Wife of alleged Porepunkah gunman present at time of double shooting, police confirm

2 weeks ago 3

The wife of alleged Porepunkah double murderer Dezi Freeman was present at the time of the shooting of two police officers and may face criminal charges, police have confirmed for the first time.

On the ninth day of the massive manhunt for Freeman, who allegedly killed the officers as he was being served a warrant at his home in Victoria’s alpine country, Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly told reporters Amalia Freeman was home at the time her husband allegedly opened fire.

Dezi Freeman and his wife, Amalia (Mali) Freeman.

It has previously been unclear whether Freeman’s family were present at the time.

Kelly said Amalia, or “Mali” as she is more widely known, had been interviewed by police and may face criminal charges for allegedly obstructing the police investigation.

He said she had not been co-operating with police directly, and they had instead been liaising with her lawyer to try to obtain a statement from her.

“As has previously been reported, she has been interviewed by Victoria Police ... a brief of evidence will be compiled, and she may be charged in due course,” Kelly said.

In a statement to the media via her lawyer on Sunday, Amalia Freeman urged her husband to surrender and anyone harbouring him to come forward. She also expressed her “deep sorrow” at the deaths on August 26 of the policemen.

However, earlier this week, Superintendent Brett Kahan called into question the level of co-operation she had afforded investigators.

“In respect to the suspect’s wife, what I’ll say [is], it’s two different things to be speaking with police and co-operating [with police],” he said on Monday.

“We continue the search believing that Dezi Freeman, who is suspected of killing two police officers, is alive.

“We are absolutely hunting for a fugitive, and we continue to do so.”

Mali Freeman with her three children with Dezi Freeman, taken in 2022

Dezi Freeman, a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen”, is accused of shooting dead Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, with a home-made shotgun through the door of the bus he was living in.

He is then alleged to have opened a window of the bus and shot Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, who also died at the scene. Another detective seriously wounded in the attack is understood to have hidden under the bus for up to an hour, until paramedics arrived.

Police said officers were at the property to execute a warrant over historical child sexual abuse allegations.

Freeman has not been sighted since, despite hundreds of specialist officers trawling the dense forests, snow-laden mountains, and the deep valleys of Victoria’s High Country, about 210 kilometres north-east of Melbourne.

More to come