Dezi Freeman’s past: Porepunkah cop killer’s run-ins with the law and sovereign citizen lifestyle

Dezi Freeman had a troubled relationship with the law long before he murdered two Victoria Police officers, sparking six months on the run and one of the biggest manhunts Australia has ever seen.

Freeman, a self-described sovereign citizen, opened fire at his Porepunkah, Victoria home in August when a squad of 10 officers from Victoria Police arrived to execute a warrant over historical sex offences.

When the shootout began, Freeman fatally shot Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart.

Officers called for backup, bunkered down for safety, and Freeman went on the run.

Freeman became an instant fugitive, with his reputation as a modern-day Ned Kelly cementing by the day as the bush expert, sovereign citizen evading police searches for months.

However, before becoming one of Australia’s most wanted people, a title that saw him successfully hunted down by police and killed, Freeman had a long and bizarre relationship with the law.

Born Desmond Christopher Filby, Freeman is understood to have dropped out of school at a young age, around 13.

He spent his youth in Melbourne’s Glen Waverly before he moved to the Victoria-NSW border in 1977.

Friends of Freeman, when he was a young man, described him as a man who was unemployable due to his inability to follow directions from an authority figure.

It’s a trait that likely played a key role in Freeman’s turn to the sovereign citizen movement.

What is a sovereign citizen?

A sovereign citizen, simply, is a person who believes they are not bound by the laws of a government. They aren’t new, they have been around for decades, usually dissociating from society, living a secluded life and refusing to pay things like taxes.

In recent years, a new movement has been on the rise.

According to the AFP, this new movement is “organised”.

Those who are involved are making use of emerging technologies, like the encrypted communication platform Telegram, and are often involved in other movements, like the anti-vaxxers and neo-nazis.

In an unclassified AFP document from 2023, the force warned new sovereign citizens held a “strong belief they are morally and legally correct”, are “open” about their beliefs and claim to be “non-violent or acting only in self-defence against the Government.

Dezi Freeman’s history with the law

The first record of Freeman’s run-in with the law was in 1990, when the then 21-year-old was fined in Sydney.

Court records show he was fined multiple times over the years, but the available documents do not detail the exact offence.

Those fines were not paid.

In 1991, he was caught speeding in Violet Town, again not paying the fine, eventually ordered to complete eight hours of community service, with it remaining unclear if he ever fulfilled that.

From there, Dezi went years without recorded run-ins.

However, around 2020, Freeman’s run in became more frequent and at times more brazen.

In another bizarre moment, Freeman attempted to prosecute then-Premier Daniel Andrews.

He, and a group of supporters, alleged that Mr Andrews had committed treason through the COVID-19 pandemic, including with his leadership of lockdowns, adding he had also committed fraud.

Chaos erupted in a small court in Myrtleford before Freeman was arrested outside the court.

In 2022, Freeman faced court over being caught using his mobile phone while driving and refused to provide a saliva test to check from drugs in his system.

Freeman was found guilty and lost his license as a result. He took the verdict to the Supreme Court, where he detailed years of “harassment” by “malicious police”.

In his attempt to overturn that verdict, he also claimed his gun license has been cancelled as a result of a driving matter. He was unsuccessful in his appeal and later got his license back before being fined again for speeding fine shortly after.

During his appearance in court, he explained that he evaded police at first, then did not comply with the request for a saliva test because he was acting in self-defence.

“I felt threatened and preyed upon … Even the sight of a cop or a cop car … it’s like an Auschwitz survivor seeing a Nazi soldier,” he said.

“What’s worse than a swastika is the inverted pentagram, the satanic symbol that they wear and they behave like it as well.”

In video played in court, Freeman called the police officer who pulled him over a “terrorist”.

At court on another day, Freeman attempted to arrest a magistrate who was overseeing his court mention.

‘The only good cop is a dead cop’

A string of relatively minor incidents, mixed with Freeman’s views, reportedly had some worried about his outlook.

Freeman once wrote on Instagram: “The only good cop is a dead cop.”

On his Facebook account, another post talked about seeking the “extermination” of politicians.

Freeman lived on a small property in Porepunkah with his wife, Mali and children.

There, Freeman said, they lived in a small property, only supported by the community and Centrelink payments.

He was considered an expert bushman by many and knew how to live off the land. He was known to go our into the bush for days on end, hunt, and return.

Freeman reportedly had grown anxious in the weeks prior to the deadly August shootout that police would come and arrest him.

His wife, Mali, who police have confirmed was present during the fatal shootings, and a 15-year-old boy were previously arrested but released without charge.

From August 26, 2025, until March 30, 2026, Freeman was on the run until he was shot dead by police.

Throughout that time, theories erupted online over where the cop killer was, or if he was even alive.

Many became fascinated by a nearby airfield, speculating whether Freeman had been flown out.

Others thought he had escaped deep into the bush, where he would never be seen again.

Then there were some who thought he was in South Africa, somehow escaping the country.

Authorities are yet to paint a clear picture on how he evaded their catch for six months, with questions raised over whether others have been helping him.