Victoria Police left the public with more questions than answers after officers shot and killed Australia’s most wanted man.
Many of these questions may remain unanswered indefinitely.
One pressing question is: who informed the police about Dezi Freeman’s hideout?
Whoever provided that crucial tip-off is set to receive a million-dollar reward—a sum well-deserved, considering Freeman was presumed dead just months ago after he fatally shot Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson before disappearing into the Victorian wilderness.
In defense of Victoria’s Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, he likely shared as much information as could be expected after such a challenging day for him and his team.
He addressed the media in Melbourne’s CBD before noon on Monday, just hours after the early morning standoff at Freeman’s location, which commenced around 5:30 am. By sunset, he was 500 kilometers away at the scene, once again briefing the media.
As forensic officers began the arduous task of sifting through the remains of Freeman’s possessions, the commissioner stood tall and deflected question after question about what on Earth had been going on over the past seven months.
If Mr Bush knew how long Freeman had been bunkered down at the property at Thologolong, near Walwa, he wasn’t saying.
Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Mike Bush departs after speaking to media at a press conference at the scene where fugitive Dezi Freeman was shot dead in Thologolong
Freeman was gunned down by tactical police at a hideout in Victoria’s northeast
There were other questions that loomed large over the press conference as the commissioner spoke at length, in a way public officials often do, without saying much.
How did he get there?
Who helped him get there?
And how had he been surviving?
Freeman was killed after confronting members Victoria Police’s elite Special Operations Group about 8.30am Monday.
Mr Bush was even reluctant to outright declare it was Freeman who had been killed until the proper hurdles had been cleared.
But those on the ground were pretty certain it was Freeman who came at them with what is believed to be a gun from one of their fallen comrades.
Mr Bush told reporters the man he believed to be Freeman appeared very much the same as when those brave officers tried to execute a search warrant at his home in Porpunkah, in Victoria’s High Country, on August 26.
Sen Const Vadim De Waart-Hottart was murdered by Freeman
Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson was also killed by the crazed gunman
Freeman didn’t appear malnourished. He hadn’t looked like Tom Hanks from Castaway.
It was clear to the highly trained Special Operations Group operatives who it was they had in their sights.
Police had tried to reason with the delusional killer for a good three hours before he was lured out of his lair.
Mr Bush wouldn’t say how police got him to leave the white COSCO shipping container, which had been transformed into a tiny home.
Was it gas? Flash bangs? Dogs? Who knows.
When he did emerge, did Freeman manage to fire off a shot before he was peppered with deadly accurate bullets?
Vision captured from the air appeared to show an evidence marker on the front bonnet of a nearby vehicle.
Mr Bush wasn’t saying.
Victoria Police are seen at work at the scene where fugitive Dezi Freeman was shot dead
The scene of Freeman’s last stand
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush fronted reporters in remote wilderness on Monday
‘We’ve got mixed reports on that, but we need to do a forensic examination of a weapon found near the deceased’s body to ascertain or confirm whether shots were fired by the deceased from that weapon,’ he told reporters.
Nor would he say what was found inside the tiny home, which closely resembled the ramshackle property where he shot Mr Thompson, 59, and Mr De Waart-Hottart, 35.
‘The scene has been locked down, secured, and the scene examination is only commencing now,’ he said.
‘As you can imagine with a serious crime scene like that, we have protocols and procedures to follow.
‘We have to be absolutely meticulous, and that will commence this evening and carry on for the next few days.’
Mr Bush said it was unclear how long Freeman had been at the property.
‘That’s a really important question and a really important fact that our investigators will work their way through,’ he conceded.
‘We’ll probably have to track back from this point to when he was last seen … We will work that out, we will track backwards from here to ascertain how long he’s been here and who helped him to be here.’
Dezi Freeman came out of his lair wearing a blanket and packing a firearm
And what of the property owner?
‘We’re still trying to locate and speak with that person,’ Mr Bush said. ‘We know who that person is, but we’re yet to speak with him.’
Is he known to police, he was asked.
‘I couldn’t tell you that whether I knew it or not.’
What is known is that when searched on Google Maps, the location boasts ‘Cookers welcome’.
The property is owned by Rick Sutherland, who is currently believed to be on holiday in Tasmania.
Mr Bush was asked whether police had anyone else in their sights for helping Freeman get to the Cooker hideout.
He kept his cards close to his chest.
The hunt for Freeman ended far away from where it began
‘Not at this point … Quite possibly so in the future, but not at this point,’ Mr Bush said.
But he warned anyone who did help Freeman faced a significant stint in jail.
‘But that’s always a matter for the presiding judge,’ he said.
In the coming months and years inquiries will be held that will likely shed plenty of light on how Freeman made his last stand months after his ‘evil deeds’.
But Mr Bush warned some things are just not supposed to be known by the wider public.
‘There is a lot of information known to the investigators that will never be shared, obviously because it’s confidential,’ he said.
