He was known to the world as Dezi Freeman, but that wasn’t the name he was born with.

In this episode, 7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos trace Dezi Freeman’s origin story, uncovering new details about his childhood, the influences around him, and the pivotal moments that shaped his worldview — revealing the reality of the man behind the myth, and how he became radicalised.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a case as high-profile as Dezi Freeman’s, the manhunt, his sovereign citizen beliefs, and the conspiracy theories surrounding his life (and death) have often overshadowed the human toll left behind.

In this episode, 7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos shift the focus to the two Victoria Police officers killed by Freeman: Detective Leading Senior Constable Neil Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart. They explore who these men were, the lives they lived, and the lasting impact of their deaths.

Cassie also speaks with Victorian Police Association CEO Wayne Gatt about how the force coped with the grief and trauma of losing two of their own while carrying out one of the largest manhunts in Victorian history.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hunt for Dezi Freeman wasn’t just a manhunt. It was a battle on hostile ground.

Police moved into a community that didn’t trust them, didn’t want them there, and in some cases, openly opposed them. As tensions rose, investigators pushed on, determined not to lose their grip on the case.

In this episode, 7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos reveal the resilience of the officers who stayed the course, and the deeply confronting evidence they uncovered, including allegations of child sex abuse and hundreds of child exploitation files found on Freeman’s computers.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

CONTENT WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS REFERENCES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, GUN VIOLENCE AND SUICIDE. LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once police received the tip-off that exposed Dezi Freeman’s hideout, they moved in — quietly.

For seven days, officers hid in dense bushland, watching the remote property, waiting for the moment to strike. They knew Freeman had already evaded capture once. If he ran again, they might not get a second chance.

7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos take you inside the high-stakes surveillance, the planning behind the takedown, and the risks facing officers on the ground, as they closed in on one of Australia’s most wanted fugitives.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7NEWS Crime Editor Cassie Zervos was at home with her newborn when a police source gave her a scoop: Australia’s most wanted fugitive, Dezi Freeman, had been found and shot dead. She became the first journalist to break the story.

Freeman, a self-described ‘sovereign citizen’, had been on the run for seven months after allegedly killing two police officers. What followed was one of the largest and most intensive manhunts in recent Australian history.

7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos take you inside the case from every angle — what happened, how it unfolded, Freeman’s ideology, and the impact on those left behind.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When two police officers were shot dead in regional Victoria, the man accused vanished into the bushland. What followed was one of the most extensive manhunts in Australian history.

7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos take you inside the case from every angle: what happened, how it unfolded, his ideology, and the impact on those left behind.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt, is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast here or watch the vodcast on 7+.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the crisis of child exploitation gripping Australia, for the next few weeks, Secrets we Keep feed brings you the LiSTNR award-winning series, Children in the Pictures, an investigative podcast about the global fight against online child exploitation, following Australian investigators as they track offenders hiding in plain sight across the internet.

The series exposes the scale of abuse, the emotional toll on those working to stop it, and the disturbing ways technology is being used to harm children worldwide.

In this bonus episode of The Children in the Pictures, Jon Rouse reveals he had no idea what he was getting into when he joined Taskforce Argos to set up their first internet investigation. What he found was a problem so vast and unique that he needed to petition for legislation to catch up with the crimes his team was fighting.

If you'd like to hear more of Brent Sanders interviewing detectives about their careers, search "Crime Insiders" and look for episodes titled 'Detectives'.

Content Warning: This series delves with sexual abuse against children. Listener discretion is advised.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the crisis of child exploitation gripping Australia, for the next few weeks, Secrets we Keep feed brings you the LiSTNR award-winning series, Children in the Pictures, an investigative podcast about the global fight against online child exploitation, following Australian investigators as they track offenders hiding in plain sight across the internet.

The series exposes the scale of abuse, the emotional toll on those working to stop it, and the disturbing ways technology is being used to harm children worldwide.

In episode eight, The Love Zone is gone for good, but the threat remains. Akhim Dev hears from experts and investigators about the next frontier of child exploitation, which is leaving kids vulnerable to grooming, blackmail and extortion— and starting earlier than parents would ever suspect.

Dev realises he must move from documentary observer, to messenger for children’s rights. As he is given access to global halls of power, Dev explores how we can help victim-survivors, and how parents like himself can educate their kids to keep them from harm.

Content Warning: This series delves with sexual abuse against children. Listener discretion is advised.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.