For more than 200 days, police killer Dezi Freeman was on the run in the harsh bush terrain of north-east Victoria after shooting and killing two police officers in August 2025.

Freeman was reportedly shot dead by police on Monday morning.

In a press conference on Monday, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush didn’t confirm the identity of the person killed, nor the exact location of the incident.

But a spokesperson earlier said: “A man has been fatally shot by police at a property in north-east Victoria this morning as part of the operation to locate Desmond Freeman”.

Bush said police would seek to formally identify the body as soon as possible.

So how was he caught, what happens now in terms of the criminal investigations and what implications may there be for policing after this incident?

How was Freeman caught?

Freeman’s disappearance sparked one of the most extraordinary manhunts in Australian history.

At its peak the hunt for Freeman involved hundreds of police and other experts, drones, helicopters and specialist police dogs.

Read more: Treacherous terrain: the search for alleged police killer Dezi Freeman

In February police declared they “strongly believed” Freeman was........

© The Conversation