‘I hope he’s at peace now’: Unseen footage of Dezi Freeman emerges as brother believes him dead

3 hours ago 1

New videos of Dezi Freeman have emerged as the alleged cop killer’s brother believes he has died in the sweeping bush around Mount Buffalo.

In one video, Freeman is standing in the snowy bush and makes a loud wolf-like howl into the surrounding landscape, before he jokingly speaks in an American accent.

“Out by the slopes here in Mount Buffalo in Dezi’s backyard, I gotta say, that’s the softest snow I’ve ever skied on in my life. The conditions are good and we’re looking for a bumper season. We got about a metre deep of snow on Mount Buffalo today, you guys. So world-class backyard skiing at Dezi’s house,” Freeman said.

In this video, he is still being referred to as Desmond – or Des – Filby, his birth name before he legally changed it to align with sovereign citizen ideology.

In another video, more than a decade old, Freeman and his wife, Mali, are visiting his brother, James Filby, and their newborn nephew. Koah, the couple’s eldest son, is then just a young child, and also featured in the video.

“Look at this little guy. Crikey! Look at this little guy, isn’t he a beauty,” Freeman said.

In a third video, Freeman films people having a snowball fight.

Victoria Police are yet to find any signs of Freeman after he fled into the bush around Mount Buffalo in August after allegedly killing officers Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Neal Thompson, 59 at a remote property in Porepunkah, which sparked a massive manhunt.

The newly uncovered videos were uploaded – then quickly deleted – by a YouTube account linked to Filby, which was since removed from the platform.

The account commented on a YouTube video by Simeon Boikov – a pro-Putin propagandist currently hiding at the Russian consulate in Sydney – and described Freeman as “becoming a national hero”. Boikov supplied the videos of Freeman to this masthead.

The comment left by @Ausi1980, an account linked to Freeman’s brother, James Filby.

In his comment, Filby said he believed his brother had died in the weeks since fleeing into the bush.

“What Dez did was wrong, but he’s my brother and I miss him. I hope he’s at peace now,” he wrote.

“I imagine his last hours on this earth were cold, lonely, fearful and sad for his family. I know he’d want to be buried on Mount Buffalo and never found by police. But we need closure.”

Filby’s account also said his brother was a subscriber and fan of anti-police and anti-government Boikov’s content.

Alleged Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman, pictured in 2018.

Boikov claimed Freeman was inspired by his social media videos during the COVID-19 lockdowns, before the right-wing figure was deplatformed for medical misinformation.

But he said he did not condone Freeman’s alleged murder of the two Victoria Police officers.

“If he did kill two police officers, if that is true, he’s done the wrong thing. Nothing can justify killing, and it’s a tragedy,” Boikov said.

Police have repeatedly said they are open to the possibility Freeman may have died – and recently deployed cadaver dogs in their search – but also that he could still be hiding out in the bush or is being aided by supporters.

An aerial view of the property in Porepunkah where Freeman allegedly killed two police officers before fleeing.

Police are offering a reward of up to $1 million for information on Freeman’s whereabouts that leads to his arrest.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.