How Dezi Freeman was left looking like ‘Swiss cheese’ after being shot ’27 times’ during stand-off with cops at his remote compound
The body of fugitive Dezi Freeman reportedly looked like ‘Swiss cheese’ after he was shot up to 27 times during a stand-off with heavily armed officers at an off-grid compound.
The cop killer was shot at about 8.30am on Monday after he was reportedly found in a ‘long caravan’ at Tholo Farm near Walwa, 188km northeast of Porepunkah, where he disappeared from on August 26 last year.
Footage showed him wrapped in a blanket when he emerged from the shipping container, which appeared to be a makeshift campsite, before pulling a gun from underneath and pointing it at police.
Freeman had either been on the run or presumed dead after he fatally gunned down Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34.
There had been no sign of him until a Thologolong local reportedly spotted him at the camp near the Victoria-New South Wales border and alerted police.
Accounts of how the operation took place on Monday have varied, with Victoria Police confirming there would be an independent investigation, as is protocol.
Daily Mail understands police may have fired as many as 27 bullets at Freeman during the early morning showdown.
‘He looked like Swiss cheese,’ a police source told the Herald Sun.
Questions have also circulated about who alerted police to where Freeman was holed up, particularly after a $1million reward was offered for any information leading to his arrest.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush stated on Monday that any details would remain confidential and declined to address questions suggesting a tip-off had prompted the operation.
There have been reports, including from the Herald, that a car travelled several times to and from the Porepunkah area, possibly prompting police investigations there.
Other communications from the fugitive in the days and hours after he shot two police officers have also come to light, as more scrutiny is placed on the seven-month manhunt.
Hours after fleeing the tragic scene, Freeman reportedly sent a text message to his wife, Mali, saying, ‘see you in heaven’.
This initially helped detectives establish a search area of about 10km to 15km from the couple’s home in Porepunkah.
He then made a call to an associate a few days later saying he ‘f***ed up’, but police were unable to determine his location, even after intercepting the call.
Seven months later, Freeman was discovered 180km away – and questions now remain as to how long he had been bunkered down at the 35-hectare farm.
Police used loudspeakers to communicate with him before deploying flash-bang grenades and gas on the cop-killer in the three-hour siege.
As one of the nation’s largest searches concludes, a coroner will now take over the investigation and look into the circumstances surrounding the seven-month period Dezi was on the run.
The coroner will examine the deaths of both police offices and Freeman in detail to establish how they died and what could be done to prevent future deaths, Queensland University of Technology forensic criminologist Claire Ferguson said.
As part of that process, a brief of evidence will be compiled, witnesses will be called to give evidence and the judicial official will also study the final moments of Freeman’s life and the police decision to shoot him.
‘They’ll have a full reconstruction of what actually occurred, and that might be establishing people’s exact positioning in the scene and forensic evidence,’ Dr Ferguson told AAP.
The highly technological 3D reconstruction would be supported by statements from those who shot Freeman, what he was doing, what he looked like, what firearms he had and the decision-making process around shooting him.
Minute details, including the trajectory of how he was shot and the specific assistance offered afterwards will be detailed to provide the coroner with a clear understanding of the events.
‘They will be doing this investigation in as much detail as possible, and then the coroner will make recommendations based on that,’ Dr Ferguson said.
It is not known if Freeman had fired the gun before multiple officers discharged their weapons, with the footage not released to the press or public.
Whether that video will ever see the light of day will depend on whether the coroner deems the benefits of transparency, accountability, and if there is value in people seeing police shoot someone, Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said.
‘It’s not beyond the realm for the coroner to think this footage will show police did all they could and to make sure that there’s no conspiracy theories that Freeman was unlawfully shot,’ he said.
Child sexual abuse allegations levelled against Freeman will be investigated to inform the coroner on the police’s initial decision to attend his property, but a finding of guilt will not be made, Dr Goldsworthy said.
For the families of both the police officers and Freeman, the coronial process will provide a clear outline of what transpired.
‘This will be the final stage of closure for them when the coroner holds the inquest and delivers a finding,’ Dr Goldsworthy said.