When Tom Phillips disappeared into dense bush in New Zealand’s Waikato region with his three children just before Christmas 2021, following a dispute with their mother, it’s unlikely he foresaw things ending in his own death almost four years later after a shootout with police.
As he increasingly resorted to crime to sustain their off-the-grid life, he accumulated a string of offences which seemingly made armed confrontation inevitable.
His three children, Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, were 8, 7, and 5 when they went into hiding. They are now 12, 10, and 9.
One of them—currently unnamed—is helping police with their inquiries while searchers look for the other two….
4-Year Manhunt Ends With Shooting of New Zealand Fugitive
