{"id":576515,"date":"2026-03-31T15:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/576515\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:22:12","slug":"towns-relief-and-lingering-sadness-over-slain-fugitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/576515\/","title":{"rendered":"Town\u2019s relief and lingering sadness over slain fugitive"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 31, 2026 \u2014 7:50pm<\/p>\n

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Those who have lived closely with police killer Dezi Freeman are not surprised he may have worn out his welcome with those helping to harbour him.<\/p>\n

However, the violent end to Victoria\u2019s largest manhunt<\/a> has added a layer of sadness rather than a sense of closure to an already tragic situation for families, towns and a region in upheaval since the double murder last August.<\/p>\n

\"PorepunkahPorepunkah has again been the centre of national attention after the death of Dezi Freeman.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n

One of Freeman\u2019s former landlords and friends, who asked not to be identified for his own security, said he was relieved the manhunt was finally over after months of fearing he might show up seeking shelter in areas he knew, or angry about past grievances.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lived those first couple of months never knowing where he was, but knowing he knew this area very well and that he could have been anywhere,\u201d the former landlord said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is a lot more relieved around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former landlord was also not surprised that a couple who had been helping Freeman<\/a> hide had become concerned at his recent behaviour, leading to his discovery on a remote Thologolong property. It fitted a pattern of behaviour that had seen the sovereign citizen repeatedly asked to move on from home after home across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are trying to tell me that he just walked into some guy\u2019s container – I find that hard to believe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jamie King lived next door to Freeman in Nug Nug for more than three years and believes he would have made life progressively more difficult for anyone harbouring him, though he wished his one-time friend had been captured alive to face court.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe lived on my farm for over three years, and he never asked how I was \u2013 it was always about Dezi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just got worse and worse. I think Dezi was his own worst enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeman family friend Leanne Boyd said few people in Porepunkah and Bright wanted to discuss Monday\u2019s events, his death leaving a third family grieving and still no satisfactory answers on how things turned so tragic.<\/p>\n

\"LeanneLeanne Boyd says three families are now grieving after Freeman\u2019s death.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you say it\u2019s justified or not, we live in a very peaceful country, and we\u2019re not used to witnessing or being part of anything like this,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n

Having seen Freeman\u2019s behaviour deteriorate over recent years, Boyd said she believed he had underlying mental health issues that were mishandled or underestimated by police when they went to serve him with a warrant in August last year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an excuse for what he did, but part of the complicated motives of Freeman and his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very sad situation,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cThey lost their dad, and someone lost their husband, and all respect to the police officers\u2019 families because they lost their son, and a woman lost her partner.<\/p>\n

\"SignsSigns out the front of the RAyner Track Road property.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [police] should have taken the mental health team with them to assist on August 26 \u2013 maybe that would have led to a better outcome for everybody, and maybe nobody would have died.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have three families grieving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those still living at the Porepunkah home where Freeman set up his bus encampment and murdered Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart appear to be passing comment on the wild conspiracy theories that have since flourished, as well as ongoing tension with police.<\/p>\n

\"RebeccaRebecca and Andrew Swift owned the property where Freeman killed two police officers.<\/p>\n

Neither Andrew or Rebecca Swift, the owners, have commented since returning to the red-roofed farmhouse of Four Gully Farm, but a handmade sign on the newly repaired and reinforced security fence at the front includes a fictitious forwarding address for Freeman in South Africa \u2013 a reference to one of the more speculative theories floated about the fugitive, that he was hiding in plain sight in a Cape Town tourist strip.<\/p>\n

The crude handwritten sign also references the Australian children\u2019s classic Bottersnikes and Gumbles, illustrated by Desmond Digby.<\/p>\n

The book is set deep in the Australian bush, and centres on environmental issues and conflict between the helpful and hardworking Gumbles and the angry, destructive Bottersnikes.<\/p>\n

The sign lists Freeman\u2019s address as being in \u201cWakefield\u201d South Africa, a reference to Bottersnikes and Gumbles author Sydney Wakefield, or perhaps Cape Town-born anti-apartheid activist Sybil Wakefield, who lived in Adelaide.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The Swifts continue to list the rural property on a farmstay website, offering food and off-grid accommodation to farming volunteers.<\/p>\n

In exchange for a stay in one of four \u201chuts\u201d, guests are asked to provide assistance with projects including building a chicken coop and sauna, as well as harvesting the farm\u2019s produce.<\/p>\n

In the \u201cabout me\u201d section, Rebecca lists several interests, including music, cooking and \u201cfinding creative ways to subvert the current paradigm of planned totalitarian control. wink [sic] wink\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all on a journey to greater awareness of self, in connection with others and to our relationship with our Creator,\u201d the couple wrote.<\/p>\n

They also ask prospective guests to limit the use of perfumes, sprays, deodorants, make-up and sunscreen. \u201cIf used, these chemicals find their way into the soil and water, and in turn pollute our food and waterways.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no mention of the tragic events of last August. Perhaps like many in the previously sleepy hamlet in the shadows of Mount Buffalo, they wish they could forget.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"CarlaCarla Jaeger<\/a> is a journalist for The Age. Got a tip? Email carla.jaeger@theage.com.au or message carlajaeger.62 on Signal.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 31, 2026 \u2014 7:50pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-576515","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576515","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=576515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}