Dezi Freeman Killed in Police Standoff After Months of Evasion

Mon Mar 30 2026 16:32:42 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The notorious fugitive Dezi Freeman has been shot dead by Australian authorities following a seven-month manhunt. Freeman was wanted for the murder of two police officers in a violent confrontation last August.

After being on the run for seven months, Dezi Freeman, a self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist and fugitive murderer, was shot dead by the Victoria Police during a standoff at a rural property. Freeman was implicated in the deaths of two police officers last year, leading to an extensive manhunt. Authorities confirm that despite attempts to negotiate his surrender, Freeman emerged armed, prompting a lethal response from the police. The tragic events have raised concerns about the increasing violence associated with anti-government movements in Australia.

Australian police have shot and killed Dezi Freeman after the double-murderer spent seven months on the run.

A well-known conspiracy theorist, Freeman gunned down two police officers on his property in the small Victorian town of Porepunkah last August, before fleeing into dense bushland and evading extensive searches.

Victoria Police say a man was shot dead after an hours-long standoff at a rural property in the state's north-east on Monday morning. Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said the man is believed to be Freeman, 56, but formal identification is still underway.

Today an evil man is dead, said Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. It's over.

Police surrounded a building - described as a cross between a shipping container and a long caravan - on a rural property around 5:30 local time. After three hours of negotiation, a man believed to be Freeman came outside and was shot dead.

Details are still being confirmed, but Bush indicated that Freeman emerged wrapped in a blanket and armed with a gun, possibly one taken from one of the slain officers back in August. Our ultimate goal was to arrest the person, Bush said, adding, There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully but he did not.

No officers were hurt during the operation, police said, which will be investigated as is standard in police shootings.

The squad sent to Freeman's property on 26 August was there to search it over an investigation into sex offences when two senior constables - Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart - were killed by Freeman.

Their families were the first to be notified of Freeman's death, with a formal identification process expected to take 24 to 48 hours. Police indicated that Freeman may have received assistance during his time on the run.

Freeman, whose real name was Desmond Filby, was a self-described sovereign citizen, rejecting government authority and laws. Locals in Porepunkah, an alpine tourist town, said he lived there with his wife and children.

After the double murder, the area was shut down, and police offered a A$1 million reward for Freeman's capture, spending months looking for him in difficult terrain.

In recent months, authorities indicated strong suspicions that Freeman was deceased before his confirmed death. The case has raised serious concerns about the growing influence of anti-government conspiracy theorists in Australia, who have been linked to rising violence against law enforcement.