{"id":577109,"date":"2026-03-31T21:37:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/577109\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T21:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:37:16","slug":"police-killers-short-stay-at-remote-property-betrayed-by-inner-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/577109\/","title":{"rendered":"Police killer\u2019s short stay at remote property betrayed by inner circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

Save this article for later<\/p>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n

Got it<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Police believe double killer Dezi Freeman was hiding out at a remote bush property for a relatively short period of time before a member of his own inner circle finally turned him over to authorities.<\/p>\n

His death in a shoot-out with specialist police on Monday came as a shock to his wife, Mali, and their three children, who had spent seven months believing he was already dead.<\/p>\n

\"DeziDezi Freeman, who was shot dead by police on Monday, killed officers Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart while they were attempting to execute a warrant at a property near Porepunkah in August 2025.Marija Ercegovac<\/p>\n

Family friend Leanne Boyd said they firmly believed the fugitive had died not long after vanishing into the bush in Porepunkah, hundreds of kilometres away from where he was eventually found, after gunning down two police officers and injuring a third in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a sad ending to a story that was already terrible,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cIt\u2019s easier to believe that somebody disappeared off into the bush and whatever happened happened. But to then be told that somebody was actually still alive, and met a very violent end \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The key piece of intelligence, confirmed by three law enforcement sources, that led police to their man after 216 days on the run, now opens the door to someone claiming the $1 million reward which had been offered for information leading to Freeman\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the remote scrubland where Freeman was cornered was still being combed by forensic teams as investigators began to retrace his movements over the past seven months.<\/p>\n

Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said investigators would work backwards from Thologolong to Porepunkah and they urged anyone who had helped Freeman to come forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone with information that would identify any accomplices, anyone who\u2019s complicit in moving this person to where he was, or supported him over those seven months, we want to know who those people are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want information that leads us to their identity. It\u2019s better they come forward now because we are looking for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"VictoriaVictoria Police Commmissioner Mike Bush speaking to the media on Monday after the shooting of Dezi Freeman.Chris Hopkins<\/p>\n

Bush said a negotiator had spoken with Freeman and, he believed, the fugitive had fired on police.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said enough during that conversation to confirm he was the person we were looking for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The property where Freeman was living in a shipping container had been vacant since Christmas, after its ill owner moved interstate and left shipping containers and other off-grid supplies abandoned on the block.<\/p>\n

\"AA shipping container at the property on Murray River Road, Thologolong.Nine News<\/p>\n

Officers dressed in blue overalls and face masks could be seen carrying brown paper evidence bags and other items to police cars parked near the collection of containers and a broken-down vehicle.<\/p>\n

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

Richard Sutherland, the owner of the property, has been living with family in a remote region of eastern Tasmania. He contacted police to offer his help to Victorian officers when they are ready to interview him.<\/p>\n

One friend, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Sutherland \u201cwas not in any way sympathetic to [Freeman or his beliefs]\u201d and was unaware his property had been used as a hideout for the fugitive.<\/p>\n

On Monday, this masthead revealed that the surprise intel<\/a> Freeman was alive from someone close to him had mobilised a massive police response near the border town. Police conducted surveillance for more than 24 hours to try and confirm Freeman was on-site and that no one else was in the line of fire.<\/p>\n

A more than three-hour negotiation began with Freeman, who had grown a beard, early on Monday morning. That ended in a hail of gunfire when Freeman emerged from his shelter and pointed a firearm at members of the Special Operations Group.<\/p>\n

Bush said everything he had seen, including footage of the shooting, indicated it was justified and that Freeman had refused multiple opportunities to surrender.<\/p>\n

Victoria police are now investigating<\/a> whether others had been at the Thologolong property before Freeman\u2019s death, as they hunt for whoever may have helped him on the run.<\/p>\n

Freeman had last been seen in the alpine country of Mount Buffalo last August after murdering Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart when they accompanied a group of 10 officers to serve Freeman with a warrant for historical sexual offences. A third officer was also injured in the shootings.<\/p>\n

In September, when police announced a reward for anyone with information leading to Freeman\u2019s arrest, it was touted as one of the largest ever offered in Victoria.<\/p>\n

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

Rewards are usually paid out at the discretion of the police commissioner. The Office of Public Prosecutions is to decide whether it will grant indemnification from prosecution to the person who provided the intelligence.<\/p>\n

Bond University associate professor Dr Terry Goldsworthy said rewards were traditionally used to generate fresh leads when a case had gone cold, but they were increasingly being used by detectives early in investigations, such as the kidnapping of West Australian girl Cleo Smith in 2021.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Bush did not comment on the tip-off about Freeman and said any details on payment of reward money would be kept confidential, due to safety concerns for the recipient.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m quite sure we\u2019ll never be sharing those details. I know the public would love to know, but some things must remain confidential,\u201d Bush told radio station Nova.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, associates of Freeman have been posting tributes to the cop killer online, and calling for people to \u201cname the million dollar dog\u201d who had turned him in.<\/p>\n

\u201cTip off, well that crime is worse than any other that was allegedly committed,\u201d one posted online.<\/p>\n

Victoria Police declined to comment because the matter was now the subject of a coronial investigation.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who attended Thompson and de Waart-Hottart\u2019s funerals, told the ABC on Tuesday he had no sympathy for Freeman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always was going to be brought to justice and it\u2019s clear that he was always going to fight it out,\u201d he said. \u201cHe made the decision to murder these police officers and he made the decision to try to fight it out and to not give himself up or go through a legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albanese said there had been repeated warnings from ASIO director-general Mike Burgess about the threat posed by sovereign citizens like Freeman.<\/p>\n

\u201cDezi Freeman\u2019s ideology led him to murder in cold blood two police officers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

In Porepunkah, Boyd said it was \u201ca very sad situation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Freeman\u2019s wife and children were now grieving, she said, as were the families of the police officers he gunned down in August.<\/p>\n

\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,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n

With Lachlan Abbott<\/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

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"SherrynSherryn Groch<\/a> is a journalist at The Age covering crime. Email her at s.groch@nine.com.au or contact her securely on Signal @SherrynG.70Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"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":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-577109","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\/577109","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=577109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}