New vision has emerged from inside the shipping container where Dezi Freeman was hiding before police swooped and shot him dead in late March. A YouTuber claims his drone crashed on the Thologolong property and he recorded video while retrieving it, capturing both aerial views and handheld mobile phone footage that offers a closer look at the fugitive’s life on the run.
Freeman had been on the run for more than 216 days after the shooting deaths of two police officers in Porepunkah last year. He was finally cornered on March 30 at a rural property in Thologolong on the Victoria-NSW border, about 150km from where he was last seen. Officers from Victoria Police’s Special Operations Group forced an armed Freeman out of the shipping container using a Bearcat “claw”. He was then fatally shot.
The property, about 200km northeast of Porepunkah, is owned by a local resident, and there is no evidence to suggest they knew Freeman was there. The site has since been combed by police, amid ongoing questions about how the self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” managed to evade capture for so long and whether he had help from associates.
In the video, the property appears littered with rubbish, with numerous coloured drums visible. Bullet holes are also seen in a nearby boat, which the YouTuber points out while filming. “Every one of these bullet holes, is an exit bullet hole,” he tells viewers, adding that only one hole was different.
The entrance to the container is shown, including a pair of glasses still intact from police investigations. Inside, shirts are seen hanging from shelves and the space is strewn with rubbish. The footage captures food containers, a gas bottle, multivitamins on a table and an AM radio. Other items visible suggest a basic set-up for living off-grid, including a battery arrangement, camp chairs and a heater.
While filming, the YouTuber describes the lingering smell he says was left by chemicals used during the police operation to flush Freeman out. “I can’t breathe in here,” he is heard saying as he steps back outside. “The chemicals are so strong. “Like… you just don’t know what Dezi’s or what’s not Dezi’s.”
A nearby trailer is also shown piled with beer bottles.
The video has since become the subject of a police probe. In a statement, Victoria Police said: “Police are investigating a report of a trespass at a property on Murray River Rd in Thologolong on April 16.”
