From Maternity Leave to Manhunt: How a Reporter Broke the Dezi Freeman Story
The quiet hum of new motherhood was abruptly shattered for 7News crime reporter Cassie Zervos on March 30th. Just minutes after Victoria Police located fugitive Dezi Freeman, the new mum received the grim news that the 216-day manhunt had ended fatally. Freeman was found hiding in a shipping container on a remote Thologolong property, leading to a tense three-hour standoff before he was shot and killed.
Cassie, who had been on maternity leave since October, was on her way to a mum and bubs gym class with her newborn daughter, Lucy, when her Apple Watch began buzzing insistently. A quick glance at her phone revealed cryptic messages: ‘DF found,’ followed moments later by ‘DF dead.’
“I was holding Lucy thinking ‘who is DF’ obviously in baby mode running on no sleep – then it hit me and I just felt this sensation of heat running through my body questioning if it was true,” Cassie recounted. After receiving confirmation from three separate sources, the maternal fog lifted, and the seasoned journalist snapped back into action. Her boss swiftly arranged for her to go live on air, despite her less-than-glamorous state.
“My boss called and said we’re going to get you live on air, and I thought ‘what do you mean?’,” Cassie recalled. “I hadn’t washed my hair in seven days, I had baby vomit on my shoulder and I’ve been in baby mode for a while, but a few minutes later I was on the Morning Show providing a live update.”
The Porepunkah Ambush
Cassie’s immersion into the Dezi Freeman saga began on August 26th of the previous year. It was a seemingly ordinary morning, with Cassie and her cameraman visiting various crime scenes across Melbourne. However, this routine was shattered when news broke that Freeman had shot and killed two police officers, Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart, while they were executing a search warrant at his home in Porepunkah.
“It was freezing in Melbourne that morning, and I’d just entered my third trimester of pregnancy so I was feeling pretty heavy on my feet and everything was starting to hurt,” Cassie explained. “I was having a snack in the cameraman’s car when messages from my contacts started coming through saying there’d been some sort of incident during a search warrant in Porepunkah. This contact told me two police members had been shot dead, and in that moment I just remember I had my hand on my stomach and my heart just sank.”
Her journalistic instincts immediately kicked in. Cassie and her cameraman embarked on the arduous 4.5-hour journey to Porepunkah, nestled in Victoria’s Alpine region. Upon arrival, the scene was a hive of police activity, with numerous roadblocks and officers meticulously checking vehicles for any sign of the fugitive.
“Once we arrived, there were so many police roadblocks and officers were pulling cars over and checking them to make sure Freeman wasn’t hiding in one,” Cassie said. “I remember thinking we won’t be here for long, assuming he’d be captured or killed by the time we got there, but I ended up staying in Porepunkah for 17 days.”
An Eerie Atmosphere in a Grieving Community
Dezi Freeman, who identified as a sovereign citizen, had unleashed a reign of terror that began with the fatal shooting of Officers Thompson and De Waart-Hottart. He then vanished into the surrounding bushland, igniting a relentless seven-month manhunt.
The small community of Porepunkah was left grappling with grief and fear. Cassie described the atmosphere as “eerie,” yet found an unexpected warmth from the locals.
- Community Support:
- Some coffee shops offered Cassie free coffees, a gesture she described as a “lifesaver” given the demanding hours and her pregnancy.
Despite the kindness, the town lived under the shadow of Freeman’s presence. He was known to be armed and extremely dangerous. Cassie recalled a chilling detail shared by the police union boss: some officers felt more secure at night manning police roadblocks than patrolling in uniform during the day.
“The police union boss told me that some officers felt safer standing at police roadblocks at night, which is not safe,” she explained. “They felt it was safer to do that rather than be out in their police uniforms out in the open during the day.”
As the manhunt entered a lull in October, Cassie finally began her maternity leave. A month later, she and her husband, Paul, welcomed their daughter, Lucy, into the world.
The Inquest and a Podcast Series
An inquest held recently shed further light on Freeman’s final moments. Council Assisting Lindsay Spence told the inquest that Freeman had instructed officers to “come and get me” before he was killed. Negotiations with the fugitive were unsuccessful, as he reportedly refused to comply with the negotiator’s instructions, labelling the police as “thugs and bullies” and accusing them of intending to harm him.
As the inquest continues, Cassie has joined forces with 7News anchor Michael Usher to delve deeper into the case that consumed her for months. They have collaborated on a podcast series titled Dezi Freeman: The Hunt, aiming to unpack the intricate details of the manhunt and its tragic conclusion.
“I think this case will be remembered for being a really dark patch in Victoria’s history,” Cassie reflected. “When people join the police force, I think Neil and Vadim will be remembered as two brave men who were out to protect the community and find justice against a man who had serious allegations against him.”
Leave a Reply