North East pair arrested in relation to movements of Dezi Freeman following shooting

UPDATE Police have released two North East men from custody pending further enquiries following their arrests in relation to the movements of Dezi Freeman following the Porepunkah shooting in August. A Victoria Police spokesperson said officers released the 48-year-old and 45-year-old men on Wednesday after their 26 May arrests. "The investigation remains ongoing and as such, we are not in a position to provide further details at this immediate time," they said. EARLIER Police will speak with two North East men regarding the movements of Dezi Freeman following the shooting at Porepunkah in August 2025 and his death in Thologolong in March this year. A Victoria Police spokesperson said detectives from Taskforce Summit arrested a 48-year-old man and a 45-year-old man from two separate North East locations on Tuesday. “The pair will now be interviewed by police,” they said. Due to the ongoing investigation, the spokesperson said police would not be in a position to provide further details at this time. The arrests come a day after the coronial inquests into the deaths of police officers Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Dezi Freeman began in the Coroners Court. The court heard Freeman killed Det Led Sen Const Thompson and Sen Const de Waart-Hottart with a shotgun at his Rayner Track property on 26 August 2025, as officers attempted to conduct a search warrant over allegations of sexual assault of a minor. Police say Freeman also attempted to murder two other officers. He would not be seen for another six months until he was found at a Murray River Road, Thologolong property, where he was shot and killed by heavily armed police. Taskforce Summit are investigating Freeman’s movements between 26 August 2025 and 30 March 2026 and how he managed to get from Porepunkah to Thologolong, more than 100km away.

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