Dezi Freeman hurled vile abuse after killing Victoria Police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart

Police killer Dezi Freeman repeatedly yelled “I had no choice” after fatally shooting two Victoria Police officers before calling them “f...king scum”, telling them to “die in hell” and fleeing into bushland.

The Coroners Court of Victoria on Monday morning heard a detailed forensic chronology of the deadly Porepunkah siege and the seven-month manhunt that followed, including Freeman’s final words and a haunting text message to his wife as he vanished into the Victorian High Country.

A directions hearing before State Coroner Liberty Sanger marked the first public coronial proceedings into the deaths of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34, and Freeman himself, who was later shot dead by police at a remote property near Walwa in March.

The court heard Freeman texted his wife, Amalia, known as Mali, shortly after fleeing the scene.

“Beb, get (baby’s name) away and keep going. See you in heaven. Love,” the message read.

Counsel assisting Lindsay Spence outlined the events of August 26, 2025, when a team of officers attended Freeman’s Porepunkah property armed with a magistrate-approved warrant to arrest him over allegations involving the sexual assault of a child under 16 and attempts to involve a child in the production of abuse material.

Mr Spence said police spent more than half an hour negotiating with Freeman, who was inside a bus on the property with his wife and a young child.

Body-worn camera footage captured tense exchanges as police repeatedly attempted to persuade Freeman to surrender peacefully.

At one point, after police paused attempts to force entry, Freeman yelled: “Yes, I will bloody talk to you. We’ll go from there. Stop your goons from breaking the door.”

The court heard police showed Freeman the search warrant through the bus window, but he insisted it was invalid and accused officers of acting unlawfully.

“He stated that his name was wrong and that it was the wrong address,” Mr Spence said.

“Now I’m giving you official notice. No, I’m appealing this search warrant to the Supreme Court. There’s a due process to file for that. I want this heard before a Supreme Court justice.”

After about 34 minutes of negotiations, Detective Leading Senior Constable Thompson managed to remove a perspex window from the bus door.

Moments later, Amalia Freeman told police: “All right, we are coming out. Okay, we’re coming out.”

But as Detective Leading Senior Constable Thompson lifted himself through the opening, Freeman allegedly fired a shotgun directly at him, striking him in the face and neck.

The veteran detective immediately collapsed.

Another officer yelled “gun” and fled as Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart turned to run.

Freeman then allegedly fired a second shot, striking the younger officer in the head.

Police scrambled for cover behind vehicles, sheds and shipping containers as chaos erupted across the property.

Body-worn camera footage captured Freeman repeatedly saying: “I had no choice, I had no choice.”

The court heard that less than a minute later, Amalia climbed out of a bus window, carrying a young child, and walked downhill towards the river.

Freeman then emerged armed with the shotgun and allegedly removed Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart’s service firearm and spare magazine from his body.

He allegedly fired towards officers sheltering behind a white van, causing shattered glass to injure one officer’s face, neck and ear.

Another officer returned fire twice but missed.

The court heard Freeman then reloaded the shotgun before moving around the property and firing repeatedly towards police positions.

At one stage, his firearm failed to discharge several times before eventually firing through the wall of a shed, narrowly missing an officer who was taking cover behind it.

Mr Spence told the court Freeman later returned to where Senior Constable de Waart-Hottart lay wounded and “swore repeatedly at him” before re-entering the bus.

A police officer then called out: “Can you hear us, Tomo?”

Freeman allegedly responded: “F...ing scum, die in hell, you f...ing die in f...ing hell.”

The court heard Freeman then used the stolen police firearm to shoot Detective Leading Senior Constable Thompson a second time.

“During this time, the offender stood over both bodies and said various things which, out of respect for the families, I will not repeat,” Mr Spence said.

Freeman was later seen fleeing downhill towards the river carrying both the shotgun and the stolen police firearm before vanishing into the surrounding bushland.

The shootings triggered one of the largest manhunts in Australian history, with specialist police units spending 216 days searching for Freeman across rugged terrain in Victoria’s north-east.

The court heard the source of the shotgun used in the killings remains unknown and the weapon has never been recovered.

Investigators have also been examining whether Freeman received assistance while evading capture.

Mr Spence said Freeman’s firearms history had also formed part of the investigation.

The court heard Freeman had previously held category A and B long-arm licences and a handgun licence, but by August 2025 all licences had expired while suspended and he no longer legally possessed firearms.

Mr Spence said the coronial investigation into the Porepunkah shootings had initially been placed “in abeyance” while the criminal investigation and manhunt remained active.

That changed only after Freeman’s death in March.

Mr Spence said the coronial inquests into the officers’ deaths and Freeman’s later shooting death would proceed separately because the investigations were at different stages and involved distinct issues.

The first inquest will examine the events at Porepunkah on August 26, 2025, while a second will examine Freeman’s death during a police operation at Thologolong near Walwa on March 30 this year.

Footage released after Freeman’s death showed him wrapped in a blanket emerging from a shipping container at the remote campsite before producing a firearm and pointing it toward officers moments before he was shot dead.

The court heard the coronial brief in relation to the officers’ deaths is due to be delivered by August 21, with a tentative inquest date set down for March 2027.

Mr Spence said the case involved an “extensive volume of recorded evidence”, including body-worn camera footage from five police officers and mobile phone recordings captured by two civilians on the property.

“That will greatly assist in ascertaining the circumstances of the deaths,” he said.

Coroner Sanger formally adjourned the matter to a date to be fixed.