Fatal attack at train station ‘heartbreakingly predictable’, says mother of past victim

When news broke that a Good Samaritan was killed at Mernda train station, Wendy Born’s stomach dropped. The alleged attack, she thought, was heartbreakingly predictable.

Twice last year, Born’s teenage son was held at knife point by a gang of youths in broad daylight at the same location in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Though there is no suggestion the people who attacked Born’s son were involved in Friday’s fatal stabbing, she said the death of Aidan Becker, 22, could have been prevented had the state government acted sooner and tougher on youth crime.

“This 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,” Born said.

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.

As Becker led the boy outside, police allege four teenagers followed the pair and ambushed them – punching, kicking and ultimately fatally stabbing Becker.

Police confirmed on Monday a fourth teenager – a 17-year-old boy – had been charged with murder and armed robbery after spending the weekend in hospital under police guard.

The teen briefly faced a children’s court on Monday afternoon, and will remain in custody before returning on March 27.

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’s death.

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.

In the days since Becker’s 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.

Emad, a friend of Becker’s mother, Nathalie, shared the moment he learnt of the man’s death.

“Friday night, I’m 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’s going to traumatise me forever, and it’s, ‘Call me, they killed my son,’” Emad told 3AW.

He also shared a story that spoke to Becker’s 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.

“He was a beautiful human,” Emad said.

For Wendy Born, the incident on Friday instantly reminded her of her son’s experiences.

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, “Do you want to die?” before they snatched his phone from his hand.

When he refused to hand over his passcode to unlock the device, one of the youths threatened to hit him in the face.

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.

“This police officer said to me, ‘Because of Victoria’s new bail laws, we were able to hold on to them longer than we usually would,’” Born said. “That is literally the last we heard.”

A month later, the same group allegedly set on Born’s son again at Mernda station, held a kitchen knife to his throat and accused him of “dobbing” to police.

This time, her son hesitated when it came to signing a police statement, and said he felt “nothing was going to get done”.

“He slept on it overnight, and he said, ‘Mum, I just don’t feel comfortable signing it because I don’t want to end up dead,’” Born said.

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.

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.

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.

The presence of protective security officers has also come under scrutiny, as Friday’s fatal stabbing happened just 10 minutes before PSOs were due to start their regular 6pm patrols in the area.

Andrea Davidson, the chief executive of the violence reduction unit, said staff would be at Mernda station on Tuesday offering support to the community.

“Aidan 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,” she said. “It’s an absolute tragedy, and our hearts go out to Aidan’s family and the broader community of Mernda.

“We’re at Mernda train station tomorrow, ensuring that we’re speaking with the public, that we’re 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.”

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.

“We are providing support to help them through this challenging time,” a spokesperson said.

Two days after Becker’s death, locals were shocked on Sunday to see another arrest at Mernda station involving a group of youths in what police described as a “verbal altercation”.

Police said they had arrested a 16-year-old boy about 7pm on Sunday after the altercation, but no weapons were involved.

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