Audio By Carbonatix
A fugitive who allegedly murdered two officers in a small rural Australian town in the state of Victoria is being helped by some members of the community, police have said.
Dezi Freeman has been on the run since last Tuesday, when police arrived at his Porepunkah property to execute a search warrant, reportedly relating to a sex crimes investigation.
Mr Freeman, a known conspiracy theorist, escaped into thick bushland bordering the property, with a massive manhunt for him now in its seventh day.
His wife, Amalia Freeman, had earlier urged him to turn himself in and offered her condolences to the families of the officers he is alleged to have killed.
Victoria Police - which has previously appealed for Mr Freeman to surrender - says there has still been no sighting of the 56-year-old.
"People know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops," Superintendent Brett Kahan said in an update on Monday.
"You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman."
He declined to specify how many people police suspected, or whether they were locals in the town of Porepunkah or nearby areas.
Police had arrested and promptly released Ms Freeman and a 15-year-old when raiding another Porepunkah property on Thursday night, but have not provided any additional information.
Ms Freeman said she and her children "respected the important work of Victoria Police and do not hold anti-authority views," in a statement released by her lawyers.
Heavily armed police, helicopters and armoured vehicles have now been searching the area where Dezi Freeman disappeared for almost a week.
The killings have revived questions over how Australian authorities deal with the threat of conspiracy theorists - three years after a hauntingly similar ambush of police in Queensland.
Mr Freeman had long espoused "sovereign citizen" views and had a well-documented hatred of authority.
Victoria Police say a thorough risk assessment was conducted before 10 officers had travelled to his property, but specialist police support had not been requested.
Latest Stories
-
Britney Spears sells rights to entire music catalogue
56 minutes -
Ex-police chief said Trump told him in 2006 ‘everyone’ knew of Epstein’s behaviour
1 hour -
Pilot praised after crash-landing faulty Somali passenger plane on seashore
1 hour -
Haaland puts ‘pressure on himself’ to help team
2 hours -
Snoop Dogg to attend Swansea game for first time
2 hours -
Toughest season I’ve had as manager ‘by a mile’ – Slot
2 hours -
Suspend it now – University non-teaching unions reject GTEC retirement directive, warn of disruption
5 hours -
Galamsey is killing Ghana, but civil society is distracted – John Awuah
6 hours -
Rayan scores again as Bournemouth fight back to beat Everton
6 hours -
Leeds snatch draw as Chelsea throw away two-goal lead
6 hours -
Thomas Frank insists he is safe – but will he avoid Spurs sack?
6 hours -
‘No win, no trim’ – has a haircut become a problem for Man Utd?
6 hours -
Carrick’s ‘Sir Alex’ playbook and a happy start at Man Utd
7 hours -
Dambai police barrier intercept truck suspected of smuggling marijuanaÂ
7 hours -
Court remands scrap dealer over Yunzu Company robberyÂ
7 hours
