Community searches for answers over shock Freeman find
An ominous silence lingers on the banks of the Murray River.
It is a place known for its beauty, with green pastures, quiet roads and small towns.
But everything changed early Monday morning when a neighboring resident reported hearing a single gunshot, raising the question: Who turned in Dezi Freeman?
Police have been searching for the 56-year-old for seven months.
Freeman had not been seen officially since he shot and killed Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart along with other police officers who raided his home in the small town of Porepunkah in late August.
That was until just after 5.30am when police moved quickly to an apparently vacant property in Thologolong, about 150km from Freeman’s last known location.
In the darkness, officers negotiated with the man, believed to be Freeman, for three hours.
However, after Freeman was shot and many bullets were fired, the rural police station fell silent.
It is not known whether anyone helped shelter the fugitive.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush was unsure whether the discovery resulted from a tip or whether the $1 million reward would be paid.
Just hours after news of Freeman’s death began to spread, discussions about the reward were circulating in the nearby town of Walwa.
“Today was pretty crazy,” Samir Ramzan of Walwa Market told AAP.
“A lot of local people found out about this, followed by reporters, lots of phone calls and a group of cyclists arriving because the road was closed.” Some people make fun of each other – ‘who attacked him, who took the million?'”
Despite the conversations, many residents are uncomfortable knowing that a self-described sovereign citizen lives nearby.
“I’m a little uncomfortable with Dezi Freeman being in the Upper Murray, assuming it’s (Dezi),” Walwa resident Janice Newnham told AAP. he said.
“I thought he probably managed to escape from the Buffalo Mountain area, but I would have guessed he would have crossed state lines by now.
“Because it is privately owned, I am even more concerned that the people making it possible may be from our community.”
Aerial images of the property show numerous shipping containers, tarps and various vehicles scattered across the site, which is far from the road.
It is not known whether anyone helped Freeman on the property, but Mr Bush said it would have been “very difficult” to get to his location without help.
Although many questions remained unanswered, authorities were pleased that the seven-month manhunt, one of the largest in the country’s history, was over.
“This incident has hung like a dark, dark shadow over these communities,” Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said.
“This shadow has been slightly removed.”
