Tom Phillips came to a remote Te Anga farmhouse and asked two women to help him with his broken down 4WD while on the run from police, telling his apparently “disguised” children to stay inside the vehicle as the women tried to help, the husband of one says.
Lloyd Geange, speaking a day after Phillips was shot dead in an early morning confrontation with police on Te Anga Rd, said his wife Naomi Geange and daughter-in-law Kezia Geange contacted police after crossing paths with Phillips about three years ago.
He wasn’t sure if that was by calling 111 or the non-urgent 105 number but the women were “concerned” by how police responded, Lloyd Geange said.
The only follow-up was a phone interview two days later, he said.
“They were concerned about the lack of police follow-up… if they’d come out initially they could’ve perhaps found him still up that road, or perhaps his campsite.” "
In a statement, Police told the Herald the matter was investigated, including work to identify the vehicle allegedly involved.
“Police believe the enquiries undertaken, and method of interviewing the informant, were appropriate and did not require a face-to-face interview.
“Based on all evidence available, we were unable to confirm whether the male sighted was Phillips.”
Phillips arrived at the farmhouse saying his vehicle had broken down in the Tawarau Forest sidetracks, Geange said.
Geange’s family had farmed in the area for generations before he and his wife sold the property in 2023.
“[Naomi and Kezia] went up into the bush with him. In his vehicle were the three kids … they were wearing sunglasses and hats and were told to stay in the vehicle … a black Toyota 4WD.
“He said he was living off the grid.”
While helping Phillips the pair “started thinking it could be Tom”, Geange said.
They also believed the children were being disguised.
“It was a cloudy day and [the children] were wearing sunglasses.”
Geange later wondered if the vehicle breakdown was a ruse and Phillips was actually looking for food but had instead discovered people were home.
The women were “a little bit cautious” but not too worried, he said.
“At that stage he hadn’t been known to be holding arms or doing the so-called robberies that have been spoken of.
“He’s actually quite a pleasant man, in the early days. We know the family well, the parents. They are a really nice family.
”If he’d come out sooner it would’ve been a better outcome for him and the children.”
Taupō forestry worker Leon Wood told the Herald earlier today he’d been following the Phillips case for years out of a “passion for the children”.
Wood claimed he found Phillips three times while the father was in hiding.
“He did pull his rifle out on me once.”
Wood said he last found Phillips on August 30 at a bach just “down the road” from where he was shot and killed.
“It’s quite difficult, because he was always on the move, and wherever he saw my ute, he would do something different because he knew who I was
“The thing is that I didn’t want to cause any problems at all. I just wanted the recovery of the kids back to normality.”
Wood said he dressed up like a farmer while he was searching for Phillips and would drive around with binoculars.
“It is very difficult, because in between here and Kawhia, there are 100-something baches that you cannot see from any road. So I was always keen to know where they were. Used to be a little bit cheeky, stick my nose down roads and drives to look. And I found him, up the road here, it was amazing.”
Wood says he was only 400m away from Phillips.
“I had my binoculars, so he got out his binoculars and was looking at me, and the kids ran out on to the grass and he said, ‘Kids, come all get inside’.
“He walked back inside with the kids and he came back outside with a long thing. I couldn’t quite see what it was, because I was shaking… then I could see the belt waving in the wind. And I thought, I know what that is, it’s a rifle. So I got my ute and I just got out of there.”
Wood said having no phone coverage in the area made it difficult to contact police quickly after he spotted Phillips.
He believes several people, including farmers who have been hiring Phillips for fencing work, have been helping Phillips evade police.
“[Phillips has been hiding] mainly all along this Te Anga Rd and side roads.”
He described the outcome of the police shooting as devastating.
“[I was] devastated. I knew that would happen. I knew that he would pull the gun out first, but the biggest concern was that, if the police fire back they get the kids, not him. But, I mean, it’s not a good outcome.
“I came over this morning because I needed to close it off somehow… and I care for those kids.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.