Man who absconded together with his three kids in 2021 shot lifeless after firing on police, authorities say.
Revealed On 8 Sep 2025
A New Zealand father who absconded together with his three kids after a dispute together with his ex-partner almost 4 years in the past has been killed by police, authorities have stated.
Tom Phillips, who had been on the run within the New Zealand wilderness together with his kids since December 2021, was shot lifeless after he was confronted by police following a housebreaking within the rural city of Piopio, police stated on Monday.
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Phillips, who had been concerned in a dispute over custody of the kids, was killed after he fired “a number of photographs” on the first responding officer on the scene, inflicting him severe accidents, police stated.
Appearing Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers stated Philips, who had but to be formally recognized, was accompanied by one among his kids, who was not injured within the incident.
Rogers stated authorities have been urgently looking for to find his two different kids.
“Following the incident, now we have been involved with Phillips’s household and we can be working to supply them with all accessible assist,” Rogers stated.
In an announcement to Radio New Zealand, the kids’s mom, Cat, stated she was “deeply relieved” for her kids.
“They’ve been dearly missed daily for almost 4 years, and we’re trying ahead to welcoming them residence with love and care,” she stated.
Philips’s disappearance from the distant group of Marokop together with his three kids – now aged 12, 10 and 9 – gripped New Zealand and generated international headlines.
Regardless of plenty of sightings over time and appeals by his household, Philips, who was dealing with felony fees together with aggravated theft and illegal possession of a firearm, managed to repeatedly frustrate efforts by authorities to pinpoint his whereabouts.
Authorities had introduced the newest sighting of Philips lower than two weeks in the past, releasing safety digital camera footage showing to point out him and one among his kids breaking right into a rural retailer.
