It was the first Christmas after Victoria endured its punishing Covid lockdowns, and Colin Sheean believed his young family had already faced the worst life could offer.
A month earlier, his wife Natalie had suffered a cardiac arrest at just 38. She had remained on life support ever since.
Despite doctors’ efforts to save her, Natalie died in the early hours of Christmas Eve 2021. She left behind Colin and their three children, Mason, Chanel and Faith.
Friends and family rallied around ‘Cozza’ as he tried to care for his devastated children, whose ages ranged from six to their mid-teens, while carrying the weight of his own grief.
Five years later, 41-year-old Mr Sheean was riding his scooter home when he noticed three teenagers allegedly behaving suspiciously on a street in Langwarrin, in Melbourne’s south-east, at about 12.20am on Saturday.
Within moments, he was left lying in a pool of blood.
The teenagers are accused of breaking into a car before stabbing Colin twice when he stepped in to intervene.
He remains in an induced coma at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital as relatives and shocked strangers do everything they can to support his family.
Colin and Natalie Sheean pictured during happier times
On Tuesday, a GoFundMe campaign had collected more than $140,000, with donations continuing to climb. Its original target was just $30,000.
A separate fundraiser launched after Natalie’s death also surpassed its $10,000 goal by $3,000.
Yet through both devastating chapters, Colin never asked others for help.
“All who know Cozza and the Sheean family know that he is always the first one to reach out and help anyone in need but is also far too proud to ever ask for handouts, regardless of circumstances,” the fundraiser organiser wrote.
Natalie grew up in Hampton East, in Melbourne’s inner south, and was among the first in her “Brighton High Friendship group” to marry and start a family.
She was remembered as a down-to-earth woman who loved visiting the bush around Yarrawonga, in northern Victoria, during her childhood.
On New Year’s Day following her death, her daughter Chanel posted a heartbreaking message to her mother on the Tobin Brothers funeral directors’ website.
“Hi Mum, I love you so much,” she wrote.
Natalie Sheean, left, died suddenly in 2021, leaving Colin to raise the children alone
The couple were the first among their friends to marry
At Natalie’s funeral on January 6, 2022, Colin sat nervously, hoping mourners would be able to take part in the service.
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Victorians had only recently come out of former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ world record lockdown which had put crowd restrictions on funerals.
It so happened that on that very day, limited restrictions were reinstated in response to fresh surge from the Omicron variant.
While the funeral went ahead as planned, mourners were required to show proof they had been double vaccinated.
Natalie’s service started with the Celine Dion ballad Because You Loved Me and ended with Easy On Me by Adele – a track about good intentions and high hopes.
On Sunday, a 17-year-old accused of stabbing Mr Sheean allegedly texted his father saying the father of three had tried to stop them
‘He was a hero, he tried to fight me so I had to stab him,’ he allegedly wrote. ‘The knife was stuck inside him … I tried to rip it out but he fell and screamed.’
Natalie Sheean had been a devoted mum when her life was tragically cut short
Police arrested two 16-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy over the attack, who faced the Children’s Court on Sunday night.
Two were held in custody while the third was granted bail.
The court heard the 17-year-old boy allegedly punched and stabbed Colin in the back and chest, leaving the knife embedded.
One of the teenagers is accused of calling emergency services after the attack, claiming he had been assaulted by drunk men with a stick but refusing to provide his name before hanging up, the Herald Sun reported.
Police were unable to reach him when they called back and subsequently contacted his mother.
The court heard that the teenagers allegedly exchanged Snapchat messages and text messages to discuss hiding, turning themselves in and attempting to blame the victim.
Police used phone tracking technology and the dog squad to find one of the 16-year-olds in Langwarrin, before officers later executed a search warrant at a property and arrested the other 16-year-old.
Officers later arrested the 17-year-old at a home.
Colin Sheean is fighting for life after he was allegedly stabbed
One of the teenagers who allegedly attacked Colin Sheean
Major Events Minister Anthony Carbines said on Sunday it was ‘a disgraceful and violent attack’.
He added: ‘Everyone deserves to be safe and to feel safe, and I’m pleased police made swift arrests to bring people before the courts to be held to account.’
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