One of the properties raided by police as part of their investigation into the movements of double police killer Dezi Freeman belongs to the parents of former AFL stars Sam and Ben Reid. The premiership players’ parents, Bruce and Kay Reid, were just getting up on Tuesday when nine officers arrived at their Buckland home in northeast Victoria about 7am.
Reid Family Responds to Raid
Kay Reid criticised the operation on her independent podcast on Tuesday night, saying it wasted an entire day and insisting the family had “nothing to hide”. She said they knew Freeman, as did “a whole big community” in the area, but did not know why police targeted their property.
“Seven o’clock this morning they rocked up,” Kay said. “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 even see them arrive”.
Details of the Raid
The Buckland home was raided on Tuesday. Kay said a drone had been flying above the property before officers arrived, walking around and filming the home. “We had a whole stack of old phones. They took all of those,” she said. “They took my phone and the phone’s going to take seven hours to download. My phone was prioritised because of my work … they’re going to have to take Bruce’s phone to Melbourne because they haven’t got the equipment to do two phones at once in that police station.”
Kay said she felt the family’s privacy had been invaded. “That wasted our whole f****** day, excuse my swearing, because I was meant to go to yoga, Bruce was meant to go on a motorbike ride,” she said.
Background on Dezi Freeman Manhunt
Freeman triggered one of Australia’s largest manhunts after he killed Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson at his home at Porepunkah, in Victoria’s High Country, in August 2025. The 56-year-old fled and evaded capture until traced to a remote property about 150km away at Thologolong, near the Victoria-NSW border, in March, when he was shot by police.
He is believed to have travelled between Victoria and NSW and received assistance from multiple people during that period, Victoria Police said on Tuesday. A total of seven properties were searched across the two states on Tuesday.
Arrests and Further Investigations
A 64-year-old Lucyvale man was arrested in Wodonga and interviewed by police. He has since been released pending further investigation. No further arrests have been made, but police are questioning occupants at several premises.
