Amalia “Mali” Freeman, a 42-year-old Philippines-born mother of three, went from being described as the “mother of Myrtleford” to the wife of Australia’s most wanted fugitive in a single afternoon. On August 26, 2025, her husband Dezi Freeman shot and killed two Victoria Police officers at their Porepunkah property. What followed was the largest tactical police operation in Australian history, a seven-month manhunt, and a sprawling investigation that put Mali Freeman herself under suspicion of obstructing police.
That investigation ended without charges. Her husband ended face-down near a shipping container with a stolen police pistol in his hand.
Who is Mali Freeman
Amalia Freeman, known as Mali, was born in the Philippines and moved to Australia through connections to the Filipino community in northeast Victoria. At 42 years old during the Porepunkah crisis, she had built a quiet reputation around the towns of Myrtleford and Mount Buffalo as a generous, community-minded woman. Locals called her the “mother of Myrtleford” because she regularly brought food to anyone in need.
Before August 2025, her public profile was essentially nonexistent. She volunteered at St Vincent de Paul, raised three children, and lived with Dezi on a rural property called Four Gully Farm near Porepunkah, about 320 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. The family lived in a converted bus on the land.
Filipino background and heritage
Mali Freeman is of Filipino descent, born in the Philippines before settling in regional Victoria. According to the Philippine Times (2025), a relative alleged that Dezi Freeman had taken Mali’s passport at some point, preventing her from returning to her home country. That claim has not been independently verified, but it added another dimension to questions about the dynamics inside the Freeman household.
Neighbours and friends described Mali as warm and caring, a sharp contrast to her husband’s increasingly erratic anti-government views. One friend later told the Brisbane Times that “everyone thought she was a very nice person.”
The 2018 A Current Affair appearance
The Freeman family’s first brush with national attention came in 2018, when Dezi and Mali appeared on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair to complain about a neighbour dispute. Dezi called his Mount Buffalo neighbours “dirt bike ferals” and “the bogans from Buffalo,” accusing them of running chainsaws at odd hours and doing motorbike stunts near the property line.
The segment painted the Freemans as frustrated rural residents. After the 2025 shootings, that same episode was viewed hundreds of thousands of times online, recast in an entirely different light. The neighbour featured in the segment, Mr Saccutelli, told reporters he felt “vindicated” after years of being publicly branded as the problem.
The Porepunkah shooting and manhunt
Ten Victoria Police officers from the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team arrived at Four Gully Farm on the morning of August 26, 2025, to execute a search warrant related to historical sexual offences against a child under 16. Dezi Freeman was inside the converted bus. When Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson entered through a window, Freeman opened fire.
August 26, 2025
Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 34, were killed. A third officer was shot in the leg. A fourth officer was targeted, but Freeman’s homemade shotgun failed to discharge. Mali was inside the bus with their two-year-old child when the shooting started. She fled the property with their youngest children, assisted by their eldest son Koah, then 20.
Freeman escaped into the dense bushland surrounding Mount Buffalo National Park, armed with a homemade shotgun, a rifle, and the two slain officers’ police-issue handguns.
The seven-month manhunt
What followed consumed enormous law enforcement resources. According to documented accounts of the operation, approximately 450 to 500 officers were deployed, including interstate police forces, the Australian Federal Police, ASIO, and the Australian Defence Force. Victoria Police announced a $1 million reward in September 2025 for information leading to Freeman’s capture, the largest reward in the state’s history.
For months, police publicly stated they believed Freeman was likely dead, possibly in an abandoned mineshaft or lost in the rugged alpine terrain. That assessment turned out to be either wrong or a deliberate tactic.
“It is crazy that he was found 2hrs away (by car) from Porepunkah.. He had to have been sheltered and helped by others.. I wonder if the reward was too much money for someone to resist, in the end.”
— r/australia, March 2026 (752 upvotes)
This aligns with Victoria Police’s own statements. Chief Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed in a March 30, 2026, press conference that a tip-off from someone described as “close to” Freeman led officers to a rural property at Thologolong, roughly 150 kilometres from Porepunkah.
Mali Freeman’s arrest and the obstruction investigation
Mali Freeman and her 15-year-old son were arrested on August 28 to 29, 2025, three days after the shooting. Twelve police vehicles surrounded a property on Chandler Court in Porepunkah at approximately 8:40 pm. Taskforce Summit detectives interviewed both and released them without charge.
The arrest
The charge under investigation was indictable obstruction of police. Detectives wanted to know if Mali had prior knowledge of her husband’s intentions or had helped him flee. They also investigated whether she had withheld information about his whereabouts. A 56-year-old Porepunkah man was also interviewed in connection with the investigation.
According to ABC News reporting on the arrests, Victoria Police described Mali as “uncooperative” during the initial confrontation at the property. She was not, however, suspected of any involvement in the actual killings.
Why no charges were filed
On March 13, 2026, Victoria Police confirmed that no charges would be laid against Mali Freeman or the two other individuals investigated. The Office of Public Prosecutions reviewed what detectives described as a “meticulous” brief of evidence and concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction for indictable obstruction.
The decision reportedly frustrated many officers within Taskforce Summit. An independent review of the prosecution briefs reached the same conclusion, leaving investigators with no legal avenue to pursue. An anonymous senior police source told The Age that the outcome was “deeply disappointing” to those who had worked the case.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2025 | Dezi Freeman shoots and kills two officers at Porepunkah; Mali and children flee property |
| Aug 28-29, 2025 | Mali Freeman (42) and 15-year-old son arrested; released without charge after interview |
| Aug 31, 2025 | Mali releases public statement urging Dezi to surrender |
| Sep 6, 2025 | Victoria Police announce $1 million reward |
| Mar 13, 2026 | OPP confirms insufficient evidence; no charges laid against Mali |
| Mar 30, 2026 | Dezi Freeman shot dead by police at Thologolong after 216 days on the run |
Mali Freeman speaks out
Five days after her husband killed two police officers, Mali Freeman released a statement through her lawyer on August 31, 2025. No one else in the Freeman family had spoken publicly.
“On behalf of my children and myself, I wish to share our deep sorrow for the loss of the lives of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart on 26 August 2025,” the statement read.
She directly addressed her fugitive husband: “Please, Dezi, if you see or hear this, call 000 and arrange a surrender plan with the police.” She also called on anyone harbouring or helping him to contact police immediately.
The statement drew a clear line between Mali’s position and her husband’s anti-authority ideology. “We do not hold anti-authority views,” she stated. “I lend my full support to Victoria Police in their search for my husband and will co-operate with Victoria Police.”
“I’m interested to know whether previous police announcements that they believed he was dead were genuine assessments or a tactic to encourage complacency.”
— r/OpenAussie — a subreddit focused on Australian news and political discussion, March 2026 (99 upvotes)
Whether the plea reached Dezi Freeman is unknown. He never made contact with police, and seven months later he was found hiding in a shipping container at a rural property on the Victorian-NSW border.
The Freeman family
Dezi and Mali Freeman had three children together. Their eldest, Koah Freeman, was 20 years old at the time of the August 2025 shooting. He had moved out of the family home about a year earlier, in 2024, but was present on the property that morning.
Koah helped his mother and the two younger children escape the converted bus during the shooting. The younger children, both under ten years old at the time, have not been publicly identified by name in any reporting. Mali was holding their two-year-old when the gunfire started.
After his father was shot dead by police on March 30, 2026, Koah posted on Facebook: “that’s still my father.” According to 9News, he publicly condemned the celebrations that followed Dezi Freeman’s death, a stance that drew mixed reactions online but reflected the impossible position the family had been forced into.
One allegation reported by the Philippine Times, citing a family relative, claimed that none of the Freeman children had birth certificates. This has not been confirmed through official records and may relate to Dezi Freeman’s sovereign citizen ideology, which rejected government documentation as a matter of principle.
Where is Mali Freeman now
Mali Freeman remains in the Porepunkah area. As of late 2025 and early 2026, friends described her as a “broken woman” and a “sad recluse,” relying on neighbours, church members, and friends for clothing, meals, and shelter. She is raising three children as a solo parent. Sources indicated by December 2025 that her marriage was “all but over,” with Mali communicating only through lawyers.
Her husband’s seven-month disappearance ended on March 30, 2026. Police received a tip-off and located Freeman hiding in a shipping container at a property on Murray River Road, Thologolong, near Walwa. After a roughly three-hour standoff beginning at approximately 5:30 am, Freeman emerged wrapped in a blanket, holding a stolen police pistol. He refused to surrender. Armed officers shot him dead at around 8:30 am.
According to reporting by The Guardian Australia, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush described the shooting as “justified.” Police also arrested Mali Freeman and another individual in a late-night raid at a Porepunkah address following Freeman’s death, issuing a warning to anyone who had assisted him during the manhunt.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dezi Freeman’s wife’s name?
Amalia Freeman, commonly known as Mali Freeman. She is also occasionally referred to as “Dezirae Freeman” in some search queries, though her confirmed legal name is Amalia.
What nationality is Dezi Freeman’s wife?
Mali Freeman was born in the Philippines and is of Filipino descent. She moved to Australia and settled in the northeast Victoria region through connections to the local Filipino community.
How old is Mali Freeman?
Mali Freeman was 42 years old at the time of the August 2025 Porepunkah shooting. Her husband Dezi Freeman was 56.
Was Dezi Freeman’s wife arrested?
Mali Freeman and her 15-year-old son were arrested on August 28 to 29, 2025, three days after the shooting. She was investigated for indictable obstruction of police but released without charge. On March 13, 2026, Victoria Police confirmed no charges would be laid after the Office of Public Prosecutions found insufficient evidence.
Does Dezi Freeman have children?
Dezi and Mali Freeman had three children together. Their eldest son Koah was 20 at the time of the shooting. The two younger children were both under ten years old and have not been publicly identified by name.
Where was Dezi Freeman’s wife born?
Mali Freeman was born in the Philippines. ABC News Australia confirmed her as “Freeman’s Philippines-born wife, Amalia Freeman.”
Is Dezi Freeman’s wife still with him?
Dezi Freeman was shot dead by Victoria Police on March 30, 2026, after 216 days on the run. Mali Freeman remains alive and is living in the Porepunkah area, raising their three children. Friends indicated in late 2025 that she considered the marriage “all but over.”
Has Dezi Freeman’s wife and kids been found?
Mali Freeman and the children were never missing. They safely presented themselves at a local police station after the August 26, 2025, shooting. Mali and her 15-year-old son were subsequently arrested and released. The family has remained in the Porepunkah area throughout.
