The wife of accused killer Dezi Freeman has urged her husband to hand himself in six days after he disappeared following a deadly ambush at his Porepunkah home.
In a statement through her lawyer, Amalia Freeman said she and her children felt “deep sorrow” for the shooting ambush that killed Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, and injured a third officer, at the property on August 26.
“We are truly sorry for your loss, and the suffering and grief that the families, friends and colleagues of Detective Leading Senior Constable Thompson and Senior Constable De Waart are now experiencing,” she said.
“My children and I grieve for the loss of your loved ones.”
She said she and her children respected the “important work” of Victoria Police and did not hold “anti-authority views”.
“We echo the requests of the Victoria Police for the swift and safe conclusion of this tragedy,” she 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.
“If anyone is harbouring, helping or supporting Dezi, please call 000 immediate and speak with the police.
“If anyone has seen Dezi or knows anything that may help the police to understand his whereabouts, even if it is just a snippet of information, please call 000 immediately.”
Search enters sixth day
Police have shifted their operational headquarters as the hunt for Dezi Freeman enters its sixth day.
Yesterday, police announced they were moving their command post from Feathertop Winery to the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action in Ovens.
“The new site is a fit for purpose facility and will best support Victoria Police’s operational activity moving forward,” Victoria Police wrote on X.
“We would like to reassure the community that police are not leaving the area. Locals and visitors to the area will still see police activity in and around the Porepunkah and Alpine communities.”
More than 450 officers, including specialist personnel, are involved in the search.
Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, has not been seen since police executing a search warrant on his Porepunkah home were ambushed in a hail of gunfire.
Freeman is accused of killing two officers, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, and wounding a third.
The self-proclaimed sovereign citizen is believed to have fled on foot into the bush after the shooting on August 26.
Police say he is heavily armed with multiple guns and that he is a skilled outdoorsman with good bushcraft.
Officers have widened their search recently, extending to properties in Myrtleford and Bright.
A 61-year-old man was arrested in Bright on Friday night and charged with drug and weapon offences.
He allegedly said he and Freeman were in some online groups together.
