Thomas Phillips | 'Evil Genius' Father and His Three Children Disappear in New Zealand

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[00:00:29] Dr. Tyed Grande

[00:00:36] This is True Crime Psychology and Personality,

[00:00:40] where we discuss the pathology behind some of the most horrific crimes

[00:00:44] and those who committed them from a scientifically informed perspective.

[00:00:49] I'm Dr. Tyed Grande.

[00:00:51] I have a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision

[00:00:55] and a licensed professional counselor of mental health.

[00:00:58] Dr. Tyed Grande, that's my YouTube channel.

[00:01:01] Today's question is, can I analyze the case of Thomas Phillips?

[00:01:05] First I'll look at the background of this case,

[00:01:07] move to the timeline of the incident, then offer my analysis.

[00:01:11] Thomas Callum Phillips was born on May 6, 1987

[00:01:15] and was raised in New Zealand.

[00:01:17] He went by the name Tom.

[00:01:19] He was an experienced hiker, hunter, and survivalist

[00:01:23] and spent a lot of time alone in rural areas.

[00:01:26] Sometime around 2010, Tom married a woman named Catherine.

[00:01:30] They had a daughter named Jada in 2013,

[00:01:33] a son named Maverick in 2014,

[00:01:36] and a daughter named Ember in 2016.

[00:01:40] The family lived in a small town 34 miles south of Hamilton

[00:01:44] on the North Island of New Zealand.

[00:01:46] They spent a lot of time with Tom's family members

[00:01:49] who owned a farm in a rural area called Marocopa.

[00:01:53] This is 73 miles southwest of Hamilton.

[00:01:56] The town of Marocopa itself sits on the coast

[00:02:00] and has a population of 69.

[00:02:03] In 2018, Tom and Catherine separated.

[00:02:06] Catherine moved to the South Island of New Zealand

[00:02:09] as Tom retained custody of the children

[00:02:12] and homeschooled them.

[00:02:14] Now moving to the timeline of the incident.

[00:02:16] In September of 2021, Tom and his children went missing.

[00:02:20] Relatives who worked on the Phillips family farm in Marocopa

[00:02:24] last saw Tom and his children on September 11.

[00:02:27] On September 13, Tom's Toyota Hilux pickup truck

[00:02:31] was found on a nearby beach on the west coast of the North Island.

[00:02:35] It was positioned below the high tide line pointed toward the sea.

[00:02:39] Waves were slamming into it.

[00:02:41] The keys to the vehicle were found under the driver's side floor mat,

[00:02:45] therefore the local men who found the vehicle

[00:02:48] were able to back it up on the beach.

[00:02:50] People grew concerned that Tom and his children

[00:02:52] may have been swept out to sea

[00:02:54] and the authorities started a massive search effort.

[00:02:57] They used helicopters, fixed wing aircraft,

[00:03:00] drones and boats to look for the family without success.

[00:03:05] The search was suspended on September 24.

[00:03:08] On the morning of September 30,

[00:03:10] Tom and his three children were spotted on Mangatowa Road.

[00:03:14] Later that morning, they all showed up at the Phillips family farm

[00:03:18] as if nothing happened.

[00:03:20] According to one of Tom's relatives,

[00:03:22] Tom claimed that he had been living in a tent

[00:03:25] about nine miles from where his truck had been found

[00:03:27] because he wanted space to clear his head.

[00:03:30] Some have argued that given the size of Tom's head

[00:03:33] a lot of space would have been required to clear it.

[00:03:36] Maybe he was telling the truth.

[00:03:38] A friend of Tom said that Tom's truck had been stolen

[00:03:41] from a parking lot near his tent,

[00:03:43] but most people believe that Tom put the truck on the beach

[00:03:46] to avoid being found.

[00:03:48] The failed search effort had cost the government

[00:03:50] hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[00:03:52] Tom was arrested and charged in connection

[00:03:55] with wasting police resources

[00:03:57] and was facing up to three months in jail.

[00:04:00] The public had mixed feelings about the charges.

[00:04:02] Some people wondered how it could be illegal

[00:04:05] to take one's children on a camping trip.

[00:04:08] They recognized that Tom should have told family members

[00:04:10] where he was taking his children,

[00:04:12] but did not view that failure as a crime.

[00:04:15] Other people thought that Tom was cold and callous

[00:04:18] for risking the lives of searchers

[00:04:21] and wasting government money.

[00:04:23] On December 9, 2021,

[00:04:25] Tom and his children went missing again.

[00:04:28] The police decided not to search for them

[00:04:30] because Tom informed his family

[00:04:32] that he was going to head out for a while.

[00:04:35] He was last seen by family members on January 10, 2022.

[00:04:39] On January 12, Tom missed his court appearance

[00:04:42] in the town of Te Kuita.

[00:04:45] A warrant was issued for his arrest.

[00:04:47] His pickup truck was found on Mangatoba Road,

[00:04:50] but there was no sign of Tom or his children.

[00:04:53] On February 9, Tom showed up alone

[00:04:56] at the Phillips family farm and picked up supplies.

[00:04:59] He did not reveal where his children were,

[00:05:02] but said they were fine.

[00:05:04] It appeared as though Tom was getting assistance

[00:05:06] from other people in the community.

[00:05:08] Otherwise, he would have been in over his head.

[00:05:11] The police could not find him,

[00:05:13] and they were not receiving helpful information from the public

[00:05:16] like everyone was just sticking their heads in the sand.

[00:05:19] Many residents in the area were sympathetic to Tom's cause,

[00:05:22] believing that he had been unfairly charged

[00:05:25] and that his children were probably having a great time

[00:05:28] on a magical vacation in the wilderness.

[00:05:31] On May 16, 2023, two people wearing motorcycle helmets

[00:05:34] walked into a bank in Te Kuita.

[00:05:37] This bank was less than a half a mile from the courthouse,

[00:05:40] where Tom had failed to show for his appearance back in January 2022.

[00:05:45] One of the visitors to the bank was a male

[00:05:47] and the other appeared to be a young female.

[00:05:50] When the bank employees asked them to remove their helmets,

[00:05:53] the mysterious visitors produced firearms

[00:05:55] and conducted a robbery.

[00:05:57] They fled the bank with cash stuffed in their pockets.

[00:06:01] As they ran down the street,

[00:06:03] money was falling out all over the place.

[00:06:05] About $1,000 was lost altogether.

[00:06:08] One person noticed this and asked the young female

[00:06:10] if she needed help picking up the cash.

[00:06:13] Apparently this person was not aware of the robbery part.

[00:06:16] At this point, a supermarket owner realized what was going on

[00:06:20] and tackled the male perpetrator.

[00:06:23] The female perpetrator responded by producing a firearm.

[00:06:26] It's not exactly clear what happened next,

[00:06:28] but gunshots were fired by at least one of the perpetrators.

[00:06:32] The supermarket owner disengaged

[00:06:34] and the perpetrators ran to a parking lot

[00:06:36] where they climbed on a motorcycle and drove away.

[00:06:39] Four months later, the police announced

[00:06:41] that the male perpetrator was Tom Phillips

[00:06:43] and charged him with aggravated robbery,

[00:06:45] aggravated wounding,

[00:06:47] and unlawful possession of a firearm.

[00:06:50] The police never identified the second perpetrator,

[00:06:52] but did confirm that she was female.

[00:06:55] Some people wondered if this perpetrator

[00:06:57] was Tom's oldest daughter, Jada.

[00:07:00] On August 2, 2023, Tom was seen driving

[00:07:03] a Stonwyn-Bronze 2003 Toyota Hilux

[00:07:07] on New Zealand's North Island.

[00:07:09] His children were not in the vehicle.

[00:07:12] Tom went shopping at two different hardware stores in Hamilton.

[00:07:16] He was wearing a wool hat,

[00:07:18] which was stretched to the maximum,

[00:07:20] a surgical mask, and extra layers of clothing

[00:07:23] to conceal his identity.

[00:07:25] Using cash, Tom purchased seedlings,

[00:07:28] buckets, batteries, boots, and headlamps.

[00:07:32] Later that same day, the owner of the Toyota Hilux

[00:07:35] pursued Tom on a road in Marocopa,

[00:07:38] but Tom escaped.

[00:07:40] The truck was found a few feet off Marocopa Road

[00:07:43] near the Phillips family farm.

[00:07:46] Tom surfaced again on November 2, 2023.

[00:07:49] He and one of his children allegedly drove

[00:07:52] a Stonwyn quad bike into a small town

[00:07:55] of Taekyoti and tried to break into a small supermarket.

[00:07:59] They fled the scene at about 2 a.m.

[00:08:02] after an alarm activated.

[00:08:04] At the time I'm making this video,

[00:08:06] Tom and his children remained missing.

[00:08:08] Many people believe that he is living on or near

[00:08:11] the Phillips family farm

[00:08:13] and receiving substantial assistance from other people.

[00:08:17] Now moving to my analysis.

[00:08:19] Here are my thoughts on a few areas

[00:08:21] that stood out to me in this case.

[00:08:23] One number one, the police are clearly not interested

[00:08:26] in spending a lot of time or money

[00:08:28] to find Tom and his children.

[00:08:30] The chances of finding them without cooperation

[00:08:32] from the community are low.

[00:08:34] Maybe the police are thinking something like,

[00:08:36] why should we bother?

[00:08:38] One could argue that if the police offered a reward

[00:08:40] of 10 or $20,000,

[00:08:43] that might encourage somebody to betray Tom.

[00:08:46] However, they are offering a reward of exactly zero.

[00:08:50] This matches the level of effort

[00:08:52] that the police are using to find the family.

[00:08:54] When the police do make announcements about the case,

[00:08:56] they reveal very little information.

[00:08:59] This is probably because they know

[00:09:01] that whoever is helping Tom is also watching the updates.

[00:09:04] They don't want to tip their hand to Tom's accomplices.

[00:09:08] Tom's relatives on the family farm

[00:09:10] will not allow the police to search the farm itself

[00:09:12] or the wilderness around it.

[00:09:14] It's not clear why the police have failed

[00:09:16] to obtain a search warrant.

[00:09:18] Maybe they believe it's a waste of time

[00:09:20] if Tom would simply relocate if they search the farm.

[00:09:23] Statements by the police revealed their apathy,

[00:09:26] ineffectiveness and despair.

[00:09:28] They have asked people to come forward

[00:09:30] if they see any new kids in the area,

[00:09:32] especially in sets of three,

[00:09:34] as if there is anyone in New Zealand

[00:09:36] who has not heard of this story.

[00:09:38] Item number two,

[00:09:40] despite the alleged bank robbery and attempted burglary,

[00:09:43] Tom is considered a folk hero

[00:09:45] by some people in New Zealand.

[00:09:47] He functions as a conduit

[00:09:49] for individuals to express their displeasure with the police.

[00:09:52] His repeated embarrassment of law enforcement

[00:09:54] brings gleeful pleasure

[00:09:56] and endless hours of entertainment.

[00:09:58] Others believe that Tom is an evil genius.

[00:10:00] After all, his resemblance to the character

[00:10:02] mega-mind is astounding.

[00:10:05] They are concerned that his motivation

[00:10:07] is simply to avoid prison

[00:10:09] and his behavior is not connected to some greater cause.

[00:10:12] This is not about making some type of social statement.

[00:10:15] Item number three,

[00:10:17] what will happen to Tom's three children

[00:10:19] due to his behavior?

[00:10:21] It seems likely that the children are being damaged

[00:10:23] through this experience.

[00:10:25] They are probably developing a paranoid mindset

[00:10:27] and may be even adopting antisocial behavior.

[00:10:30] For example, they may have participated

[00:10:33] in some of Tom's alleged crimes.

[00:10:35] The quality of the homeschooling

[00:10:37] they are receiving is probably substandard

[00:10:39] and if they're spending all their time

[00:10:41] with each other and with Tom,

[00:10:43] their social skills will start to erode.

[00:10:45] Undoubtedly, they look up to their father

[00:10:47] and believe that what he's doing is right

[00:10:49] and or necessary.

[00:10:51] They may be learning some impressive survival skills

[00:10:54] through this experience with their father,

[00:10:56] but the most significant lesson he is teaching them

[00:10:59] is how to end up in prison.

[00:11:01] Now moving to my final item, number four,

[00:11:04] what do I think happened in this case?

[00:11:06] This is just a theory, my opinion.

[00:11:08] Tom Phillips is sensation seeking,

[00:11:11] south-centered, impulsive, reckless, irresponsible

[00:11:14] and has a sense of entitlement.

[00:11:16] The first time he took his children and disappeared,

[00:11:19] he didn't think there would be any consequences.

[00:11:21] When he was charged with a crime,

[00:11:23] Tom decided that he could simply disappear again.

[00:11:26] Even though his motive is prison avoidance,

[00:11:29] people in the community perceive something

[00:11:31] in the story that is not there.

[00:11:34] They view Tom as some type of hero

[00:11:36] fighting against the system.

[00:11:38] Their desire to assist him is also motivated

[00:11:40] by how his family is well respected in New Zealand.

[00:11:43] It's possible that Tom's family members

[00:11:45] are directly involved in providing assistance as well,

[00:11:48] but there's no way to be certain.

[00:11:50] Many members of the community are concerned

[00:11:52] about the well-being of Tom's children,

[00:11:54] but even these people will not turn him in.

[00:11:57] They may dislike Tom,

[00:11:59] but they dislike the police even more.

[00:12:02] Somehow, perhaps unintentionally,

[00:12:04] Tom did transform into some type of evil genius.

[00:12:08] He has managed to survive through manipulation.

[00:12:12] Ultimately, his grandiosity, overconfidence and arrogance

[00:12:16] will probably lead to him being caught.

[00:12:18] It's not hard to imagine how Tom could get a big head.

[00:12:23] This has been True Crime Psychology and Personality

[00:12:34] from Ars Langa Media.

[00:12:36] This content is for educational

[00:12:38] and entertainment purposes only.

[00:12:40] Ars Langa, Vita Brevis.

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