The mother of three children, who vanished with their father Tom Phillips in 2021, had appeared in court on a drunk driving charge the very same day her estranged partner was fatally shot.
Catherine ‘Cat’ Christey, 46, was having her own legal troubles when Tom was involved in a shootout with cops on September 8.
One of their three children witnessed the father being fatally shot in the confrontation.
Catherine ‘Cat’ Christey had appeared in court on a drunk driving charge the very same day her estranged partner was fatally shot
Image credits: RNZ
The shootout that ended Tom’s life took place after cops were informed of a possible break-in at a farm goods store in the small town of Poipoi.
The town was located close to where the father was hiding out with his children: Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9.
Cops suspected Tom could be the burglar and set up road spikes to stop his four-wheeled bike at an intersection. His 12-year-old daughter Jayda was with him at the time.
Image credits: Missing Marokopa Children
After the quad bike ran over the spikes, Tom opened fire with a high-powered rifle and struck a cop in the head. The father was fatally shot in the confrontation.
The very same day, Catherine had reportedly appeared in court on a charge of driving with an excess blood alcohol level.
She was stopped by cops last month for driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.174 at the time.
In New Zealand, the blood alcohol limit is 0.05, and anything over 0.15 falls in the high range, giving the offender a $4,500 fine or three months of imprisonment.
Tom opened fire with a high-powered rifle and struck a cop in the head during the shootout
Image credits: nzherald.co.nz
After Catherine was caught drunk-driving, she was ordered to appear in court on September 8, which coincidentally became the day her estranged partner was fatally shot and her missing kids were located on a remote campsite.
Jayda had led cops to the campsite where her two younger siblings were, and the three kids were placed in the care of Oranga Tamariki, also known as the Ministry for Children.
Catherine still hasn’t reunited with her three children.
Image credits: RNZ
Since the three kids went missing in December 2021 with their father, they have not had access to formal education or healthcare.
Tom, who did not have custody rights over them, managed to keep them fed and clothed in the wilderness with his survival skills whilst living off-grid.
Police are still investigating how Tom and the kids survived in the wilderness, what they ate, and what their daily activities were over the last four years.
12-year-old daughter Jayda was with Tom when he was fatally shot
Image credits: Stuff
Tom and the children were spotted in dense green areas in North Island by pig hunters in October 2024.
They were filmed moving through the remote patch in camouflage clothes, but police failed to find them during a search the very next day.
Meanwhile, Catherine had been working for farmers Clive and Sandra Morgan on their property, which was less than two years away from where Tom was shot.
Image credits: Missing Marokopa Children
“She’s a good lady, very strong, physically, very normal and intelligent,” the employers said about their former employee Catherine.
Clive and Sandra’s daughter, Maya Morgan, had reportedly heard the shots Tom exchanged with cops on September 8 before his life came to an end.
Experts said there would be concerns about Jayda, Maverick, and Ember coming in contact with their mother.
“It’s been four years not four days, and they’ve had to survive harsh conditions,” criminal psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro told the Daily Mail.
After witnessing the shootout, Jayda led cops to the remote campsite where her younger siblings were
Image credits: Missing Marokopa Children
“They are all getting to the age of 11/12, when you move into formal cognitive thinking and will start to think in more profound ways about their circumstances and wonder about their mother,” he continued.
The psychologist said it’s likely that the kids were told statements like “she didn’t want you,” which may have impacted their impression of her.
“It’s been a long time at a critical moment in those children’s development. Their objective reality would be a warped view of the world,” he said.
Image credits: Waikato Police
“Part of the equation is how much the children have been indoctrinated by their father, and we don’t know,” he went on to say. “They have been living like castaways, without being educated or socialized as far as we know.”
Tom had been involved in petty crimes since he and his children went missing.
He was wanted for an armed bank robbery in 2023, and it is believed Jayda was with him at the time. A member of the public was shot during the robbery but survived.
Catherine reportedly still has not reunited with her three children
Image credits: BBC News
Cops investigated the campsite where Tom and the children were believed to have been living and described it as a “challenging environment.” They recovered weapons from the campsite and also found what appeared to be a gas canister.
Other items like tires and cans of Sprite were also found, while a motorbike and a quad bike were concealed with netting in a dense bush.
Image credits: Waikato Police
Catherine released a statement the day her children were found and said the family was “saddened” by the events that unfolded.
“Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved,” the statement said.
The mother said the family will be working with authorities for her long-awaited reunion with her kids.
“Sounds like both parents are total misfits unable to parent,” one commented online
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