{"id":355119,"date":"2026-03-30T12:05:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/355119\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T12:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:05:16","slug":"aerial-images-show-remote-site-where-dezi-freeman-was-shot-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/355119\/","title":{"rendered":"Aerial images show remote site where Dezi Freeman was shot dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a remote property at the foothills of Victoria’s vast alps, police shot dead fugitive Dezi Freeman<\/a> as he refused to surrender.<\/p>\n

Victoria Police confirmed a man was killed<\/a> at a rural address in the state’s northeast shortly after 8.30am on Monday (local time) as part of the operation to locate the gunman.<\/p>\n

Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said police were unable to officially confirm the person was Freeman, pending a formal identification process.<\/p>\n

“We believe it is Freeman,” Bush said.<\/p>\n

“This brings closure to what was a tragic and terrible event.”<\/p>\n

\"Victoria<\/p>\n

Victoria fugitive Dezi Freeman (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

The seven-month manhunt ended at a rural property at Thologolong, near Walwa, more than two hours’ drive from Porepunkah on the Victorian-NSW border.<\/p>\n

Images from the scene show a white structure where Freeman was held siege as police closed in. No police were injured during Monday’s shooting.<\/p>\n

Bush said the stand-off began about 5.30am and lasted roughly three hours, adding it was strongly believed – but yet to be confirmed – the man was armed.<\/p>\n

\"Where<\/p>\n

Where wanted fugitive Dezi Freeman was found by police (Source: Nine)<\/p>\n

“There was an appeal to encourage the person to come out,” the commissioner said.<\/p>\n

“It did result from a stand-off. He then exited the building. There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he did not.<\/p>\n

“Everything I know at this point tells me that this shooting was justified.”<\/p>\n

Freeman was wanted over the fatal shootings of Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart, who were among a team of officers serving a warrant at his home in the small town of Porepunkah in late August.<\/p>\n

Freeman, a self-described “sovereign citizen” also known as Desmond Filby, had not been seen since fleeing into bushland near his home shortly after the shootings.<\/p>\n

\"Freeman<\/p>\n

Freeman was wanted over the fatal shootings of Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart (Source: Nine)<\/p>\n

Investigators are exploring the possibility he received help from others in evading police.<\/p>\n

Neil Sutherland told reporters his older brother, Rick, owns the property where Monday’s shooting occurred but said his sibling had been in Tasmania for the past three months and was not a sovereign citizen.<\/p>\n

“He’s not like that,” he said.<\/p>\n

Sutherland, who lives two properties from the site of the shooting, said he heard helicopters and at least one gunshot.<\/p>\n

“I’ve woken up by the chopper doing circle work,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It wasn’t long after that I heard the police siren for a short time and then the loudspeaker.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The rural site where Dezi Freeman was shot dead by police Monday (Source: Nine)<\/p>\n

“I think that might have happened a couple of times. I did hear a gunshot”<\/p>\n

There were visible signs of fire in the hills surrounding the area after a blaze earlier in 2026.<\/p>\n

Bush said it would have been “very difficult” for Freeman to get to where he was without assistance.<\/p>\n

“If anyone was complicit they will be held to account,” he said.<\/p>\n

Detective Senior Constable Thompson, 59, was just a week away from retiring, while Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart, 34, was on temporary assignment to the area.<\/p>\n

Families of the slain officers were the first to be notified of the shooting, Bush said.<\/p>\n

The police union praised officers for finding Freeman after months of searching dense bushland but said his death wouldn’t lessen the trauma of losing their two slain colleagues.<\/p>\n

“Today, we won’t reflect on the loss of a coward,” a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of police from across Australia took part in the search for Freeman in extreme conditions, including snow and heat, and dense bushland in mountainous terrain.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An aerial view of the site where Dezi Freeman was shot dead by police. (Source: Nine)<\/p>\n

Investigators in December revealed they had shifted their search efforts to locating the killer’s body.<\/p>\n

Bush on Monday maintained previous information suggested Freeman had taken his own life.<\/p>\n

In February, a multiple-day effort to scour the bush with cadaver dogs and drones yielded nothing.<\/p>\n

Victoria Police offered a AU$1 million reward (NZ$1.21 million) and the possibility of indemnity for information leading to his capture, the largest financial offer in the state’s history for facilitating an arrest.<\/p>\n

Freeman’s wife Mali,<\/a> who was present during the fatal shootings of the officers, and a 15-year-old boy were previously arrested but released without charge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a remote property at the foothills of Victoria’s vast alps, police shot dead fugitive Dezi Freeman as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[85,67,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-355119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-crime-and-justice","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}