Dezi Freeman Fatally Shot by Police After Six-Month Manhunt

Dezi Freeman, the 56-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting two police officers in August 2025, was shot and killed by police on Monday morning at a rural property near Porepunkah, Victoria. The incident occurred around 8:30 am, following a six-month manhunt.

Freeman had been on the run since August 26, 2025, after allegedly killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35, during the execution of a search warrant at his property in Porepunkah. A third officer was injured in the incident.

In a brief statement, Victoria Police confirmed that a man was fatally shot by police at a rural property in north-east Victoria as part of the operation to locate Freeman. The statement noted that no police officers were injured during the incident. The state coroner will attend the scene, and the investigation will be overseen by the Professional Standards Command, as per standard procedure for police shootings.

Freeman, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen, had been the subject of an extensive search involving hundreds of officers from multiple agencies. The manhunt was one of the largest in Australian history, with authorities considering him heavily armed and dangerous.