Society

Dezi Freeman’s estranged brother believes him to be dead

James Filby, the estranged brother of cop-killer Dezi Freeman, has stated that he believes Freeman died several days ago in Mount Buffalo.

Published

6 months ago

October 9, 2025

Jazmine Whitaker

Dezi Freeman, the man accused of shooting and killing two police officers serving a warrant on his home in Porepunkah, has not yet been found. The manhunt has now been ongoing for several weeks, and police have confirmed that there has been no sign of Freeman since he fled into the bushland.

Recent videos of Freeman were briefly uploaded to a YouTube account linked to Dezi’s estranged brother, James Filby – Freeman’s name was Desmond Filby, before he legally changed it in accordance with sovereign citizen ideology. The videos contained footage believed to be several years old and were quickly deleted, but showed Freeman appearing joyful and interacting with his family members.

The YouTube account, under the username @Ausi1980, has since been removed. It also commented on a video by Simeon Boikov, also known online as “Aussie Cossack,” a pro-Putin propagandist who is currently residing in the Russian consulate in Sydney.

The comment read as follows:

“Dez always talked about you Aussie Cossack. He was always telling me to watch your videos. What Dez did was wrong, but he’s my brother and I miss him. I hope he has peace now. I imagine his last hours on earth were cold, lonely, fearful and sad for his family. I know he’d want to be buried on Mount Buffalo and never found by police. But we need closure”

Filby’s comment suggests that he believes his brother has died since he fled into the bushland, although he has not made any official statements to the police. The YouTube account also indicated that Freeman was a subscriber and overall fan of Boikov’s anti-police and anti-government content.

Police have declared that they remain open to the possibility that Freeman may have died since his disappearance into the bushland, and have even recently deployed cadaver dogs in their search. Experts have stated that if Dezi was, as suspected, residing in an old mineshaft that he converted into a bolthole, it is possible that he has died of carbon dioxide poisoning. Carbon dioxide is a heavier-than-air gas that pools in mineshafts and causes people to die of asphyxiation. Mineshaft expert Kyle Cranfield aired his concerns;

“[If] you lie down in there to take a sleep, you are never getting back out, that’s your forever nap.” -Cranfield

Police, however, are not ready to rule out the possibility that Freeman is still alive and hiding in the bush, or that someone may be assisting him in evading capture.

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