Melbourne businessman says he spotted Dezi Freeman on holiday
A Melbourne businessman says he is almost certain he crossed paths with fugitive alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman in the most outlandish of places.
A Melbourne businessman says he is almost certain he crossed paths with fugitive alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman … in South Africa.
The man, who works in AFL circles and prefers to go only by “Stuart,” claims he saw Freeman on September 1 while visiting a busy part of Cape Town.
“I am 99 per cent certain that it was Dezi,” Stuart said via the Herald Sun.
According to correspondence he shared with News Corp, Summit Taskforce investigators asked him last week to identify the precise point where the encounter allegedly occurred.
Stuart, who also serves as an administrator for a local sporting club and has represented AFL Premiership players and Australian Test cricketers, says he wants clarity from authorities.
But a Victoria Police spokesman later dismissed the claim.
“Taskforce Summit investigates every piece of information provided to police. Every lead is pursued. This avenue of inquiry has been investigated, is no longer viable and has been discounted,” the statement said.
But “Stuart” says that explanation doesn’t satisfy him.
“I’m happy to be proven wrong. But I’m not sure they’ve done their homework,” he said on Thursday. “Have they gone over there and checked the CCTV in Cape Town? I’m still convinced it was Dezi. I just want justice like everyone does.”
The businessman had been holidaying in South Africa when he says he spotted the fugitive near Hotel Sky, where he was staying.
Shortly after lunchtime on September 2, the 74-year-old was walking north towards the waterfront at the corner of Dock Rd and S. Arm Rd when a man caught his attention.
“His eyes fixed on me. He was about seven metres away, but his gaze felt almost magnetic,” he said.
After returning to Melbourne on September 4, Stuart contacted Crime Stoppers.
He claims police phoned him later that night.
“I make this statement in full knowledge that a baseless or reckless account could be a crime in itself,” he wrote in a follow-up message.
“The more photos and TV footage that I see provide me with greater certainty that I saw Desi (sic) Freeman.”
Someone from Summit Taskforce then called him, requesting he mark the exact location on satellite images.
The alleged witness has described spotting a small group walking towards him at the busy Cape Town Waterfront.
He said he noticed five or six men heading his way, and they stood out from the tourists and families in the area.
The witness’s attention was drawn to a man in the middle of the group, who appeared to be surrounded by the others acting like “bodyguards”.
When their eyes met, the witness thought he recognised him.
“It was the eyes. I recognised the eyes from the photos that I’d seen online. I made eye contact with the person I regard to be Dezi Freeman for two full seconds. Then he bolted. I reckon he ran because he realised that I had noticed him,” he said.
Freeman has been on the run since August 26, when two police officers — Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson — were gunned down at his Porepunkah property in Victoria’s High Country.
A third officer was also injured during the shooting.
Investigators have recorded no verified sightings since, leaving open the possibilities that Freeman escaped interstate or overseas, is being sheltered, remains hidden in bushland near Porepunkah, or is dead.
If Stuart’s account is correct, Freeman would have had to flee Australia by air, as the seven-day window between the shooting and the alleged Cape Town appearance is too short for sea travel.
Originally published as Melbourne businessman says he spotted Dezi Freeman on holiday
