{"id":537724,"date":"2026-03-13T12:15:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/537724\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:15:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:15:15","slug":"dezi-freemans-wife-wont-be-charged-with-obstructing-police-during-manhunt-for-her-husband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/537724\/","title":{"rendered":"Dezi Freeman\u2019s wife won\u2019t be charged with obstructing police during manhunt for her husband"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-testid=\"article-datetime\" class=\"sc-5cbbddda-5 hxoHkT\">March 13, 2026 \u2014 6:11pm<\/p>\n<p>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI iQLtAb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-369d9219-1 bOiPYX\">Save this article for later<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-369d9219-2 bufJxo\">Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n<p>Got it<\/p>\n<p>AAA<\/p>\n<p>The wife of Dezi Freeman will not be charged with obstructing a police investigation into the fatal shooting of two police officers at Porepunkah, after the Office of Public Prosecutions found there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction.<\/p>\n<p>Victoria Police confirmed on Friday that Amalia (Mali) Freeman, 42, and a 56-year-old man from Porepunkah had been interviewed in relation to the offence of \u201cindictable obstruction of police\u201d by detectives from Taskforce Summit, but the brief of evidence had not been authorised by prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>A police spokeswoman said the briefs were independently reviewed, which also determined a prosecution was unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>A third person had been interviewed regarding an attempted theft but would also avoid charges, according to the spokeswoman, who said any further information received by detectives involved in the case would be \u201cthoroughly assessed and acted on as appropriate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The OPP decision to not lay charges has frustrated many officers involved in the investigation, according to a senior police source who is not authorised to speak on behalf of the force.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/victoria\/police-narrow-search-area-in-hunt-for-accused-gunman-dezi-freeman-20260202-p5nypy.html\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dezi Freeman, pictured in 2018.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bf3cfc10ed4300d8292552f45053bd1f64357f3c.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dezi Freeman remains the subject of a six-month manhunt since <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/officer-shot-and-two-missing-after-ambush-at-alpine-property-20250826-p5mpw4.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">allegedly fatally shooting<\/a> police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart, and injuring a third, at a remote property in Porepunkah on August 26.<\/p>\n<p>Four days after the double homicide, Mali Freeman, 42, and a 15-year-old boy were <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/victoria\/man-61-arrested-during-alpine-search-for-suspected-gunman-dezi-freeman-20250830-p5mr4u.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">taken into custody<\/a> during a raid at a separate Porepunkah home before being interviewed by police and released.<\/p>\n<p>Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed on August 30 that the pair were the suspected gunman\u2019s partner and son in a press conference, but did not divulge details about the basis of their arrests.<\/p>\n<p>Mali Freeman subsequently<a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/victoria\/bright-man-61-charged-as-police-probe-links-to-accused-fugitive-gunman-20250831-p5mr5l.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> released a statement<\/a>, via her lawyer, urging her 56-year-old husband to surrender and for anyone harbouring him to come forward to the police.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn behalf of my children and myself, I wish to share our deep sorrow for the loss of the lives of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart on 26 August 2025,\u201d the 42-year-old, who has three children with Freeman, said in the statement.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amalia Freeman pictured in 2022 with the three children she has with Dezi Freeman.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/24c63d95e518ad48c471244d3e120d9976592b44.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ldCIuB\"\/>Amalia Freeman pictured in 2022 with the three children she has with Dezi Freeman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are truly sorry for your loss, and the suffering and grief that the families, friends and colleagues of Detective Leading Senior Constable Thompson and Senior Constable De Waart are now experiencing. My children and I grieve for the loss of your loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She insisted that she <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/victoria\/bright-man-61-charged-as-police-probe-links-to-accused-fugitive-gunman-20250831-p5mr5l.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">did not share<\/a> her husband\u2019s anti-authority views.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/oh-my-god-it-s-uncle-des-the-spiralling-descent-of-an-alleged-police-killer-20250902-p5mrrc.html\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Manhunt for Dezi Freeman: Alleged Porepunkah police killer\u2019s nephew describes descent into \u2018gibberish\u2019 conspiracy theories.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/855aa1fac6c2016d6a215df637b0ccd89b2ee71fdefca060f21337ed8c0ebd39.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A police spokesman said the force would maintain an enhanced presence in the local Porepunkah and Mount Buffalo National Park areas. However, senior officers and detectives from Taskforce Summit have publicly conceded that Freeman <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/victoria\/police-narrow-search-area-in-hunt-for-accused-gunman-dezi-freeman-20260202-p5nypy.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">may not be alive<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A reward of up to $1 million remains in place for information leading to Freeman\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone with any information on Freeman\u2019s location should be reported to Crime Stoppers Victoria via 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au<\/p>\n<p>Be the first to know when major news happens. <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/newsletter-signup?newsletter=breaking-news&amp;utm_source=EditorialArticle&amp;utm_medium=ArticleText&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for breaking news alerts<\/a> on email or turn on notifications in the app.<\/p>\n<p>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI iQLtAb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p>From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 13, 2026 \u2014 6:11pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-537724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}