Tom Phillips, the New Zealand father who spent almost four years living off-grid in the King Country with his three children, was shot dead after a police interception on Monday that also led to the recovery of his children, authorities said. A leading legal expert has urged that the children not be forced to identify any adults who may have assisted the family while they were in hiding.
Police said the confrontation unfolded after what they described as an armed robbery at a farm supply store. Officers deployed road spikes; Phillips opened fire at close range and shot one officer in the head, leaving the officer in critical condition, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said. Phillips was then shot dead during the encounter. He was with his eldest daughter, Jayda, 12, at the time. Jayda directed police to a campsite about 2 kilometres away where the other two children, son Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, were found hiding, police said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said investigators have linked Phillips to a series of burglaries and that it is "apparent" he received outside help while evading detection. Police have released photographs of a campsite containing tarpaulin shelters, cooking equipment, gas bottles, and vehicle tyres; investigators said the site was likely a temporary camp and not the principal location where the family had been living for years.
University of Auckland law professor Mark Henaghan warned that any investigative steps involving the children must prioritise their welfare and not make them feel responsible for identifying adults who may have helped them. "I'm worried the children are going to be made to feel responsible for kind of identifying people who may well have helped them in good faith, and it's not their responsibility," Henaghan told the New Zealand Herald. He urged strict safeguards, including legal representation for the children during questioning, and warned of the risk of retraumatisation if they were later called as witnesses.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said an inquiry into how government agencies handled the case over the last four years was likely. "There's a number of questions I think that need answered, and so it is my expectation there would be an inquiry as to how government agencies have acted over the last four-year period," he told RNZ. Luxon said the probe should examine the roles of police and Oranga Tamariki, New Zealand's child protection agency.
All three children have been placed in the care of Oranga Tamariki, officials said. Police Minister Mark Mitchell said there was "a careful plan with everyone becoming involved at the right time in terms of making sure that the children are put on a really strong and healthy pathway to recovery." He added that the children had been exposed to things "that children in our country should not be."
Authorities have offered a reward of NZ$80,000 for information leading to the family's detection during the multi-year manhunt; police said no one claimed the reward. Investigators are now focusing on identifying anyone who may have supplied food, equipment or other assistance while the family lived in the King Country bush. Detective Saunders said Phillips was mobile and likely used multiple campsites, though police have confirmed only two sites so far.
Phillips and the children first vanished from the small coastal township of Marokopa in December 2021 amid a custody dispute. A previous disappearance in September 2021 prompted a large search after Phillips' truck was found abandoned on a beach; the family later emerged claiming they had been camping and Phillips was charged with wasting police resources, but he vanished again before a court appearance. Phillips had no legal custody of the children at the time of the December 2021 disappearance.
In 2023 Phillips was wanted in connection with an armed bank robbery during which he allegedly involved one of the children and shot at a member of the public while fleeing, police said. CCTV footage has also been used to link him to other break-ins to steal supplies, including items recovered from recent scenes.
The case drew divided public reaction in the small communities near Phillips' former home, with some residents and online supporters reportedly sympathetic to him. Commissioner Chambers rejected any suggestion of heroism, saying, "No one who does this to children, no one who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff, is a hero, simple as that."
A High Court judge on Monday night issued a temporary injunction restricting police and media from disclosing certain details of the case, a legal step aimed at safeguarding the investigation and the welfare of the children, court documents show. The children's mother, Catherine "Cat" Christey, issued a statement saying she was relieved and that the children had been "dearly missed every day for nearly four years" and would be welcomed home with "love and care," while expressing sadness at how events unfolded.
Police said negotiations with the children were handled by highly trained negotiators and that Jayda had been "very, very helpful" in advising officers on how to speak to her younger siblings. Saunders said there was a negotiation that resulted in the children coming out of hiding; earlier reporting indicated the family's son held a firearm when officers arrived.
Investigators said they would now concentrate on "putting the puzzle together" about how the family survived in the rugged terrain, how supplies were obtained, and who may have assisted them. Any identification of potential accomplices will need to balance criminal inquiries with the legal protections and welfare obligations owed to the children, legal experts and officials said.