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In the weeks before he shot dead two police officers and seriously injured another, Desmond \u201cDezi\u201d Freeman\u2019s family were increasingly concerned by his erratic behaviour and desperately tried to get him psychiatric help.<\/p>\n
It seemed an impossible task. The 56-year-old\u2019s spiralling descent into conspiracy theories and hatred of the police and authorities<\/a> had been ingrained for years, and were only more entrenched following the government\u2019s hardline response to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n Even at his father\u2019s deathbed in 2018, Freeman was ranting and raving about the government and bracing for the end of the world.<\/a><\/p>\n But four sources close to Freeman\u2019s family told this masthead his wife, Amalia, known as Mali, and brother James Filby had finally convinced Freeman to book in for a mental health appointment after months of pleading with him.<\/p>\n Freeman never made it to the appointment.<\/p>\n Days after Mali confided her concerns to a neighbour and then to another friend while she was dropping their youngest son off at daycare, Dezi killed two police officers, who had arrived in a group of 10 officers with a warrant for his arrest at the remote rural alpine property where he was living on a bus with his wife and children.<\/p>\n A close friend of the family, who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity, said that in the weeks before the first fatal shooting with police in the small town of Porepunkah, Freeman had become increasingly fixated on his belief that some officers had a vendetta against him<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was getting worse with the rants, and he really believed there were some police that were out to get him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Others close to the Freeman and Filby families, who said they have been asked by close relatives not to speak to the media, confirmed matching details of events leading up to the August 26 murders of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart.<\/p>\n Related Article One family friend said that before the Porepunkah shootings, Dezi Freeman had confided the nature of historical child sexual abuse allegations he was accused of, which were the subject of his arrest warrant, to at least one close relative. He denied he had done anything wrong and vowed \u201che\u2019d never go to jail\u201d.<\/p>\n The friend said the relative had had ongoing discussions with Freeman about seeking professional mental health support to better cope with the allegations and appointments for him were being sought for the coming weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police showed up two weeks too early,\u201d the family friend said. \u201cWho knows whether he would have actually gone [to mental health appointments], though.\u201d<\/p>\n This masthead has made numerous attempts to contact James Filby, but he could not be reached this week.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On Monday, the seven-month manhunt for his brother, Dezi Freeman, came to a dramatic and bloody end.<\/p>\n The fugitive emerged from a Cosco shipping container, allegedly armed and wrapped in a blanket, and was shot dead by police following a tip-off and a three-hour stand-off with specialist officers.<\/p>\n The steel shipping container, where Freeman had been living and sleeping for an unknown time, was more than 150 kilometres from where he had fled into the dense bush.<\/p>\n The property owner, Richard Sutherland, has been in Tasmania for months and has not yet returned. Sutherland had no idea Freeman was there<\/a>, according to his brother.<\/p>\n Next to the container, there was an upturned boat, dinner plates, a gas stove and two camping chairs.<\/p>\n Related Article Police believe Freeman was harboured by supporters, enabling him to survive harsh conditions for more than 200 days \u2013 from snow to severe storms and wild bushfires<\/a>, which ravaged the rugged bushland of Victoria\u2019s High Country.<\/p>\n Freeman\u2019s intense disdain for police is well documented in online posts, video footage and court documents. Since his death on Monday, videos have resurfaced again as they are reshared online by his supporters, some of whom refuse to believe he is dead.<\/p>\n In a tense altercation with police in one video, Freeman calls the officers \u201cpredators\u201d as they try to fine him for not wearing a face mask during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Freeman, who changed his surname from Filby, also appeared on the Mike Holt Show podcast to boast about how he had \u201carrested\u201d a magistrate at the Wangaratta court in a civil case involving a land dispute, warning authorities had \u201cpicked the wrong person to mess with\u201d.<\/p>\n In the bizarre exchange with Holt in 2019, who is also a self-declared \u201csovereign citizen\u201d, Freeman said: \u201cThe government can come in and police can come in and raid your fridge and cook your dog.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/40dc5243bb19c5c5421383e814f4e9c1e235fb52.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dezi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a88423974d411a06a158982642598cdebb704d0520c171b341fdc621f13d7a67.jpeg\")
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![\"Porepunkah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/da87fde66fd983c69a28c05a271de3c2aa55baee.jpeg\")
Porepunkah has again been the centre of national attention after the death of Dezi Freeman.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n![\"Wayne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/685b88c2730481e6c85c19f9f97279c6080c09a2.jpeg\")
Wayne Blake happened to camp near Dezi Freeman\u2019s hideout days before the fugitive was shot dead.Joe Armao<\/p>\n