Legal experts say Tom Phillips' death does not end criminal liability for anyone who helped him evade police for years, with authorities warning that a new operation is focused on tracking down possible accomplices.
Investigators have long suspected that the former fugitive was receiving help, and police announced earlier this week that a new investigation team would work to identify anybody who helped Phillips evade authorities.
On Wednesday, Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said detectives were still in an evidence-gathering stage to try and identify those who may have provided assistance.
"A new phase we're moving into — Operation Cranmere is being stood up, and the focus of that team will be identifying people that have been assisting Tom Phillips," he said.
"Our main focus has always been the safe return of those children. We've achieved that aim. Operation Curly now comes to a close."
Obstacles for identifying accomplices – law experts
In 2021, Phillips abducted his three kids and took them into hiding in the wilderness.
The fates of those suspected to have helped Phillips live under the radar for years are one of the last unturned stones in the tragic Marokopa case.
Two legal academics 1News spoke to were confident that police could consider pursuing a case against anyone who aided the fugitive father.
But there were challenges ahead for investigators who would have to piece together a picture based on the campsites he left behind, alongside CCTV and other evidence.
Saunders said items found at the hiding spots in the dense bush would be crucial for helping identify whether they had been passed on to Phillips.
"Have they come from burglaries? Have people purchased them? Can we link them back to stores – to see, has he stolen them, or have people purchased them for him?"
Canterbury University associate law professor James Mehigan said people who aided criminals could be liable to the same length of sentence as a principal offender.
But he noted that the context of what kind of aid someone provided would be crucial.
"If somebody had provided him with that 9kg gas canister, if someone has provided him with ammunition, if someone has provided him with fresh fruit and vegetables, they have sustained him in his ongoing abduction of those children," he said.
"Proving it is another question, but, in principle, if we can show that those things happened, then we have somebody who is guilty of a crime."
He added that police might have to depend on forensic evidence in the case.
"It may be the case that there's only one shop in the region that sells that gas canister, and it's beside a shop that is the only shop in the area that sells that particular brand of drinks and gumboots. You may be able to trace them back to one purchase," he said.
"But we don't know what records are kept in shops. We don't know how long CCTV is kept, and so forth. There may be a string they pull that gives out all of this information."
Waikato University law professor and faculty dean Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren explained that Phillips' death does not prevent the prosecution of his accomplices.
"There will be evidentiary challenges, but the secondary party can be prosecuted quite independently, because the focus is not on the principal offender. The focus is on the offence itself and what the secondary party intended and knew."
She said, under the Crimes Act, anyone who aided Phillips in committing a crime could be charged either as parties to his offences or as an accessory after the fact.
Broadly speaking, both academics agreed that the circumstances and legal extremities of the Marokopa case were unprecedented in New Zealand history.
Photos released earlier this week of one of Phillips' campsites showed a shelter built from branches, punga ferns, and a black tarpaulin.
Within the shelter, a Jack Daniels and cola RTDs carton and an empty Gordon's Gin box can be seen, surrounded by several empty iced coffee bottles. A portable gas stove and gas bottle also sat nearby, alongside a pair of gumboots and several buckets.
'We will deal with them accordingly' – top cop
There would be a focus on how the fugitive father came into possession of multiple firearms and quad bikes, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said on Tuesday.
Officers wanted to "put the puzzle together that tells us more about the last four years. And in particular, anybody who may have been helping Mr Phillips", he said.
"And we will deal with them accordingly," Chambers added.
Mehigan told 1News the lack of a completed firearms registry may mean it takes longer for authorities to track down the source of weapons in the case.
A firmer tone from police this week came after monetary rewards and leniency were offered to those aiding or helping Phillips amid an attempt to locate him last year.
In June 2024, police offered an $80,000 reward for information about the location of Phillips and his children. People who provided information which led to the location and safe return of the minors would have been considered for immunity against prosecution.
The time-limited offer was available for around two weeks, with police reporting several tips and offers of information. But little progress was visible publicly as the fugitive Marokopa father and his kids remained missing more than 12 months later.
That fortnight may have been the only window for any potential accomplices to escape the consequences.
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