A former acquaintance of suspected police killer Dezi Freeman, who once instructed him in bushcraft, has come forward, stating that “there’s no stopping him now.”
Authorities are still searching for Freeman after he, at 56 years old, escaped into the wilderness surrounding his rural property in Porepunkah, located in Victoria’s High Country, last Tuesday.
Formerly Dezi Filby, Freeman is accused of killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35.
A third officer was also allegedly wounded by Freeman during the operation.
Freeman, who identifies as a “sovereign citizen” and is known for his survivalist skills, has sparked theories about how his expertise in bushcraft has helped him avoid capture, despite a massive 450-officer search effort.
One former friend of Freeman, who taught him how to bushwalk, spoke on Friday about the man he once considered ‘really, really good’.
Ray Kompe, 72, resides on a 180-acre estate on Buckland Valley Road, only about ten minutes from the site of the confrontation, recalls Freeman well even though he hasn’t seen him in ten years.
“He’s a man of great determination, and once he sets his mind to a task, he’s unstoppable,” Mr. Kompe told reporters, accompanied by his dog, Luna.
Ray Kompe, 72, (pictured) was once a friend of Dezi Freeman, the accused police killer, and recounted how he instructed Freeman in bushwalking through the rural alpine region.
Freeman (pictured) was described as a bloke with ‘a lot of resolve’ and proficient photographer
‘I was the one (to teach him skills) because he’d never been bush-bashing. I was a very avid bushwalker.’
Mr Kompe, who has completed the Australian Alps Walking Track, described taking Freeman to Mount Buffalo while teaching him bushwalking skills.
‘The way we became friends is that I said to him, “We must go up (to Howells Falls at Mount Buffalo)” because I love Buffalo. I took him up there and it was just a great epiphany for him.
‘That love became more intense – he took up photography, his photos were fantastic. But then he sort of got into the wrong crowd, I suppose.
‘Dezi, he just loved the bush and I was probably the catalyst for all of that. I dare say perhaps you know, he’s become very proficient of getting around in the bush.’
But Mr Kompe said that, at some time during their friendship ‘it was like a switch’, telling reporters Freeman ‘started to become a bit radicalised’ – though he did not clarify by whom.
Asked how he felt about the ongoing search for Freeman, Mr Kompe drew a comparison to renegade Ned Kelly.
‘I just hope that Dezi does surrender because we all have our pathways in life. I just hope he doesn’t finish up like another Dezi of the past whose last words were, “And so is life”.’
Authorities continue to hunt for Freeman after the 56-year-old fled into bushland at his rural property in Porepunkah in the Victorian High Country last Tuesday
Freeman (pictured) is accused of killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35
Authorities suspect Freeman is being aided by a network of supporters in the region. As a result, Victoria Police have not ruled out offering a cash reward for information to help capture him as the manhunt drags on.
When Mr Kompe, who had lived on his farm for 45 years, was asked whether people in the area might be helping Freeman, he remained uncertain.
‘I don’t know but these people who call themselves sovereign citizens. I’ve never ever heard that phrase before. But there’s a lot of disgruntled people in life who just put their arms out and try to find the right saviour.
‘But there are a lot of hiding places here. At night here, you’ll see a million stars but that’s not enough compared to the number of old mines around here. It’s quite possible he may be down in an adit (an underground mine).’
In the 10 years after the friendship with Freeman, Mr Kompe said the two men had only ever shared a passing ‘hello’ on the streets of Bright.
The farmer said he never visited Freeman at the property in Porepunkah, adding that a couple had bought it after the owner died and allowed Freeman to ‘squat’ there.
Mr Kompe’s message to his former friend? ‘There’s Mali, there’s his friends – and life’s just too short.
‘Just give yourself up, mate. I know it’s not going to be pleasant being behind bars, but… you know.’
The Australian Defence Force has been called in to join the marathon manhunt
Mr Kompe said he had not seen Freeman following the incident, adding that four officers had dropped by his home to ask a few questions because he knew him.
Asked about what officers were doing in the bushland area, he said: ‘Probably just scanning here and there.’
‘They had about three or four of those little buzzy things flying around – drones, that’s the one.’
The Australian Defence Force has been called in to join the search.
Police swarmed on Freeman’s former property at Rayner Track, Porepunkah, where he allegedly killed two police officers following a shootout on August 26.
Two sets of police convoys arrived at the property before 11.30am on Thursday along with two BearCats and another 15 police vehicles.
Once at the farm, officers, including heavily armed SOG police, scoured the property with a focus on a gully with a thicket of bushes that borders Buckland River.
Authorities believe that Freeman is still alive, with Victoria Police and his wife Mali, who was present during the shootings, publicly calling for him to give himself up through a surrender plan.
‘Your destiny is in your hands,’ Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said in the nearby area of Ovens on Wednesday.
