{"id":526557,"date":"2026-03-08T10:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526557\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T10:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:29:12","slug":"good-samaritan-aidan-becker-killed-at-mernda-train-station-remembered-as-hero-with-a-kind-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526557\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Samaritan Aidan Becker, killed at Mernda train station, remembered as hero with a kind soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The 22-year-old man allegedly murdered while trying to save a schoolboy from being robbed by armed teenagers has been remembered as a hero with the \u201cpurest soul\u201d.<\/p>\n

Aidan Becker was killed on Friday just before 6pm at Mernda station<\/a>, in Melbourne\u2019s northern suburbs, after going to the aid of a 14-year-old boy.<\/p>\n

\"AidanAidan Becker died at Mernda train station on Friday after trying to help a schoolboy.<\/p>\n

Police allege four teens approached the schoolboy and tried to rob him, before seriously assaulting him and pushing him to the ground.<\/p>\n

Becker intervened, walking with the 14-year-old away from the train station, but police say the group followed the pair and beat and fatally stabbed Becker. The off-duty security guard died at the scene, despite attempts by ambulance paramedics to revive him.<\/p>\n

Becker\u2019s heroic efforts to protect the boy \u201cproves the type of person he was\u201d, friend Shanae Faralla told this masthead.<\/p>\n

Faralla met Becker through mutual friends about six years ago, and described her friend as \u201cthe purest soul\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ShanaeShanae Faralla (left) with Becker, whom she described as the \u201cpurest soul\u201d and optimistic about life. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always so charismatic and optimistic about life, he truly was the happiest person to be around,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was kind and always checking in with me to see how I am doing. My best memories with him are in the year 2021. We would all sit on the chairs in my garage, have a couple drinks and have a laugh, singing on my karaoke machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becker worked at The Alfred hospital, where he was \u201ca dedicated, respected and much-loved member of our security team\u201d, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"SES<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be remembered for being full of life, and for his positive energy, kindness and dedication. He was a quiet hero who gave his all for those around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three males, aged 16, 17 and 18, have been charged with murder and armed robbery over Becker\u2019s death. Another 17-year-old allegedly involved remains in hospital under police guard.<\/p>\n

The 16-year-old and 17-year-old charged with murder and armed robbery will appear at a children\u2019s court at a later date. The 18-year-old man, Mike Pikos, faced Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court on Sunday and was remanded to return in June.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, Pikos is also accused of stealing a mobile phone and powerbank worth $500 and was allegedly in possession of a machete. This is Pikos\u2019 first time in custody, the court heard.<\/p>\n

Faralla said the alleged offenders should face serious consequences, as she believed \u201cadult crime should result in adult time\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"SESSES workers and police officers scour the scene of the stabbing on Friday night. Nine News<\/p>\n

The new adult time for violent crime laws<\/a>, which came into effect at the end of February, could mean offenders face adult sentences and adult courts. The new laws cover offences including recklessly causing injury and armed robbery, and are designed to result in longer sentences for young offenders.<\/p>\n

Faralla\u2019s anger and grief was shared by Amber Poulter, another friend of Becker\u2019s, who met him in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put everyone first in the blink of an eye,\u201d she told this masthead. \u201cWhen he saw wrong he never hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends and I are genuinely sick to our stomach at the thought of any of this, it doesn\u2019t even feel real yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FlowersFlowers left at Mernda station on Saturday.Nicole Precel<\/p>\n

Poulter said she and Becker used to sit in parks with other friends and talk until they lost track of time.<\/p>\n

Becker is the second friend Poulter has lost to knife crime in four years, and \u201csomehow our government has not figured out a better way to handle this rapidly growing crime\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are slowly losing all our people to this disgusting heinous crime because they know they get away with it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The state government on Sunday announced it would deploy its new violence reduction unit to Mernda to work with police and Department of Education staff to try to address the root causes of youth offending.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe created the violence reduction unit for this reason, to work with the community in the aftermath of violence and prevent further trauma,\u201d Premier Jacinta Allan said.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Whittlesea area Commander Kate O\u2019Neil said it \u201creally breaks my heart to think that someone was so viciously killed\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m grateful that there are still members of the community who actually still help those in need,\u201d O\u2019Neill said.<\/p>\n

Protective services officers were scheduled to start patrolling Mernda station from 6pm on Friday, only 10 minutes after the attack. Police said on Saturday Becker\u2019s death would not change the patrol times.<\/p>\n

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\"AngusAngus Delaney<\/a> is a reporter at The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-526557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}