Tom Phillips’ eldest daughter Jayda has been confirmed as the child who was with him at the time of his death and provided information that helped police find the remote campsite where her siblings were found more than 12 hours later.
Yesterday, the first images of the campsite where the two Phillips children were found was revealed to the public, showing an array of items about 2km from where the fatal shooting took place on Monday.
One of his children, who was with Tom Phillips at the time, helped police locate the remote campsite more than 12 hours later, deep in dense bush.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers has now confirmed the child at the scene was 12-year-old Jayda, and told NZ Herald she informed negotiators on what they could say to her siblings to gain their trust.
“Obviously, the sibling that was with us from the early hours of the morning was very, very helpful to us in terms of understanding that location, what we might find there and how best to talk to the other children involved,” Chambers told the Herald.
“So we have to take on board a whole lot of sources of information to try and find the best way to approach anyone but, in this case, the other young children, to allow us to make sure that they feel safe, that they don’t feel threatened by someone they don’t know.
“So the young girl gave us some support around that, and it was successful.”
Speaking to Breakfast, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said there was “more to come” today. (Source: Breakfast)
“The young girl who was in your care already, Jayda?” asked the Herald’s Ryan Bridge.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Chambers responded.
“OK, so she helped the negotiators in that process, was she there physically?” Bridge asked.
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Chambers said: “No, she wasn’t there physically. We would not put her alongside us as we moved forward to the campsite because that presents a risk to her and we wouldn’t be prepared to put her at any risk at all.
“The information that she shared with us was very helpful. But we kept her, not far away, but far enough away to ensure her safety was not compromised,” he said.
Earlier on Breakfast, Chambers said he was “very confident” there would be more information released today about other campsites that the Phillips family had frequented.
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Jayda, Maverick and Ember – now aged 12, 10 and 9 – are now being looked after by Oranga Tamariki.
Chambers emphasised that the investigation into how Phillips and his children were missing for so long was not over and would likely continue for months.
Police want to know how Phillips got the items found at his campsite – including a quad bike, some tyres and cans of Sprite, as well as at least one gun, and ammunition.
