Friends of alleged Cervantes murder victim John Matta pay tribute to ‘absolute legend’ who would help anyone

John Matta, the 38-year-old man allegedly murdered on a Mid West highway while trying to be a good Samaritan, has been remembered as a kind and humble soul and “absolute legend” who would help anyone. Friends and family have paid tribute to Mr Matta, who police say was murdered after he stopped to help a 19-year-old man who had rolled his car in the middle of the night on Indian Ocean Road in Nambung, near Cervantes, on September 26. It is alleged his accused killer — Benjamin Jack McLaughlin — then stole Mr Matta’s red MG SUV and was found naked aboard a drifting boat in Cervantes, acting erratically as local fishermen helped him and police arrested him. Mr Matta’s remains were found in the burnt-out rolled Mitsubishi Pajero, understood to belong to Mr McLaughlin’s father. Police allege it was Mr Matta’s willingness to help which led to his death, and his traumatised friends say they believe Mr Matta was just doing what he had always done — helping those who needed it. Dylan Berkeley, a former colleague and friend, described Mr Matta as an “absolute legend” who “didn’t have a bad bone in his body”. “He helped me through a lot in the short two to three years I had the privilege to work beside him,” he said. Mr Berkeley said the 38-year-old had only just “gotten his life back” following strenuous rehab after his leg was amputated in February due to complications with diabetes, only for his life to be cut short. “He helped me mentally more than anything,” he said. “He knew how to see the best in everyone and made sure you could see it in yourself.” Mr Berkeley said that although he did not know what happened the night his mate died, he believed that if someone was on the side of the road who looked like they needed help, Mr Matta, having only one leg, would not hesitate to stop. On Facebook, John Habib posted: “Rest in peace cousin. John was my cousin who lived in Australia, he was found dead in (a) car a week ago, finally the case is (allegedly) solved and he can now rest in peace.” Mr Matta was also remembered as a valued member of his church community and talented singer. Friend George Gerges told 7NEWS that his death was incredibly upsetting but was comforted by the fact he was “such a good person and he’s in a better place now”. “He was a very blessed soul and we all loved him,” he said. Mr Gerges also told Nine News Mr Matta was “so down to earth and so humble, trying to help people wherever he can”. He said the incidents surrounding Mr Matta’s alleged murder had been confusing, but was glad police had provided some clarity and that a person had been charged. “It’ll be a hard loss to recover from, for sure, in our church community,” Mr Gerges said. On his TikTok account, Mr Matta regularly shared videos of his rehabilitation after his amputation surgery in an effort to help others going through a similar situation. He accompanied the videos with hashtags such as #unstoppable and in one of them wrote, “your reason for existence is only defined by how hungry you are to live life to the fullest”. “How inspiring,” a friend commented on one of his videos. In one TikTok video, Mr Matta told a story about how a stroke victim had thanked him for inspiring him to take his first steps. “It just made my day just so much better that I was able to help someone out, as others have helped me in this journey,” he said. “Be that light for others . . . be that help, you don’t know how much you will be helping out someone. . . it gives you more strength to keep going on.” Mr McLaughlin was charged with murder, stealing a motor vehicle and aggravated criminal damage by fire last week, and had previously been charged with offences relating to his arrest in Cervantes, including casting away a ship and assaulting a police officer and a fisherman who was trying to help him. Outside court last week, Mr McLaughlin’s lawyer Paul Holmes said his teenage client was “distraught” and in shock, who still did not know a lot of about the allegations. The 19-year-old has been remanded in custody to appear in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court later this month.