More details are emerging about the beliefs and past actions of Dezi Freeman, the 56-year-old man accused of killing two police officers on his property in Porepunkah.
Since then, the town of Porepunkah in Victoria’s high country has been on lockdown with police urging residents to stay indoors. Porepunkah Primary School has since reopened, although attendance was not mandatory.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC radio on Friday morning that the Australian Federal Police will join in on the search, as it enters its fourth day.
“We need to find this perpetrator so people can be reassured he is not going to cause any more damage,” he said.
The two Victoria Police officers killed in Porepunkah on Tuesday, senior constable Vadim de Waart (left) and detective leading senior constable Neal Thompson (right), are remembered as heroes. Source: Supplied / Victoria Police
Born Desmond Filby
Dezi Freeman, born Desmond Christopher Filby, is described as Caucasian, 183cm tall, with a medium build, short dark hair, and brown eyes.
In a social media post, he claimed to have left school at the age of 13 in Year 8. He grew up in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverly before moving to the border town of Wodonga in 1977, according to The Age.
Freeman is married with three children, one of whom is 19 years old. The others are aged under 10.
The 56-year-old was known to police, and on Tuesday morning, 10 officers, including members of the sexual offences and child investigation team, attempted to serve a search warrant at the property.
Freeman was last seen wearing dark green tracksuit pants, a dark green rain jacket, brown Blundstone boots, and reading glasses.
Freeman’s sovereign citizen past
“Freeman” is a commonly adopted surname by people in the sovereign citizen movement.
Freeman has expressed views on social media that align with the beliefs of sovereign citizens. ABC Verify says an account belonging to Freeman had commented on an Instagram post in 2023, calling police “the enemies of humanity” and “the new Gestapo”.
In October of last year, Freeman launched a Supreme Court case regarding three driving convictions from 2020. He claimed he was acting in self-defence or was under duress when he drove away from police, while holding up his phone to film them.
Freeman also previously tried to arrest a Wangaratta magistrate and police members in court, and was involved in an attempt to have former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews tried for treason and fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Visitors warned to avoid the area
Officers will scour mines, caves, and dugouts on Friday for Freeman. However, weather conditions on the ground are expected to deteriorate, bringing wintry conditions, including snowfall.
Mount Buffalo National Park remains closed to visitors as the heavily armed Special Operations Unit scour the bushland for Dezi Freeman. Source: AAP / Simon Dallinger
The nearby Mount Buffalo National Park is closed until further notice, with Parks Victoria advising potential visitors to find alternative options.
Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush told a press conference on Wednesday they are open to every scenario as to Freeman’s whereabouts.
“We have a wide cordon, we have a very wide search area in place. We have experts, the best in the country, there doing everything we can to find that suspect.
“The hunt will continue until we find him.”
— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
