Home Latest Australia How cop killer Dezi Freeman spent his final days before fatal shooting

How cop killer Dezi Freeman spent his final days before fatal shooting

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Source : Perth Now news

Images have revealed how Dezi Freeman was living in the weeks before he was shot dead by police on Monday in the largest manhunt in Victoria’s history.

Freeman shot two police officers dead and injured a third in Porepunkah in Victoria’s High Country on August 26, 2025, before fleeing into the dense bushland armed with a weapon.

The fugitive went undetected for more than seven months, with police receiving 2000 pieces of information in an effort to find him.

Camera IconDezi Freeman was found hiding in a container at a rural property in Victoria’s northeast. Google Maps Credit: Supplied Source Known
The fugitive was shot dead near Thologolong on Monday. Picture: Jason Edwards
Camera IconThe fugitive was shot dead near Thologolong on Monday. Jason Edwards Credit: News Corp Australia

The manhunt for the cop killer came to an end on Monday at 8.30am when he was gunned down by police following a tense three-hour standoff.

The property he was found at in Thologolong, in Victoria’s northeast – more than 150km from where he was last seen – was strewn with shipping containers, cars, and a small truck.

Officers coaxed Freeman out of the containers after a tense three-hour standoff. Picture: 7News
Camera IconOfficers coaxed Freeman out of the containers after a tense three-hour standoff. 7News Credit: Channel 7
The shipping containers were surrounded by cars, rubbish and farm equipment. Picture: 7NEWS
Camera IconThe shipping containers were surrounded by cars, rubbish and farm equipment. 7NEWS Credit: Channel 7

The large shipping containers were scattered loosely across the stretch of land, surrounded by a circle of large trees that shrouded the spot in secrecy.

Signs of Freeman’s life in hiding were frozen in time as officers combed through the crime scene on Monday.

The large white shipping container where Freeman holed up in before he was gunned down featured a large green awning, held up by poles, with two camping chairs placed underneath.

Underneath the makeshift awning sat a portable stove and pot, with a single white plate sitting on a fold-out table alongside other cooking utensils and scissors.

Freeman was forced to leave the container after negotiations failed. Picture: 7News
Camera IconFreeman was forced to leave the container after negotiations failed. 7News Credit: Channel 7

Cleaning equipment, including brooms and dustbins, were nearby, as were several gas bottles and an overturned charcoal barbecue.

Rubbish and equipment were littered across the property, with tarpaulins and empty barrels scattered from one end of the site to the other.

A kayak and dinghy were flipped upside down, and scores of cars and caravans were parked erratically across the land among abandoned farm equipment.

Some vehicles were draped in covers, while two bright yellow cars sat side-by-side behind a tree.

Freeman was killed by police more than seven months after fleeing Porepunkah. Picture: NewsWire/ Jason Edwards
Camera IconFreeman was killed by police more than seven months after fleeing Porepunkah. NewsWire/ Jason Edwards Credit: News Corp Australia

Footage from the crime scene showed the large black armoured vehicle, used in the early-morning police operation, parked next to the container where Freeman was sleeping.

A Bearcat “claw”, which was used to coax the fugitive out of the container, punctured a hole in the side of the container.

The back doors of the container were also pulled open, revealing the conditions he lived in before being gunned down by officers.

Freeman, who is believed to have been living in the hide-out weeks before his capture, lived in similar conditions at his Porepunkah property, which was similarly strewn with empty boxes, rubbish and equipment.