7NEWS and LiSTNR lift the lid on Australia’s most wanted man in the new podcast Dezi Freeman: The Hunt.
For seven months, Dezi Freeman remained on the run. Accused of murdering two police officers, he vanished into the Victorian high country, triggering one of the most extraordinary manhunts in Australian history.
Dezi Freeman: The Hunt tells the full story – the search, the sovereign citizen ideology that consumed him, and the police officers who refused to quit.
Launching this Sunday May 3, the six-part investigative series is hosted by 7NEWS Chief Network anchor Michael Usher alongside 7NEWS Melbourne Crime Editor Cassie Zervos, who was first to break the news of Freeman’s death.
The series reconstructs the investigation, from the final 24 hours leading up to Freeman’s capture, before exploring his life and radicalisation and examining the growing threat of the sovereign citizen movement.
Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is the first collaboration between 7NEWS and LiSTNR,reaching Australians wherever they watch, read or listen.
Episode one premieres Sunday May 3, with the following five episodes published Tuesday and Thursdays across Southern Cross Media’s full suite of broadcast, digital and audio platforms, including LiSTNR’s flagship Secrets We Keep feed and on 7NEWS.com.au and 7plus, as a vodcast.
Michael Usher said:
“From the moment the shots were fired, this became one of the most high-stakes investigations Australia has seen.
This brand-new podcast walks listeners through Dezi’s final moments and exposes the secretive world of sovereign citizens, a growing and deeply interconnected community in our suburbs and country towns that may be creating the conditions for the next Dezi Freeman to emerge.”
Cassie Zervos said:
“I covered this case for months, speaking with police, sources and communities living in fear while Freeman was on the run. This series is the first time we’ve been able to explore how he evaded capture, how they eventually closed in, and what really happened during the hunt.”
7NEWS Director of Integration & Strategy, Sean Power, said:
“Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is what collaboration looks like at its best – responsive and premium journalism that meets audiences where they are.”
LiSTNR Head of Factual, Clair Weaver, said:
“This is an exciting collaboration that will take our audiences behind the scenes into the extraordinary world of Dezi Freeman: from his radicalisation to his deadly showdown with police and the dogged seven-month hunt to find him.
“We’re proud to work with our new colleagues at 7NEWS to publish this insightful and timely
new podcast series.”
Dezi Freedman: The Hunt’s first episode is out this Sunday May 3 on LiSTNR, 7NEWS.com.au, 7plus or wherever you get your podcasts with the rest of the six part series released Tuesdays and Thursdays over the coming weeks.