“He deserved it.”
Dezi Freeman’s wife said angrily after her husband was shot dead.
Amalia Freeman, the wife of fugitive Dezi Freeman, has broken her silence and urged her husband to surrender to the police. The plea comes as the extensive police manhunt in Porepunkah, Victoria, continues for the man accused of fatally shooting two police officers.
In a statement released via her lawyer, Amalia Freeman expressed her “deep sorrow for the loss of the lives of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart” and said, “My children and I grieve for the loss of your loved ones.” The statement was provided to the ABC and other media outlets.
Amalia Freeman also stressed that she and her children do not hold the same anti-authority views as her husband. “My children and I respect the important work of Victoria Police and do not hold anti-authority views,” she said, as reported by ABC News.
Victoria Police Superintendent Brett Kahan noted that while some individuals have been speaking with police, this is not the same as full cooperation.
“It’s two different things to be speaking with police and co-operating with police.”
He added that authorities would encourage those not providing full cooperation – including Freeman’s wife – to do so.
Amalia Freeman is of Filipino descent. According to 7NEWS, a relative alleged that “none of the kids have birth certificates” and that Dezi Freeman had taken Mali’s passport, preventing her from returning to the Philippines.
A fuller picture of Mali has also emerged. In reporting by The Australian, she is known locally not only as the estranged wife of Australia’s most wanted man but also as a mother of three and a musician. Photos shared with media show her cradling her youngest child on Mother’s Day while her two older sons leaned in close.
Mali and her teenage son were arrested during a dramatic police raid last week and later released without charge. Her best friend, Ellissa Pernu, was also detained briefly that night.
Mali and Ellissa have performed together in small Alpine region venues, from local cafés and pubs to weekend markets and regional music festivals. They describe their music as a mix of country and folk, with “sweet harmonies” strengthening each other’s work. In 2020, they wrote that the COVID-19 pandemic had tested their “patience and resilience,” thanking supporters for giving them opportunities to perform. (The Australian, August 31, 2025)
Dezi Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, is described as a “sovereign citizen,” an individual who adheres to a pseudo-legal ideology that rejects government authority. He has a history of confrontation with law enforcement and has previously referred to police as “terrorist thugs” in court documents.
The manhunt for the 56-year-old remains ongoing, with police believing he may be receiving assistance from members of the local community.
Watch the following video courtesy of ABC News on YouTube with a statement provided by Amalia a.k.a. Mali through her lawyers:
In 2018, Dezi Freeman appeared on A Current Affair with his wife, Mali and their two young sons, claiming they were being harassed by neighbours at their Porepunkah home, which Mali described as their ‘perfect paradise’. Watch the following video courtesy of A Current Affair/Channel 9 via YouTube.
On day 7 of the manhunt, police believe that Dezi is getting help from someone as reported on Channel 7 in the following video
The Freeman case has attracted national attention due to the scale of the police operation and the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of two officers. Authorities say the manhunt will continue until Freeman is located.
Who is Dezi Freeman and what did he do? What to know about the Australian fugitive shot dead by Victoria police
56-year-old ‘sovereign citizen’ had been on the run after allegedly killing two police officers at Porepunkah in Australian alpine region in August
Dezi Freeman fatally shot two police officers and injured another during an attempt to execute a search warrant at his home in Porepunkah, Victoria. The officers killed were Neal Thompson, 59, and Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35. Photograph: PR HANDOUT
Porepunkah shooting
Explainer
Who is Dezi Freeman and what did he do? What to know about the Australian fugitive shot dead by Victoria police
56-year-old ‘sovereign citizen’ had been on the run after allegedly killing two police officers at Porepunkah in Australian alpine region in August
Live updates: Australian fugitive Dezi Freeman shot dead by Victoria police
Full story: Dezi Freeman shot dead by police
Caitlin Cassidy
Mon 30 Mar 2026 05.55 BST
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Dezi Freeman has been shot and killed by police after a seven-month manhunt in Victoria’s north-east.
The Porepunkah man was accused of killing two police officers and injuring a third in August, triggering Australia’s “largest ever” tactical policing operation.
Here’s what we know about Freeman and his death so far.
Who was Dezi Freeman and what is he accused of doing?
Desmond “Dezi” Freeman, 56, lived in a bus on a rural property near the small town of Porepunkah on Victoria’s alpine region with his wife and two of his children. His third child moved out in 2024.
On a pseudolaw podcast in 2019, Freeman called himself a photographer from north-east Victoria. He described himself as a “sovereign citizen” with a self-confessed hatred of police, with friends telling Guardian Australia he had become increasingly radicalised over the years.
On 26 August last year, group of 10 police – made up of local officers and members of the sexual offences and child abuse investigation team – entered the property, about 210km north-east of Melbourne in rural Victoria, to serve a search warrant before allegedly being fired upon by Freeman.
Freeman fatally shot two police officers and injured another “in cold blood”. The officers killed were a 59-year-old detective, Neal Thompson, and a 35-year-old senior constable, Vadim De Waart-Hottart. Another police officer was shot and underwent surgery.
Following the alleged shooting, Freeman fled into the adjacent Mount Buffalo national park he had known for decades, heavily armed and alone. Hundreds of police officers searched for Freeman in the subsequent months.
nr Const Vadim De Waart-Hottart (left) and Det Leading Snr Const Neal Thompson (right) died after being fatally shot by Dezi Freeman in August 2025. Composite: Victoria Police
What do we know about Dezi Freeman’s beliefs and criminal history?
Freeman had a history of association with pseudolaw and “sovereign citizen” ideas as well as unpleasant encounters with Victoria’s police force, who he called “terrorist thugs”, “frigging Nazis” and “Gestapo”.
He had a criminal record stretching more than 30 years, but had not been convicted of any serious offences.
Court records paint a picture of a man with a deep distrust of police and embrace of conspiracies. He once attempted to arrest a magistrate during a bizarre court hearing in Wangaratta and had refused to provide a saliva sample to police when caught speeding in September 2020.
A 2018 episode of A Current Affair featured Freeman and his family complaining about a neighbourly dispute at their then Mount Buffalo property. The report said Freeman and his family complained about their neighbour’s dirt bike stunts, loud chainsaws and verbal abuse five years before the broadcast. Freeman described the dispute as “full-out war” and said his neighbours were the “instigators” of it.
Where was Dezi Freeman found and how did he die?
Victoria police said Freeman died shortly after shortly after 8.30am on Monday as part of the operation to locate him.
Victorian police chief commissioner, Mike Bush, said Freeman died on Monday morning after an hours-long standoff that began earlier in the morning. The incident took place at a remote property in the foothills of Mount Lawson state forest near Thologolong, about 100km from Porepunkah.
He said police appealed to Freeman to come out of a building, described as a cross between a container and long caravan.
There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he did not, Bush said.
“We strongly believe, yet to be confirmed as well, that he was armed.”
Did he receive assistance while on the run?
Bush said police were very keen to hear who – if anyone – assisted Freeman “in getting away from Porepunkah to where he was located”.
He said it would have been very difficult for Freeman to get to where he was without external help.
“We’ll be speaking to anyone who may have assisted him to avoid detection and arrest,” Bush told reporters.
In February, following a five-day search, police told reporters they were exploring three scenarios in relation to Freeman: that he died near Mount Buffalo by self-harm or misadventure; he escaped the area and was being harboured; or that he has escaped the area and has survived without help.