Dezi Freeman: Criminologist reveals theories in manhunt for alleged cop killer

A criminologist has offered insight into the renewed search for fugitive and alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman, who has been on the run for five months in Victoria’s High Country.

Dozens of officers and dogs have combed through dense bushland and shrubbery across the Mount Buffalo National Park as part of a renewed five-day search for the alleged cop killer.

The 56-year-old allegedly shot and killed two police officers, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, who were trying to serve Freeman a warrant at a property in the town of Porepunkah on August 26, 2025.

Freeman was last seen fleeing the western side of the Buckland River at 10.45am on the day and has not been seen since.

The fatal shooting sparked an enormous manhunt for the alleged killer.

Witness Jude Wilson, who lives in the area, told police he heard a single gunshot ring out at 12.29pm the day of the fatal shooting.

“Cops were going past. I came out here with Nana and I heard a bang in the background,” he told an SBS podcast.

“Over in the paddock there they do shooting, but normally with a rifle you hear another bang. “It sounded like some sort of homemade shotgun.”

A Victoria Police spokesman told NewsWire that police had corroborated the witness’s account.

On Tuesday, police recreated the single gunshot fired in the area.

Speaking to NewsWire, Macquarie University criminologist Vincent Hurley said officers would be using “exactly the same firearm or similar” to re-enact the single gunshot.

From there, they can “triangulate that through acoustics to try and work out a geographical area where it came from”, the former police officer said.

Doubt over Freeman’s survival

Detective Inspector Adam Tilley told reporters on Monday that investigators believed Freeman was dead, as there had been “no proof of life” since the fatal shooting.

Dr Hurley agreed it was highly unlikely Freeman was still alive, as the new search involved cadaver dogs.

“I don’t think he’s alive – I think he’s dead,” he told NewsWire.

The recent heatwave would have only added to the unsurvivable conditions, Dr Hurley said.

“Now coping with the heat, if he’s still alive, would have really depleted him – like literally, physically and psychologically,” he said.

Wild animals are also a major risk in the bush.

“If a brown snake bit him, he’d be dead within a couple of hours,” Dr Hurley said.

“You know, it’s not only the physical terrain in geography, it is competing with animals.”

The terrain where Freeman fled is also incredibly dangerous, especially without access to food and water.

“He could have fallen over and broken his neck because it’s pretty rough terrain,” Dr Hurley said.

“Because he would have been running for his life, literally, and with the adrenaline and then later, if he had exhausted all his food, he would’ve been physically weak, and he could’ve stumbled and fallen and cracked his head or his neck or something like that and died.”

Could someone be harbouring Freeman?

Despite police saying they’re “comfortable” with the belief Freeman is dead, some theorised he had been harboured by members of the public.

However, Dr Hurley quashed this theory, arguing the risk of associating with the fugitive was “too high”.

The same could be said for other sovereign citizens.

“Sovereign citizens, by their political ideology, are loners,” he said.

Unlike neo-Nazis, who “follow hierarchy and structure”, Dr Hurley said sovereign citizens would likely avoid harbouring Freeman to remain “independent”.

“In any event, the police would have immediately focused on all the sovereign citizens, as well as ASIO and the AFP, (who) would have gone straight to them to check on them and see what they know,” he said.

Could Freeman have fled the country?

It’s unlikely Freeman would have escaped or fled to another country after allegedly shooting the officers dead, Dr Hurley said.

“I think it’s a bit fanciful,” he said.

“If he was to flee and go into another country, he’d need his passport.”Dr Hurley explained the time needed to acquire documents necessary for international travel wouldn’t align with the alleged shooting.

“So he fled into the bush immediately after he (allegedly) shot those people,” he said.

“The police swarm the area. He would have had no opportunity to go back home and grab (a passport) or money. He wouldn’t have the resources or means to be able to fly interstate or overseas.”

Dr Hurley said airport security would also be on high alert.

“The fact that (police) would have put out an airport alert – which is really common – to keep an eye out, and his face was plastered all over the media and the news, (he is) pretty identifiable,” he said.

Will police find Freeman?

The search for Freeman has stretched out for almost six months, with little chance he is still alive.

Dr Hurley said it would be “hard” to locate his remains given the amount of time that had passed, particularly following intense heat and fires.

“His body would have decomposed considerably, initially maybe not, but certainly with the heat, most definitely,” he said.

The human body takes about seven years to decompose inside a coffin, but the process is a lot quicker when exposed to the elements.

“I don’t think he would be mummified,” Dr Hurley said.

“The heat would have dehydrated him or sucked out all his body fluids.”

He said the heat would have contributed to the remains “seeping into the ground”, making it harder to locate.

“Now that he’d be half decayed, he would be more camouflaged,” Dr Hurley said.

Wild animals in the area could also make the search more difficult.

“There could be wild dogs down there, so they would have eaten part of him, which is not unusual,” he said.