In the aftermath of Tom Phillips’ death, a series of devastating revelations continue to emerge about the four years he spent in hiding with his three children. Perhaps the most heartbreaking detail surfaced in a recent police report: the youngest child, in a moment of innocence, once said “I want to eat corn.” Those simple words, ordinary to most, became a haunting symbol of the children’s suffering when investigators uncovered the grim truth about their daily lives in the bush.

Police evidence suggests that during their years on the run, Tom Phillips — hailed by some as a “folk hero” for eluding authorities — often fed his children livestock feed typically reserved for animals. Bags of crushed grain, designed for farm use, were found near one of the makeshift camps where the family hid. Forensic experts say the food was barely suitable for human consumption and lacked essential nutrients needed for a child’s growth.

The discovery has sparked a storm of outrage and sorrow across New Zealand. While some sympathizers had painted Phillips as a devoted father protecting his children from a broken system, the harsh reality paints a different picture — one of deprivation, manipulation, and neglect.

Child psychologists warn that the children may carry long-lasting trauma from their time in isolation. “When a child asks for something as basic as corn — a staple food — it reveals just how far from normal their lives had become,” one expert explained. “It’s a cry for dignity, for nourishment, for care.”

Even more disturbing, investigators believe the children may not have understood that what they were eating was not proper food. Sources close to the case revealed that they were taught to see their father’s decisions as necessary and even heroic, blurring the lines between survival and neglect.

Public reaction has been divided. Some continue to defend Phillips, arguing he did the best he could under extreme circumstances. Others say the evidence destroys the myth of a protective father and exposes him instead as a man who let his children live in filth and hunger, far from the stability they deserved.

For the children, the road ahead will be long and painful. They have lost their father, endured years of instability, and now face the challenge of rebuilding their lives in a world that sees them as symbols of one of the darkest custody battles in recent memory.

The haunting image remains: a child asking for corn — not toys, not sweets, not anything extravagant. Just food. And being met not with a meal, but with feed meant for livestock.

As one investigator put it bluntly:

“This isn’t just a story of a man on the run. It’s the story of three children robbed of their innocence, who learned to survive on crumbs meant for animals.”