Inside the squalid bush encampment where Dezi Freeman died
On an isolated bush block in the state’s far north-east in a squalid camp without running water or electricity, cop killer Dezi Freeman’s seven months on the run came to an end.
It’s not clear how or when the 56-year-old fugitive found his way onto the 35-hectare Murray River Road property in Thologolong, where he was shot and killed by heavily armed police on Monday morning.
Freeman was living in a collection of shipping containers and portable houses set among what one local described as “a whole heap of crap”.
Independent probe into fatal confrontation
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said there would be an independent investigation into what occurred at Thologolong on Monday morning when Dezi Freeman was shot dead and how he came to be there.
He said no one else had been at the property for at least 24 hours prior to the shooting but “that doesn’t mean they haven’t been in the past”.
“[It is] very important for us to understand how long he’s been here and who else was complicit in getting him here, and then caring for him or providing him with food and other things to this point,” Bush said.
Injured police officer happy to have “closure”
A police officer injured in the fatal Porepunkah shooting in August 2025 is relieved to have closure, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said.
Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart were killed by Dezi Freeman while a third officer, who has never been publicly identified, was seriously injured in the shooting.
Mike Bush confirmed he spoke to the officer earlier on Monday.
“He, too, is happy there is closure,” Bush told reporters.
Dezi Freeman likely had stolen officer’s gun when firing at police: Bush
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush told a crowd of reporters at the scene that the weapon Freeman had pointed at police in the early hours of Monday morning likely had belonged to one of the police officers he killed last year.
“Yes, it is quite possible that the weapon was … was one of our officers’ weapons,” he said when asked if Freeman had used a weapon stolen from the Porepunkah shootout.
Commissioner Bush said that they were actively investigating who had aided Freeman while on the run.
Rewatch: Update from Chief Commissioner Mike Bush
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has just provided a second update after police killer Dezi Freeman was shot dead in northern Victoria. Rewatch the press conference in full below.
A dark cloud lifts: Helen Haines reflects on the manhunt in Porepunkah
Independent federal MP Helen Haines said that over the past six months, a dark cloud had hung over the Porepunkah community.
Haines, whose electorate of Indi covers the terrain Freeman used to conceal his movements, thanked Victoria Police in a statement.
“News this morning of the death of Freeemn draws this prolonged and devastating incident to a close,” she said.
Former negotiator shares what may have happened at Thologolong
A former police hostage negotiator says this morning’s stand-off that led to the death of Dezi Freeman “was always going to end up ugly”.
Dr Vincent Hurley, now a criminologist a Macquarie University, said that while the aim of police would have been to take Freeman alive and bring him before a court, Freeman’s ideology as a sovereign citizen made this outcome nearly impossible.
“He would have seen [being arrested] as a cowardly act,” Hurley said.
“He would have wanted to either shoot his way out or hold out as long as possible. Police would have told him he was surrounded and that he had no way of escape, and that they were not going to come in and harm him – that is standard practice. They would have reinforced the point numerous times that they were trying to get him to give himself up freely.”
Hurley said stand-offs like the one in Thologolong this morning were incredibly rare, and each time there was one – such as when Malcolm Naden was arrested in March 2012 after seven years on the run – police learnt from it.
Hurley also said Freeman was now probably a martyr for the cause of sovereign citizens, and the damage may have been done by how much attention his time on the run received in the media.
“The icing on the cake is that he has outlasted police, and the government, and given them the middle finger for seven months,” Hurley said. “Sovereign citizens and extremists will use him as a yardstick.”
‘An evil man is dead’: Jacinta Allan speaks to reporters
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has said “an evil man is dead” and it is good that Dezi Freeman will no longer pose a threat to Victorians.
At a press conference, Allan spoke to the families of Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart: “The threat may be over, but for you, the mourning will never end.”
“I also say, too, to the community of Porepunkah and the broader north-east Victorian region, this incident has hung like a dark, dark shadow over these communities … That shadow has been lifted somewhat, but these memories will remain and the pain will live in these communities also.”
‘We will chase every rabbit’: Investigation turns to those who helped harbour Freeman
Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt has issued a warning to anyone who may have harboured Dezi Freeman during his time on the run.
“Our members will chase every rabbit down every burrow,” Gatt told reporters at a press conference in Wodonga.
The huge police operation will shift focus to determine if Freeman received outside assistance.
Earlier today, Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said it was likely that Freeman had help. “It would be very difficult for him to get where he was without assistance,” Bush said. “We will be speaking to anyone we suspect has assisted him in avoiding detection and arrest.”
Watch: Wayne Gatt speaks to reporters
Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt has spoken to reporters in Wodonga.
Later, at 5pm, Chief Commissioner Mike Bush will speak to reporters for the second time today, also in Wodonga.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
