Dezi Freeman shot dead in shoot-out with police after seven months on the run
Updated ,first published
- Follow our live coverage of this developing story here.
Fugitive Dezi Freeman was shot dead by armed police during a shootout on a rural property near the Victoria-NSW border on Monday morning after more than seven months on the run.
Police were tipped off to Freeman’s whereabouts near the small town of Walwa on the Murray River last week, according to police sources who were not authorized to speak on the record. Officers had staked out the property for several days before surrounding it in the early hours of Monday morning.
Age Accused cop killer Dezi Freeman has been found and shot dead by police at a large rural settlement in the Walwa district, confirmed police, and satellite images show the sprawling property is filled with multiple buildings including two shipping containers, a caravan and several disused trucks and cars.
Freeman was shot and killed about 200 kilometers northeast of Porepunkah after allegedly shooting two police officers to death more than 200 days ago. Here he had fled into the bush.
Chief constable Mike Bush said Victoria Police would not confirm Freeman’s identity until a thorough identification process had taken place, but described the shooting as “justice” at a press conference this morning.
“Everything I know at this point tells me this attack was fair game. As I said, the operation was conducted by professionals from Victoria Police.”
Freeman is believed to have been hiding in one of the containers on the property and emerged from hiding to shoot at officers. This came after hours of tense negotiations between Freeman and police.
In a brief statement on Monday morning, police confirmed that a man was fatally shot by police at a rural property in north-east Victoria at around 8.30am as part of an operation to find Freeman.
“No police officer was injured during the incident,” the statement said.
“The state coroner will attend the scene and the investigation will be overseen by the Professional Standards Command in accordance with standard procedure for police shootings.”
The news was welcomed by ranking officers. A senior detective told The Age: “I think it’s a good day today, the sun is shining and Victoria Police will continue to serve the public in the way that fallen police officers tried to do.”
Freeman was last seen in Mount Buffalo after Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, were shot dead at a rural property in Porepunkah on August 26 last year.
De Waart-Hottart’s parents, who live in Belgium, are currently in Melbourne after attending a ceremony last week to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Russell Street bombing in which police officer Angela Taylor was killed.
Specialist police units carried out a series of unsuccessful searches, including using cadaver dogs, in the months since Freeman’s disappearance but were unable to find him.
Victoria Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said in a statement following the news of the shooting: “Our members said they would find him. They did.”
Gatt said Freeman’s death did not lessen the trauma he caused or “give back the futures that were callously stolen” but it represented a step forward.
“Today we will not reflect on the loss of a coward,” he said.
“We will remember the bravery and bravery of our fallen members and every officer who doggedly pursued this outcome for the community.
“Days like today are a reminder that policing happens while you sleep, media interest in an investigation wanes and all seems lost and forgotten.”
Sherryn Groch is a journalist covering crime for The Age. Email her at s.groch@nine.com.au or contact her securely on Signal @SherrynG.70.Connect with: X or email.
