May 25, 2026 — 6:28pmAs Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson lay unmoving inside the converted bus that was Dezi Freeman’s home in regional Victoria, one of his eight colleagues who was sheltering behind nearby sheds and cars yelled out to his friend: “Can you hear us, Thomo?”But only one voice could be heard.“F---ing scum. Die in hell, you f---ing die in f---ing hell,” Freeman yelled as he stood over the body of Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart before stealing his police-issued gun from its holster and using it to shoot Thompson for a second time.Dezi Freeman (left) and police officers Vadim de Waart-Hottart (top right) and Neal Thompson (pictured earlier in his policing career).Marija ErcegovacThough Freeman said more as he stood over his victims, counsel assisting the state coroner Lindsay Spence said she would not repeat his words “out of respect for the families”.New details of the horror that occurred in August 2025 – and later Freeman’s death in March – were revealed at the Coroners Court of Victoria on Monday during two separate directions hearings into the three deaths.State coroner Liberty Sanger was told that on August 26, 2025, 10 police officers attended the Porepunkah property where Freeman was living with his wife and their young children to execute a search warrant as part of an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse.Police search for alleged killer of two police officers at a property in Porepunkah, Victoria.Justin McManusAt the time, Freeman was a person of interest to an alleged sexual assault of a child aged under 16 and attempting to involve a child in the making of child abuse material.What followed was a fatal shootout, after Freeman armed himself with a shotgun and opened fire, killing two officers and injuring two others, one seriously.On the morning of the planned arrest in August, Spence told the court, uniformed officers and detectives met for a briefing in the nearby town of Bright before driving in convoy to the entrance gate of the property at Raynor Track, but arrived to find a locked electric gate.It was decided that five officers would enter the property on foot, three would drive up Barrett Lane to gain access from a neighbouring property, and two would remain with the unmarked police vehicles until the warrant had been executed.Once on the ground, officers spotted Freeman’s wife, Amalia, and entered the annex of the bus they lived in, knocking on the door and asking the wanted man to come out.Freeman was heard yelling he was “not coming out” and that “police could go to hell”. He said he did not recognise their law, Spence told the court. Police then obtained permission to force entry into the bus, which was granted.As negotiations continued, officers showed the search warrant to Freeman’s wife through the bus window.“Oh for f---’s sake, what bullshit,” Freeman replied.“Yes, I’ll bloody talk to you. Stop your goons from breaking the door.”The coroner heard police stood back to allow Freeman to exit, but the yelling continued. He stated the warrant was invalid, and that police were breaking the law.“I am appealing this search warrant in the Supreme Court,” Freeman said.It was then that Thompson lifted himself though the window before Freeman fatally shot him in the side of the face and neck.An officer standing immediately behind Thompson yelled out “gun” and ran, as another activated their duress alarm.Freeman then fatally shot de Waart-Hottart in the annex area as other police officers ran and split up. Some sought cover behind a nearby shipping container and woodshed, and three others behind a white vehicle at opposite ends of the bus.“I had no choice,” Freeman said repeatedly before fleeing the scene soon after.Last seen running down a hill near a river, Freeman later sent a message to his wife that read: “Beb get mile away and keep going. See u in heaven luv.”When Freeman was tracked down seven months later, he claimed he had shot 59-year-old Thompson and 35-year-old de Waart-Hottart in self-defence.In 2015 and 2016, Freeman was registered to hold firearms, the coroner heard on Monday. But by March 2022, his handgun licence had expired while it was suspended. In March 2025, his long arm licence had also expired.Spence said four of the eight officers who entered the Porepunkah property had body-worn cameras, and the confrontation with Freeman was recorded comprehensively.On August 28, 2025, two days after the standoff, an arrest warrant was issued for Freeman for killing two officers and attempting to kill others.Spence told the court that in March, amid extensive ground searches, police had received intelligence suggesting Freeman was staying on a rural block in Thologolong near the NSW border, about 160 kilometres north-east of where the wanted man had fled into the bush.Police searching a plantation at Porepunkah during the manhunt for Dezi Freeman in September 2025.Joe ArmaoWithin a week of receiving the tip, police carried out covert surveillance and located Freeman using a “40-foot” shipping containing at the makeshift site.At about 5.20am on March 30, police arrived and established a cordon around the structure, turning on their lights and sirens in an attempt to wake Freeman. When that failed, Spence said, police were authorised to use tactical options to impact the side of the shipping contained, but again this failed to elicit a response.Gas canisters were then fired by police and some penetrated a glass door at about 6.13am, the coroner heard. Two minutes later, Freeman emerged from the doorway wrapped in a doona or blanket.After almost an hour of unsuccessful negotiations, Freeman called police “thugs and bullies” and claimed they were only there to hurt him, going on to say he had killed Thompson and de Waart-Hottart in self-defence as they had “come to murder me and my family”, that police were corrupt, and numerous things about God judging police.An aerial view of the Thologolong property where Dezi Freeman was shot dead by police.Joe ArmaoFoam baton rounds were soon deployed, hitting Freeman’s leg before he retreated into the shipping container. He later walked in and out, shouting, “Cowards – come and get me” as the stand-off entered its second hour.Spence said that at 7.07am a mobile phone was thrown to Freeman. He was told via a loudspeaker to grab it, but refused and began to appear erratic, drinking from a bottle and saying, “Come have a beer with me, and we’ll talk about it.”At 8.22am, more gas canisters were fired into the shipping container, before, at 8.29am, Freeman walked out into the open for the final time, holding a green bag in front of his chest.The coroner was told Freeman raised a black handgun, pointed it towards officers and fired a shot as police dogs were being released.The shipping container where Dezi Freeman lived before his death in March.YouTube / The Chaos Chronicles“A number of SOG [special operations group] operatives stated they believed, either from what they heard or felt, that the deceased had discharged the handgun,” Spence said. “Numerous SOG operatives then returned fire, and the deceased was struck and immediately fell to the ground.“The black handgun, which the deceased had pointed and discharged at the SOG members, was later confirmed as the police-issued handgun he had stolen from Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart on the 26th of August 2025.“A spent cartridge case consistent with having been fired from that handgun located close to where the deceased was shot. The trajectory of the projectile fired by the deceased is unknown.”Freeman died at the scene. Eight SOG members had fired multiple rounds at the fugitive.Spence said there was no body-worn camera footage available from March 30 for the coroner to analyse, as none of the officers had been fitted with recording devices. Spence said the police air wing, however, was recording and captured the fatal interaction.Freeman, pictured at a protest in Myrtleford, was a self-described sovereign citizen.Age Photos“Albeit, between 7.13am and 8:06am the police air wing was not overhead due to needing to refuel,” he said.Police later found out that 23 minutes before their final interactions with Freeman, he had switched on the voice memos application on his phone, recording talking, some of the negotiations, gunshots and police clearing the shipping container.The coroner reminded friends and family present that her role was not to apportion blame but to investigate the circumstances of a person’s death. In this case, it was finding out how and why the officers died, and how similar events could be avoided in the future.Detective Acting Inspector Nigel L’Estrange, Detective Inspector Dean Thomas and Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Scarlett (left to right) leave the Coroners Court on Monday.Justin McManus“I offer my condolences to you all. It’s incredibly distressing to lose a loved one, even more so when the loss is unexpected and sudden,” Sanger said.“I acknowledge the grief experienced by Victoria Police … and police colleagues. The extent of their loss is truly unfathomable.”She said the inquest into the police officers’ deaths would likely involve examining the conduct of police in the lead-up to and on the day of the shootings in Porepunkah.An inquest for the slain officers has been earmarked for March. A separate inquest will be held for Freeman with a date yet to be determined.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.More:Coroners Court of VictoriaFor subscribersVictoria PoliceFrom our partners