Wife of alleged Porepunkah killer Dezi Freeman urges him to surrender, sharing ‘deep sorrow’ at police deaths
The wife of a fugitive accused of killing two police officers has urged him to surrender and says she will cooperate fully with authorities.
Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, fled into the bush on Tuesday after a fatal confrontation at a property in Porepunkah, about 300km north-east of Melbourne.
He is accused of killing Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson, 59, and Sen Const Vadim De Waart, 35.
More than 450 police officers have been deployed to the rural community as part of the search, which has included examining disused mines, caves and dugouts.
Freeman’s wife, Amalia Freeman, on Sunday shared her “deep sorrow” for the deaths of the two officers.
“We echo the requests of the Victoria police for the swift and safe conclusion of this tragedy,” she said in a statement provided to Guardian Australia.
“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.”
Police say they have received several reported sightings of Freeman since he went on the run, although none have been confirmed.
“There have been alleged sightings which we’re exploring,” the Victoria police chief commissioner, Mike Bush, told reporters on Thursday.
“We can’t confirm that they are of him but if you think you see him, let us know. We’ll explore it.”
Blizzard-like conditions and heavy rain have hampered the search.
Potential links between Freeman and a 61-year-old man who has been charged with weapons and drug offences are being investigated.
Victoria police on Sunday said they had arrested a 61-year-old man in Bright just before 5pm on Friday.
Police seized weapons and “a quantity of cannabis” from the house they found him in, they alleged.
The man was charged with possessing an imitation firearm and possessing cannabis.
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He was bailed to appear before Myrtleford magistrates court on 3 October, police said.
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Police said whether the Bright man was associated with Freeman “forms part of the ongoing investigation” into the fugitive accused of killing two police officers.
The search for Freeman on Sunday dragged into its sixth day with hundreds of police continuing to scour Victoria’s high country wilderness.
A police forward command post was relocated on Saturday from Feathertop Winery just outside Porepunkah to a government office in the town of Ovens, about 12km away.
“The new site is a fit-for-purpose facility and will best support Victoria Police’s operational activity moving forward,” the force said.
“We would like to reassure the community that police are not leaving the area.”
On Thursday night Freeman’s 42-year-old wife and a 15-year-old boy were arrested during a raid at a Porepunkah address. They were interviewed and released.
Police helicopters and drones have been circling the area for days in the hope of catching a sign of the fugitive.
Freeman, who has bush survival experience, was last seen in dark green tracksuit pants, a dark green rain jacket, Blundstone boots and reading glasses, police said.
He is believed to be a “sovereign citizen”, a follower of a pseudo-legal ideology that rejects government authority and the rule of law.
