Overview
- Victoria Police, which confronted the fugitive Monday, say he refused to surrender for hours inside a container-like shelter on a remote property before officers shot him.
- Forensic tests will confirm the man’s identity as investigators examine the use of force and whether anyone helped him evade capture.
- Police accuse Dezi Freeman, 56, of killing Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, during an August 26 search in Porepunkah tied to a sex‑offences probe.
- The seven‑month manhunt drew more than 450 officers, helicopters and tracking dogs, and a A$1 million reward that kept tips and searches active across rugged terrain.
- Officials describe Freeman as a self‑declared sovereign citizen and survivalist, a label linked to anti‑government ideology, in a country where strict gun laws make fatal shootings uncommon.