A tip-off from a member of the public appears to have led police straight to where the fugitive was hiding.

Dezi Freeman shot after inner circle tip-off

New details have emerged in the manhunt for Dezi Freeman, shot dead by police after a three-hour stand-off on Monday, with questions now emerging over whether someone from his inner circle may have betrayed the fugitive for the $1 million reward.

Police intercepted a phone call between Freeman and an associate just days after he killed two Victorian police officers, providing crucial intelligence in the hunt, the Herald Sun reported.

The call, made in the days after the August shooting, was unable to pinpoint Freeman’s exact location, but provided investigators with key early intelligence.

Reports suggest Freeman told the associate he had “f**ked up”.

Authorities later tracked a vehicle travelling from Porepunkah to the Thologolong area via traffic cameras after a tip-off from a member of the public.

The vehicle is understood to have been driven by someone known to Freeman.

Police surveilled the property for several days before launching a dawn raid on Monday morning.

Freeman was reportedly shot about 20 times by heavily armed special operations police at close range, from a distance of 10 to 15 metres.

While police will not confirm whether the $1 million bounty for his capture will be paid out, the circumstances have raised the possibility that someone close to Freeman ultimately gave up his location.

Freeman, 56, had been on the run for more than seven months after the fatal shooting of two police officers in Victoria’s northeast in August 2025.

The intercepted call helped narrow the search, allowing investigators to track movements linked to Freeman in the days after the August shooting.

Authorities used that intelligence to piece together his movements, eventually identifying the rural property near the NSW border where he had been hiding in a shipping container-style structure.

Investigators are now examining mobile phones recovered at the scene as they work to understand how Freeman survived more than 200 days on the run and who may have assisted him.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said officers gave Freeman the opportunity to surrender.

“There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he did not,” Bush said.

Bush acknowledged it would have been “very difficult” for Freeman to reach and survive at the remote location without help.

“It would be very difficult” for the fugitive to get there “without assistance”.

The deaths of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34, shocked the state and triggered one of the largest manhunts in Victoria’s history.

Bush said Freeman’s death had brought a level of closure to their families.