A fugitive who allegedly murdered two officers in a small rural town in Australia's 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 now extending into its seventh day.
His wife, Amalia Freeman, had previously 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, confirmed that there has still been no sighting of the 56-year-old.
Superintendent Brett Kahan stated, People know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops. You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman. He did not specify how many people police suspect of aiding him, or if they were locals from Porepunkah or nearby areas.
Police had arrested and promptly released Ms. Freeman and a 15-year-old during a raid on another Porepunkah property on Thursday night, but further information was not provided.
Ms. Freeman emphasized that she and her children respect the important work of Victoria Police and do not hold anti-authority views, according to a statement released by her lawyers.
Heavily armed police, helicopters, and armored vehicles have been mobilized to search the area for Mr. Freeman for almost a week now.
This incident has raised concerns regarding how Australian authorities deal with the threat posed by conspiracy theorists, reminiscent of a similar ambush of police in Queensland three years ago.
Mr. Freeman has long espoused 'sovereign citizen' ideologies and is known to have a documented disdain for authority.
Victoria Police mentioned that a thorough risk assessment was conducted prior to sending 10 officers to his property, although specialized police support had not been requested.
