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When news broke that a Good Samaritan was killed at Mernda train station, Wendy Born\u2019s stomach dropped. The alleged attack, she thought, was heartbreakingly predictable.<\/p>\n
Twice last year, Born\u2019s teenage son was held at knife point by a gang of youths in broad daylight at the same location in Melbourne\u2019s northern suburbs.<\/p>\n
![\"Aidan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773087868_212_ccec3f99895f4fb4abecc90365b7b4ca148092a5.jpeg\")
Aidan Becker died in a stabbing at Mernda station on Friday.<\/p>\n
Though there is no suggestion the people who attacked Born\u2019s son were involved in Friday\u2019s fatal stabbing, she said the death of Aidan Becker, 22<\/a>, could have been prevented had the state government acted sooner and tougher on youth crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a failure of political leadership. A failure to honestly confront root causes, to fund the right mix of prevention and enforcement, and to take sustained, strategic action rather than symbolic gestures,\u201d Born said.<\/p>\n Related Article Becker, an off-duty security guard, was among a group of bystanders who rushed to the aid of a 14-year-old schoolboy allegedly being attacked by a group of youths just before 6pm on Friday.<\/p>\n As Becker led the boy outside, police allege four teenagers followed the pair and ambushed them \u2013 punching, kicking and ultimately fatally stabbing Becker.<\/p>\n Police confirmed on Monday a fourth teenager \u2013 a 17-year-old boy \u2013 had been charged with murder and armed robbery after spending the weekend in hospital under police guard.<\/p>\n The teen briefly faced a children\u2019s court on Monday afternoon, and will remain in custody before returning on March 27.<\/p>\n A 16-year-old, another 17-year-old, and an 18-year-old man, Mike Pikos, have also been charged with murder and armed robbery over Becker\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Court documents for both Pikos and the 17-year-old show they are also accused of stealing a mobile phone and powerbank worth $500, and of possessing a machete. <\/p>\n In the days since Becker\u2019s death, the community has rallied around his family, with a donation page reaching more than $40,000, flowers have been left at Mernda station and a vigil has been organised for later this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Article Emad, a friend of Becker\u2019s mother, Nathalie, shared the moment he learnt of the man\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u201cFriday night, I\u2019m watching the football, and I receive a phone call from Nathalie, and by the time I went to call her, I received a message that\u2019s going to traumatise me forever, and it\u2019s, \u2018Call me, they killed my son,\u2019\u201d Emad told 3AW.<\/p>\n He also shared a story that spoke to Becker\u2019s nature, saying that while in Thailand last year, the young man was so moved by seeing stray cats on the streets, he bought cat food and fed them.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a beautiful human,\u201d Emad said.<\/p>\n For Wendy Born, the incident on Friday instantly reminded her of her son\u2019s experiences.<\/p>\n In June last year, the 19-year-old was approached by three boys armed with machetes as he was leaving Mernda station. Her son, who did not want to be named, said one of the youths pushed him and asked, \u201cDo you want to die?\u201d before they snatched his phone from his hand.<\/p>\n When he refused to hand over his passcode to unlock the device, one of the youths threatened to hit him in the face.<\/p>\n About a month after filing a police report, an officer called Born and told her investigators had arrested one of the youths and uncovered a cache of mobile phones.<\/p>\n \u201cThis police officer said to me, \u2018Because of Victoria\u2019s new bail laws, we were able to hold on to them longer than we usually would,\u2019\u201d Born said. \u201cThat is literally the last we heard.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article A month later, the same group allegedly set on Born\u2019s son again at Mernda station, held a kitchen knife to his throat and accused him of \u201cdobbing\u201d to police.<\/p>\n This time, her son hesitated when it came to signing a police statement, and said he felt \u201cnothing was going to get done\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe slept on it overnight, and he said, \u2018Mum, I just don\u2019t feel comfortable signing it because I don\u2019t want to end up dead,\u2019\u201d Born said.<\/p>\n Crime Statistics Agency Victoria data shows criminal incidents on public transport in the City of Whittlesea, which includes Mernda station, increased by more than 50 per cent in the past year.<\/p>\n There were 527 incidents recorded in the 12 months ending in September 2025, compared with 349 in the previous year and 212 in 2023. The figures include incidents in stations, trains and buses.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the state government said it would deploy its new violence reduction unit to Mernda to work with police and the Department of Education to try to address the root causes of youth offending.<\/p>\n The presence of protective security officers has also come under scrutiny, as Friday\u2019s fatal stabbing happened just 10 minutes before PSOs were due to start their regular 6pm patrols in the area.<\/p>\n Andrea Davidson, the chief executive of the violence reduction unit, said staff would be at Mernda station on Tuesday offering support to the community.<\/p>\n \u201cAidan Becker … was an absolute hero in leaning in to where he saw harm occurring, and supporting a young man to be able to be freed from harm in that situation,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an absolute tragedy, and our hearts go out to Aidan\u2019s family and the broader community of Mernda.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re at Mernda train station tomorrow, ensuring that we\u2019re speaking with the public, that we\u2019re wrapping our arms around that community to ensure that they know that we may not have been able to prevent this tragedy, but we can certainly control the way in which we support the community through this event.\u201d<\/p>\n Becker worked at The Alfred hospital as a security guard. Late on Monday, the hospital said it was deeply saddened by his death, and his loss was being felt by all his coworkers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are providing support to help them through this challenging time,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Two days after Becker\u2019s death, locals were shocked on Sunday to see another arrest<\/a> at Mernda station involving a group of youths in what police described as a \u201cverbal altercation\u201d.<\/p>\n Police said they had arrested a 16-year-old boy about 7pm on Sunday after the altercation, but no weapons were involved.<\/p>\n Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts<\/a> on email or turn on notifications in the app.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"SES](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772965750_474_5a59fa3a8b865e3901ce5ed03b735e3ed6d43848.jpeg\")
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SES workers and police officers scour the scene of the stabbing on Friday night.Nine News<\/p>\n![\"Aidan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773087871_666_ccec3f99895f4fb4abecc90365b7b4ca148092a5.jpeg\")
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Flowers left at Mernda station on Saturday.Nicole Precel<\/p>\n![\"Repeat](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/923e6efcccfc9824cc4779a40178a6096460ffd7.jpeg\")
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