Benjamin Ray is being seen as career criminal Kevin Knowles' innocent sidekick but his life had its share of dramas.
Knowles, 49, was shot by waring neighbour Travis Cashmore, 45, which reportedly ended an ongoing feud.
Cashmore put a shotgun to the back of Knowles' head as he walked along Scotts North Road at 10.20am last Friday.
The shotgun blast caused catastrophic injuries.
Cashmore was driving his white van at the time.
Seeing Knowles lying on the side of the road, Cashmore backed over his victim's head, flattening what was left.
Cashmore then ran down Ray, 48, with his van before pumping two shotgun shells into his back.
He then returned to his Chamberlain Street address where he took his own life.
While it seemed Ray was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, there are those who don't mourn his passing.
Ray in the past few years arrived in Koroit from Morwell.
He didn't even know how to get from Warrnambool railway station to Koroit.
He formed a relationship with a Koroit woman online and they spent a couple of years together.
But she died suddenly of a heart attack in early September 2019.
A family member said the woman suffered a number of health conditions.
"She was not a fit or healthy person," he said.
"They had been going out and living together for a couple of years."
The woman reportedly mentioned to her father she was thinking about changing her will in the lead-up to her death.
"The money she had was family money. We are a small tight-knit family, so it was a shock when she died and left her assets to Ray," he said.
"The last thing we wanted was someone like Knowles getting anywhere near the money."
It's understood the inheritance was insignificant.
The woman's family sought legal advice but decided not to take legal action and contest the will because they were told they had a limited chance of success.
"It was a shock, the assets - including the house in Koroit - were left to Ray," the family member said.
"We met him a few times. Both the woman and Ray led simple lives.
"I have a grave fear Benny and Kevin influenced her into changing her will. That was family money."
It was the second time Ray, the father-of-three, had lost a wife. His first wife was reportedly found deceased on a couch.
The man said Knowles had rung the family a number of times, questioning whether the will had been finalised and the estate wrapped up.
"Kevin rang me a few times and said 'where's the money?'. It did take some time to settle the will and Benny basically got it all," he said.
"We knew it wasn't fair and took it up with the solicitor a number of times, but there was nothing that could be done about it.
"That was basically the situation. We, as a family, were pretty pissed off."
The man described Ray as "pretty much harmless".
"He wore very thick glasses and was just a quiet bloke. But, the last thing we wanted was Kevin Knowles getting anywhere near the money," he said.
"Benny wasn't from here, he just formed a relationship with the woman and for a while travelled between Koroit and Morwell.
"It was a shock. She was only 52 or 53. It was found there were no suspicious circumstances."
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