Blades’ disappearance have been widely reported and is even on the Mona Blades Wikipedia page. Mr Moller’s theory was taken
seriously by police. It has become part of the story of an investigation into a crime that remains tragically unsolved. In that context, it
was fair to repeat details of Mr Moller’s theory, including Mr Hinton’s name.
We were also influenced by the fact the feature was not inaccurate, other unproven theories were also discussed, and the article clearly said Mr Moller’s theory was unproven and criticised. The public can be left to make up its own mind as to its reliability without the council acting as gatekeeper. The complainant was offered the opportunity to comment and the potential of a follow-up story. She declined both.
Ultimately, it’s in the public interest for news media to report on cold cases. Podcast and magazines are full of such reporting, including re-examining unproven theories. We disagree with the majority that this example of everyday journalism falls short of Media Council standards.
Council members considering the complaint were Hon Raynor Asher (Chair), Guy MacGibbon, Marie Shroff, Reina Vaai, Hank Schouten, Rosemary
Barraclough, Tim Watkin, Ben France-Hudson, Richard Pamatatau, Judi Jones
Scott Inglis left the room due to a conflict of interest.