A massive manhunt is under way for alleged killer Dezi Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, who is heavily armed.
A journalist who for months was in contact with accused cop killer Dezi Freeman has detailed the disturbing emails he sent.
The included the alleged “sovereign citizen” saying he wanted to “wring the neck” of his supposed foes.
Freeman – who was Dezi Filby before he changed his name – remains on the run in the bush around his home in Porepunkah, in Victoria’s north.
A huge police operation is under way to find him after the deaths of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, on Tuesday.
“Loud bangs” were heard on the property on Wednesday but police have not announced a breakthrough in the investigation.
Luke Mortimer, a former A Current Affair producer and now a 7News reporter, has revealed a long list of unsettling encounters he had with Freeman, describing months of erratic emails, obsessive feuds and chilling remarks.
In an article for 7News, Mortimer revealed he first came into contact with Freeman in 2018 after the man at the centre of Victoria’s ongoing manhunt sent an angry email to the programme.
It is with incredible sadness that Victoria Police names the two officers who were tragically killed in the line of duty in Porepunkah yesterday: Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart.
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) August 27, 2025
Read more: https://t.co/DhHaZNy37E pic.twitter.com/R6gk4NEaAP
“The saying, ‘you never know what someone’s capable of’, never rang truer for me than yesterday afternoon,” Mortimer wrote.
Freeman’s initial approach came with videos of his neighbours allegedly taunting him and his wife Mali.
“I phoned Dezi and he supplied a Dropbox link with footage showing his neighbour, Zar Sacutelli and his friend Robin, (allegedly) abusing Dezi and his wife Mali, while Zar’s visitors tear up the paddock adjacent to his with motorbikes, taunting him,” Mortimer wrote.
Sacutelli has now fled his property in fear Freeman may now come after him.
The one-time neighbour has claimed it was Freeman who was tormenting his family, including with death threats.
Over four months, Freeman sent the journalist footage and long rants.
“It was the unofficial currency of mine and Dezi’s relationship: he would trade in videos of his neighbours; I would lend him my ear to absorb his ranting. He found it cathartic,” Mortimer wrote, claiming Freeman’s tone became more spiteful over time.
In a series of messages, Freeman lashed out at neighbours and police.
“This is a picture of the malicious hateful sow. Now the police are looking for me to serve an application for an intervention order when I have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong.”
Despite describing Freeman as having “a few screws loose”, Mortimer claimed he saw a gentle side, particularly in his wife Mali, who was affectionately known in town as “the Mother of Myrtleford”.
Visiting Freeman’s home in the Mt Buffalo valley, Mortimer says he was struck by the rural setting and an unsettling scene.
“The most striking sight was seeing Mali standing on her veranda to greet me between a row of hanging venison carcasses, salted and drying out in the crisp morning air of spring in the high country,” he wrote.
Freeman, he said, was ”endlessly preoccupied by a battle to protect his world, even when he had no solid proof to legitimise his fears”.
Over time, his grievances expanded beyond neighbours. Mortimer recalled Freeman pushing bizarre theories and legal pursuits, which included prosecuting a magistrate and bringing charges against then-Premier Daniel Andrews.
Mortimer recalled Freeman telling A Current Affair reporter Martin King that he felt like resorting to violence.
“Sometimes you want to go Braveheart on them and wring their neck, but my camera is my machinegun and it shoots 24 frames a second,” he reportedly said.
Sacutelli has said the A Current Affair report that stemmed from Freeman’s contact with the show led to his family being unfairly branded as “the bogans from Buffalo”.
“That story made out that they’d lived there a long time, but they’d only just rented their place – our place has been in our family for 30 years,” he told the Daily Mail.
Sacutelli claimed that within a week of moving in, Freeman threatened his son because of his dirt bike.
“He said to my son, ‘If you don’t get off the motorbike, I’ll kill you – and I’ll do the same to your mother and your father’,” Sacutelli alleged.
He added the encounter left them shaken.
When they were neighbours, Sacutelli said Freeman would repeatedly call the police on him for minor issues such as starting construction work earlier than 7am.
Freeman and his family moved away in 2023. Sacutelli told the Mail he had left the property – which was not his main home – on Wednesday fearing a vengeful Freeman might target him.
Accusations have emerged Freeman posed as a Country Fire Authority (CFA) member
Footage taken on January 11, 2020 and shared by A Current Affair on Wednesday night showed him dressed in firefighter’s gear, standing by Lake Catani in Mt Buffalo National Park as firefighting aircraft collected water to battle a nearby blaze.
He can be heard explaining to the camera what the aircraft were doing. According to A Current Affair, Freeman “seemingly used the CFA uniform as a cover to access off-limits areas in bushfire and emergency zones” for the purpose of his photography.
The CFA confirmed Freeman served as a volunteer firefighter for seven years – but resigned in 2014, long before the video was taken.
“A Dezi Freeman resigned from CFA more than ten years ago in 2014, after a seven-year stint with CFA (2007),” a CFA spokesperson said.
“He has not been a member of CFA since that time and anything depicting Mr Freeman in a CFA uniform since 2014 would be an unauthorised use and impersonation of a CFA member.”
Loud bangs were heard from the Porepunkah property on Wednesday afternoon.
There has been no confirmation of what caused the sounds, which were reported by locals and media on the scene.
At 4.30pm on Wednesday, a Special Operations Group helicopter hovered above the property where the shooting occurred. Five dog squad 4WDs were later seen leaving, before two ambulances arrived an hour later. Armed officers with guns drawn were also photographed outside a hut.
On Wednesday, Victoria Police confirmed the identities of the two slain officers.
Neal Thompson joined the force in 1987, serving in general duties at Collingwood before working for a decade as a detective at the Major Fraud Squad and the State Crime Squad. Since 2007 he had been posted to Wangaratta CIU.
“Neal was an adventurer and enjoyed all things outdoors,” Victoria Police said. “He had spent the past six years alongside his partner, Lisa, the love of his life. Since the pair met, Neal had found new purpose. Together with Lisa, Neal had built a new home and had a long list of tasks planned after he knocked off work for the last time.”
De Waart joined the police in December 2018, serving three years at St Kilda Police Station before joining the Public Order Response Team (Port) in 2023. At the time of his death he was on temporary assignment in Wangaratta.
“An eternal optimist and avid traveller, Vadim was fluent in French, Spanish, Flemish and English,” police said.
“He had also completed scuba dives all around the world and motorcycling trips more locally with his friends and colleagues. He was a keen gin collector and always picked up a local bottle on his overseas adventures for his large collection at home. While travelling was his passion, Vadim was extremely proud to have purchased his first home in Melbourne in recent years.”
He is survived by his parents Carolina and Alain in Belgium, his brother Sacha in Switzerland, and extended family in Melbourne.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush described the “devastating loss” as one that had “struck at the heart of Victoria Police, the broader policing family and the community of Porepunkah”.
“We will all grieve this loss and deeply miss our colleagues and friends who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty,” he said.
A no-fly zone has been imposed for at least 48 hours as roadblocks remain across the region.
The Mt Buffalo National Park, which surrounds Porepunkah, has been closed because of the manhunt for the suspected gunman, Parks Victoria has said.
Bush said Freeman was “heavily armed” and “still at large”.
“Long arms, powerful firearms, multiple firearms. We haven’t recovered any of his firearms from the scene. I can assure everyone that we are pouring every resource into this search for this person,” he said.
He added it was possible Freeman had bunkers or traps set up in the area.
“Anything is possible. He knows that area, even though we have experts in the area, he will know that area better than us. So that’s why we’re putting in every expert and supported by local knowledge as well. We must find him.”
Police confirmed the officers had been attending the property in relation to alleged sex crimes, with members of the sexual offences and child investigation team involved.
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