Mother of AFL stars says she stored cop killer Dezi Freeman's guns during 20 years of friendship - but denies helping him while he was on the run

By SARAH BROOKES - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:21, 19 June 2026 | Updated: 00:23, 19 June 2026 The mother of AFL premiership stars Ben and Sam Reid has revealed she once stored Dezi Freeman's guns as she described her family's friendship with him.  Freeman was shot dead at a remote property in Thologolong, near the Victorian-NSW border on March 30. He had been on the run for seven months after fatally shooting two police officers who were visiting his home in Porepunkah in Victoria's north-east last August to serve an arrest warrant.  Kay Reid said she and husband Bruce were friends with Dezi and Mali Freeman for nearly two decades - but denied helping the fugitive while he was on the run.  'We were friends as the whole community were … within Porepunkah and Bright and the greater north-east,' she told ABC News on Friday. Ms Reid said her family had helped store Freeman's registered guns in a safe in a locked shed at their Buckland home for a period during their friendship, which Bruce Reid has told police. They also had the family's storage container on the property. 'As you do to help people out when they are stuck,' Ms Reid said. The matriarch also revealed she had arranged travel for Freeman's wife, Mali, to move to Australia through her travel agency. Kay Reid (pictured) is the mother of AFL premiership players Ben and Sam Reid Pictured, police speak to Bruce Reid (right) while searching the couple's Buckland home on Tuesday morning Pictured, Ben Reid of the Magpies and brother Sam Reid of the Swans clash during an AFL game in 2013  The couple were thrust into the spotlight after police swooped on their home on Tuesday as part of Taskforce Summit. The investigation is probing Freeman's movements after he shot Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart last year. Police executed seven search warrants on Tuesday morning at properties across Victoria and New South Wales during which five people were arrested and released. The Reids' home was searched but they were not among the group. 'We had nothing to do with it … as if we're going to do that, as if we would've assisted, spare me,' Ms Reid told ABC. '[The] shooting of a police officer or anyone of that matter is the wrong thing to do … however, why?  'What led him to do it, isn't that the question we should ask to stop violence?' Ms Reid described the raid further on the podcast she co-hosts called 'Locked Out Cafe', claiming police had 'wasted their time'.  Dezi Freeman was shot dead in March after a siege at a remote property in Thologolong Freeman had evaded police for seven months after shooting two officers in Porepunkah last August as they tried to serve an arrest warrant  She said officers turned up at her Victorian property at 7am on Tuesday and spent most of the morning combing through the home. 'Bruce was still in his undies, I was just getting dressed, my brother-in-law was here, he was making a cup of tea, he didn't see them arrive,' she said. 'We had a whole stack of old phones. They took all those. They took my phone and the phone is going to take seven hours to download. 'They can look at what they like in my phone, they might learn something.  'We've got nothing to hide, that wasted our whole f***ing day. I was meant to go to yoga.' It is the second time the Reids have had their property searched by police regarding the case of Freeman.  Hours after he fled into bushland following the fatal shooting of two officers in August 2025, police visited the couple's holiday rental cabins. Ms Reid told the ABC she and her husband were fishing at the time of the shootings and were later contacted by police in the early hours of the morning. Police are pictured at Tholo Farm (pictured) after Freeman was shot dead Ms Reid claimed officers caused about $26,000 worth of damage during the search, including shattering a glass door and burning carpet with stun grenades, for which she said the couple later received compensation. The Daily Mail has contacted Victoria Police for comment.  Both the initial fatal shooting in Porepunkah and the subsequent fatal shooting of Freeman in Thologolong are now subject to coronial investigation. Detectives are keen to speak to anyone who may have knowledge of Freeman’s movements between August 2025 and March 2026. It is believed he travelled between Victoria and NSW and received assistance from a number of different people during that time. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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