After refusing to surrender during a three-hour standoff with heavily armed police, Dezi Freeman fired the first shot which would lead to his death, a court has heard. The coronial inquest into the fugitive’s death began on Monday with a directions hearing in front of the State Coroner, Judge Liberty Sanger. The court heard details of Freeman’s final stand on 30 March 2026, which brought an end to a six-month manhunt after he killed police officers Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and attempted to kill two other officers in Porepunkah. Two days following the fatal shooting on 26 August, a warrant was issued for Freeman’s arrest at Wangaratta Magistrates' Court. Between August 2025 and March 2026, police searched extensive bushland within the Mount Buffalo National Park and followed up on thousands of pieces of information received by the public. Numerous specialist state, national and New Zealand resources were deployed throughout one of the biggest police operations in Australian history. Senior police told the media in early 2026 they strongly believed Freeman had died in the bush after finding limited evidence that pointed towards his survival. But the court heard a week prior to Freeman’s death, police received intelligence which pointed to a Murray River Road property in Thologolong, more than 100km from where he was last seen fleeing into the bush at Rayner Track. Covert operatives headed out to survey the area on 28 and 29 March, confirming they had seen Freeman at a 40-foot white shipping container. About 5:30am on 30 March, numerous operatives and vehicles from the heavily armed Victoria Police Special Operations Group formed a cordon around the container while a police helicopter patrolled the air. Sirens were activated on the Victoria Police BearCat and a specialist negotiator spoke on a loud speaker in an attempt to wake Freeman. The container had a glass sliding door and a fly screen, and a small verandah structure. There would be no response until gas canisters were hurled through the glass sliding door about 6:13am when Freeman appeared wrapped in a blanket. He refused to surrender to officers, calling them “thugs” and “bullies” who were there to hurt him. He asked one officer why they were there, and when he was told it was for the murder of two police officers, he claimed it was an act of self-defence and they had come to murder him and his family at Porepunkah. About 6:30am he exited the shipping container and stepped out into the verandah, where he was shot by a baton round to the leg and retreated back inside. He walked in and out of the shipping container a number of times, taunting police to have a beer with him as he was seen swigging a drink. “Cowards, come and get me,” Freeman said. Police attempted to provide Freeman with a phone to negotiate with him, but he refused to accept it. At 8:20am operatives deployed the BearCat’s gas device, which pierced through the container as arrest teams surrounded the doorway. Freeman exited the shipping container with his hands hidden behind a green bag. After spotting more officers in the distance, Freeman dropped the bag, holding the handgun he had taken from Sen Const de Waart-Hottart and pointed it at police. The court heard after releasing a dog on Freeman, operatives believed he had fired a shot. Eight officers fired back at Freeman, killing him. Nearby paramedics on standby confirmed his death, while no other people or animals were injured. The court heard no body camera footage was available from the incident, but police helicopter footage showed the final shootout and “clearly” showed a firearm in the hand of Freeman. Police found an audio recording on Freeman’s phone which had captured the last 23 minutes prior to his death. There was one unaccounted-for bullet in the cartridge of the police issued handgun, which had not been fired at the Porepunkah or Thologolong shootings. The investigation into how Freeman found himself at the Thologolong property and whether he was assisted by members of the public remains ongoing, along with the coronial inquest into his death. Judge Sanger acknowledged the ongoing grief felt by Freeman’s family, who were present in court. The coronial investigations into the deaths of Freeman and the two police officers were being held separately.
