Dezi Freeman inquest: police investigating alleged sexual assault of child when two killed, coroner hears | Porepunkah shooting
It was revealed that an allegation of sexual assault against a child was the reason for a search warrant against Dezi Freeman, which resulted in her shooting and killing two Victoria police officers.
New details about the deaths of Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson, 59, and Sen Const Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35, at the Freeman home in August were detailed at a coroner’s court directions hearing on Monday morning.
Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, was shot and killed by police in March after he was found at a makeshift campsite about 150 km away.
Lawyer Linsday Spence, who is assisting with the investigation, said in her opening summary that police executed the arrest warrant following the revelation of an allegation of sexual assault on a child under 16, as well as an attempt to involve a child in producing child abuse material.
“The purpose of the search warrant was to locate and seize electronic devices that would be questioned for the potential presence of child abuse material,” he told the court.
“It was also planned to arrest the person concerned and then interrogate him.”
The two slain officers were among the police team that executed a search warrant at his home in Porepunkah, 310 kilometers northwest of Melbourne.
After killing them, Freeman led police on one of the country’s largest manhunts.
A seven-month search to find the 56-year-old ended when he died in a hail of police bullets on March 30 at a remote property at Thologolong, near Walwa on the Victoria-NSW border.
State coroner Liberty Sanger was holding directions hearings for the inquest into the officers’ deaths Monday morning before turning her attention to Freeman’s death in the afternoon.
Decisions on the dates and scope of the investigations and who will testify were expected to be determined on Monday.
Queensland University of Technology forensic criminologist Dr. The coroner will examine the three deaths in detail to determine how they died and what can be done to prevent future deaths, according to Claire Ferguson.
“They will have a full reconstruction of what actually happened, and that could be pinpointing the exact locations of people in scenes and forensic evidence,” Ferguson said.
Speculation was rife as to how Freeman got to Thologolong, about 150km from the Porepunkah area where he fatally shot the officers.
This may also be part of the investigation.
timeline
Porepunkah attack and Dezi Freeman manhunt
To show
Ten police officers, including officers from the child exploitation squad, attended a property on Rayner Track in Porepunkah at around 10.30am to execute a search warrant. Two police officers were killed and another was injured. A heavily armed suspect escapes into the woods alone. Police are deploying specialist resources, including air and ground, to find him.
Victoria police identified the suspect as 56-year-old Dezi Freeman. The names of the killed officers are Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson (59) and Sen Const Vadim De Waart-Hottart (35).
Officers from the Australian federal police’s elite tactical team were deployed. Police urge the alleged killer to call triple zero and surrender. Police arrested the wife of 42-year-old Dezi Freeman and another man in a late-night raid at an address in Porepunkah. They are questioned and released “pending further investigation.”
Police announced a reward of “up to $1 million” for information about Dezi Freeman; It is the largest reward ever offered for an arrest in Victoria and warns the public not to go searching for the “high risk” fugitive.
More than 125 specialist officers, including officers deployed from all Australian states and New Zealand, are carrying out the country’s “largest ever tactical police operation” in the inhospitable terrain around Freeman’s property.
Authorities lifted travel restrictions in the Porepunkah area to “allow the community to return to normal.”
Police are carrying out firearms tests near Barrett Lane and Rayner Track in Porepunkah, triggered by reports of a gunshot heard nearby on the day of the police shooting.
Police began a five-day search for Freeman in Victoria’s highlands and continued firearms testing as part of the investigation. Police say they are investigating three scenarios regarding Freeman: that he died near Buffalo Mountain by self-harm or misfortune; that he escaped from the area and was housed; or that he fled the area and survived without help.
Victoria police say they do not have enough evidence to pursue charges against three people – including Freeman’s wife – as part of the wider investigation into the deadly Porepunkah police shootings.
Police shot and killed Freeman after a seven-month search.
The footage shows Freeman, wrapped in a blanket, emerging from a shipping container that appears to be a makeshift campsite, then pulling a gun from underneath and pointing it at police in Thologolong.
It was not known whether he fired the gun before multiple officers shot him dead, but state police commissioner Mike Bush argued the attack was justified.
Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said whether this video would be shown to the public would depend on the coroner weighing the benefits of transparency and accountability and the probative value of people seeing police shoot someone.
For 216 days, investigators had been investigating the possibility that Freeman had received help from others to evade police; Bush said it would have been very difficult for him to get to where he is without help.
