Inquests into killer and slain police officers to begin next week

Inquests into the deaths of double murderer Dezi Freeman and slain police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart will officially begin before the state coroner next week.

Forensic investigations are expected to examine previously undisclosed details about the day Freeman shot two Victoria Police officers on August 26 and the ensuing search for Australia’s most wanted man.

Fallen officers Vadim de Waart-Hottart (left) and Neal Thompson (right).

From Monday, state Coroner Liberty Sanger will preside over proceedings into the three deaths, holding a morning hearing for Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Thompson and an afternoon hearing for Freeman.

The cases are currently listed for a directions hearing on Monday, which will narrow the scope of the investigation, set timelines for evidence and finalize trial dates.

Freeman, 56, fled into the dense alpine bush of Buffalo Mountain after killing de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Thompson, 59, last year. The slain officers were part of a 10-man team that arrived at a remote Porepunkah property where Freeman was living at the time and served him with an arrest warrant for historic sexual offences.

While the investigations into De Waart-Hottart and Thompson were postponed, Freeman remained at large and murder investigations continued.

In March, after seven months on the run, Freeman was shot and killed by heavily armed police who followed him to a location. Remote hideaway in ThologolongClose to the NSW border.

Police Chief Mike Bush confirmed on the day of the operation that Freeman’s death would be investigated; It is standard process for all police assaults to be investigated by the forensic and police professional standards unit.

“Everything I know now tells me the attack was justified,” Bush said at the time.

Bush said a negotiator spoke to Freeman when they went to the Thologolong property in the early hours of March 30 and believed the fugitive had opened fire on police.

Police sources confirmed that Freeman was found following a tip from someone close to the father of three.

A source with direct knowledge of the operation said a couple believed to have been helping Freeman became increasingly concerned about his erratic behavior.

When they took their concerns to another Freeman employee, those conversations gave police their first concrete information about the man they had hunted for seven months.

No charges have been laid since the self-described sovereign citizen was found, although police intelligence indicated that Freeman was aided by a network of associates during his time on the run.

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