Fucking scum, die in hell—he yelled at the dying officers
In the quiet alpine town of Porepunkah, a routine warrant execution became one of Victoria's darkest days for law enforcement, claiming two officers' lives and setting off a seven-month manhunt that ended in a second fatal shooting. A coroner's court in Melbourne has now begun the slow, deliberate work of understanding how such violence unfolds — and whether the institutions meant to contain it acted as they should. These proceedings remind us that the law's reckoning with death is never swift, and that behind every procedural hearing lie lives irrevocably altered.
- Two experienced officers were shot dead within moments of entering a converted bus, ambushed by a man who had refused to comply with a lawful warrant related to child sexual assault allegations.
- The shooter stood over the dying men and screamed abuse at them, seized a fallen officer's weapon, and fired again — an act of deliberate cruelty that deepened the horror of an already catastrophic scene.
- A third officer was wounded as the gunman fled into the bush, triggering one of Victoria's longest and most intensive manhunts, spanning seven months and 150 kilometres.
- Police ultimately located the suspect at a remote border campsite, where he emerged armed and was shot dead — leaving unresolved whether he fired first or whether the force used was legally justified.
- A coroner's inquest is now being scoped to examine not only the officers' deaths but also the circumstances of the suspect's killing and how he evaded capture for so long.
On a Monday morning in May, a Victorian coroner's court heard the full weight of what had unfolded the previous August in Porepunkah — a small alpine town where two police officers lost their lives executing a search warrant at a man's converted bus home. Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35, had arrived with three colleagues to investigate allegations of child sexual assault and the production of abuse material. The man inside, Dezi Freeman, refused to cooperate, and when Thompson climbed through a window to gain entry, Freeman shot him in the face and neck.
What followed was methodical and merciless. Freeman shot De Waart-Hottart as the other officers scrambled for cover, then returned to stand over both fallen men, swearing at them before picking up a dead officer's gun and firing again. He wounded a third officer on his way out, then fled into the surrounding bush — but not before sending his wife a farewell message telling her to run and that he would see her in heaven.
The search lasted seven months and covered roughly 150 kilometres, ending in late March when police tracked Freeman to a makeshift campsite near Walwa on the Victoria-New South Wales border. Footage captured him emerging from a shipping container, pulling a concealed weapon, and pointing it at officers. He was shot dead. Whether he fired first remains contested.
Monday's hearing was a procedural step — a directions hearing to establish the scope and timeline of the formal inquest into the officers' deaths. State Coroner Liberty Sanger also convened separate hearings into Freeman's own death. The questions still to be answered are significant: how did a wanted man evade one of the state's largest manhunts for so long, and was the force that ultimately ended his life lawfully justified?
On a Monday morning in May, a coroner's court in Victoria heard the details of one of the state's most brutal police killings. Two officers—Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35—had been shot dead the previous August while executing a warrant at a converted bus in the small town of Porepunkah. The man who killed them, Dezi Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, had yelled abuse at Thompson as he lay dying, then fired again at his body. He would not be caught for seven months, and when police finally found him, they shot him dead.
The shooting began at 9:50 a.m. on August 26, when five officers arrived at Freeman's makeshift home to execute a search warrant. Freeman was suspected of sexually assaulting a child under 16 and attempting to involve a child in the production of abuse material. When the officers knocked, Freeman refused to come out, telling them to go to hell. He called the warrant "bullshit" when shown a copy. An officer tried to climb onto the bus roof but could not gain entry. Freeman eventually said he would come out, but when he did not, Thompson lifted himself through a window to get inside.
The moment Thompson's feet touched the ground inside the bus, Freeman shot him in the face and neck. Another officer yelled "gun" and ran, triggering a duress alarm. Freeman then shot De Waart-Hottart as the remaining officers scattered behind a shipping container for cover. After the initial shooting, Freeman returned to the bus and stood over both fallen officers, swearing at them. "Fucking scum, die in hell," he yelled, before picking up De Waart-Hottart's firearm and shooting Thompson again. He then stepped out of the bus armed with two guns and fired at a third officer, wounding them, before running down the hill toward the river.
Before he fled, Freeman sent a message to his wife: "Get a mile away and keep going. See you in heaven, love." The search for him stretched across seven months and covered roughly 150 kilometers, ending on March 30 when police discovered him at a makeshift campsite near Walwa, on the Victoria-New South Wales border. Footage showed him wrapped in a blanket, emerging from a shipping container before pulling a gun from underneath and pointing it at officers. Police shot him dead. The state's police commissioner, Mike Bush, has said the shooting was justified, though it remains unclear whether Freeman had fired his weapon first.
The coroner's hearing on Monday was a directions hearing—a procedural step to set the scope and dates for the formal inquest into the deaths of the two officers. State Coroner Liberty Sanger was also to hold hearings that afternoon into Freeman's death. The counsel assisting the coroner, Lindsay Spence, outlined the facts of the case and the purpose of the original warrant: officers had intended to locate and seize electronic devices to search for child abuse material, and to arrest Freeman for questioning. What remains to be investigated is how Freeman evaded capture for so long, and whether the circumstances of his final shooting will be deemed justified under law.
Notable Quotes
Freeman told police to go to hell when they arrived, and called the search warrant 'bullshit' when shown a copy— Counsel assisting the coroner, Lindsay Spence, describing Freeman's initial response
Freeman sent a message to his wife: 'Get a mile away and keep going. See you in heaven, love'— Message sent by Freeman before fleeing the scene
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why was Freeman at that property in the first place? Was he known to police?
The warrant suggests he was under investigation for child sexual abuse. Police had received disclosure about an alleged assault of a child under 16 and an attempt to involve a child in making abuse material. They came to search for electronic devices that might contain evidence.
And when the officers arrived, he just opened fire immediately?
Not quite. He refused to come out at first, told them to go to hell. An officer tried to get in through the roof. Freeman said he'd come out, but then didn't. When Thompson climbed through a window, that's when Freeman shot him.
The detail about him yelling at the dying officers—that seems important to the coroner.
It does. It suggests something about his state of mind in those moments. He wasn't panicked or fleeing in fear. He was standing over them, cursing them. Then he picked up one of their guns and shot Thompson again.
And he managed to evade police for seven months after that?
Yes. He ran down toward the river and disappeared. For months, no one knew where he was. Then in March, police found him 150 kilometers away at a makeshift campsite near the border.
Do we know how he survived out there for that long?
The coroner's inquest will likely explore that. It's one of the unanswered questions—how he lived, where he went, who might have helped him. That investigation is just beginning.