Fugitive Dezi Freeman Shot Dead in Police Standoff

0:00It's March 31st, Sydney news today starts now, AI-powered and ready. I'm Cory with the story. Desi Freeman, Victoria's most wanted fugitive, met his end in a police shootout at a remote property on the New South Wales Victoria border. Officers from the Specialist Operations Group moved in before sunrise on Monday after a tip-off, finding him holed up in a shipping container. He emerged around 8.30 a.m., draped in bedding, pulled a police-issued handgun, and was shot dead on the spot. Earlier searches had police thinking Freeman was already dead, maybe up in the high country Alps. But this standoff flipped that theory. They'd watched the site for at least a day before acting, wrapping up a months-long manhunt that started after he vanished. His nephew Luke Philby, estranged for years, feels a mix of relief and pain, calling it half-heard, half-sive relief. Philby's mom, Freeman's sister, is devastated and in tears. Premier Jacinta Allen labeled him an evil man, a view Philby shares, pointing to his anger issues. A nearby neighbor woke to sirens

1:05and pleased to come out, stunned to learn the guy was so close. Forensic's teens are scouring the scene, and Chief Commissioner Mike Bush says interviewing the property owner, Richard Sutherland, is top. Priority. He's in Tasmania, with no known ties to Freeman or any French groups. Bush noted Freeman looked much the same, just with longer hair in the beard. This closes a dark chapter, highlighting how paranoia and grudges can eclipse family and real life, leaving lessons in the wake.