A former detective has warned that anyone helping Dezi Freeman could face lengthy jail time as the hunt for the alleged double cop killer enters its eighth day.
Freeman, 56, has been on the run since allegedly shooting dead Detective Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, at his rural property in Porepunkah in the Victorian High Country on August 26, 2025.
Victoria Police revealed on Monday that they believe people know of Freeman’s whereabouts and are deliberately withholding information.
Speaking on Sunrise on August 26, former Victoria Police detective Charlie Bezzina described the revelation that Freeman may be receiving help as “absolutely abhorrent.”
“If that’s the case, they place themselves in a very volatile situation because these special operations guys don’t muck around, and I’ve seen them in action,” he said.
“If you are helping this fugitive, the long-term effect is it’s perverting the course of justice, which carries 25 years.
“You’re then looking at aiding and abetting an offender, [which carries a sentence of] ten years, then looking at other offences that carry a lot of years.
“If you are harbouring this fugitive, it’s time to go and speak to the police.”
Bezzina’s warning follows Superintendent Brett Kahan’s public plea for anyone with information about Freeman’s whereabouts to come forward.
He said it was evident that “people know” where the fugitive is, but are deliberately staying silent.
“People know the whereabouts of the person who’s [allegedly] killed two cops,” Supt. Kahan said at a press conference on September 1.
“People have chosen, for whatever reason, not to come forward, and I’m taking this time to appeal to you to come forward in that respect.”
Supt. Kahan noted that during his last media appearance, he had appealed directly to Freeman to surrender.
“I’m going to change tack a little bit,” he said. “I extend that to anyone who is harbouring Dezi Freeman.”
On Monday, September 1, a series of loud explosions echoed through Porepunkah as police intensified their search for the alleged killer.
Shortly after 3.30pm, multiple police vehicles rushed to two separate addresses on the outskirts of town. Daily Mail reporters heard six loud bangs followed by two more minutes later.
A police chopper circled tightly above the area, at times flying dangerously low, just a few metres above the treeline.
Marked police cars blocked the entrance to Cavedons Lane, off the Alpine Highway, while unmarked vehicles were seen entering a property on Mount Buffalo Road, less than a kilometre from the Rayner Track bush compound where Freeman is accused of murdering two officers and injuring a third.
A resident on Mount Buffalo Road told Daily Mail he also heard the blasts, describing them as possibly sounding like gunshots.
Freeman’s wife, Amalia Freeman, 42, released a statement through her lawyers on Sunday urging her husband to surrender.
She also expressed her condolences to the families of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart.
“We echo the requests of the Victoria Police for the swift and safe conclusion of this tragedy,” Ms Freeman said.
“I lend my full support to Victoria Police in their search for my husband and will co-operate with Victoria Police in any way that I can.
“Please Dezi, if you see or hear this, call 000 and arrange a surrender plan with the police.”
Images: Sunrise
