{"id":46978,"date":"2026-05-19T23:13:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46978"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:13:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:13:33","slug":"friends-watched-in-horror-as-shark-killed-dad-of-2-what-they-saw-in-his-final-moments-will-haunt-them-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46978","title":{"rendered":"Friends watched in horror as shark killed dad of 2 \u2013 what they saw in his final moments will haunt them forever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>38-year-old Steven Mattaboni has been identified as the victim of a fatal shark attack off the west coast of Australia that took place over the weekend.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"oftah6a0d83b271902\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.oftah6a0d83b271902 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.oftah6a0d83b271902 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.oftah6a0d83b271902 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.oftah6a0d83b271902 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.oftah6a0d83b271902 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p>Mattaboni was spearfishing with three friends about half a mile offshore when tragedy struck. He was attacked and\u00a0<a id=\"182029\" href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/tag\/shark-attack\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" type=\"post_tag\">killed by a shark e<\/a>stimated to be around 13 feet long, according to news.com.au.<\/p>\n<p>Police said Mattaboni suffered \u201chorrific\u201d injuries in the attack before his friends managed to pull him back into the boat, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/dad-of-2-identified-fatal-shark-attack-friends-did-best-they-could-save-him-11977559?link_source=ta_first_comment&amp;taid=6a0bafc173f9f1000147f53f&amp;utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&amp;utm_content=manual&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawR49uNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBiNHBQcEVmU2I3V3lsY0VPc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqb7Tp4AKuf9bQkokUoDH5Ssbso-VjrCc1cD8im4a2e4LAyF7Btyk5LVp8cp_aem_PgPQNozFY45a6BJbCuD9pQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">PEOPLE.\u00a0<\/a>The group did everything they could to save his life, performing CPR while waiting for emergency responders to arrive. Unfortunately, he could not be saved.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-friends-have-witnessed-the-horrific-event\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cThe friends have witnessed the horrific event\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>According to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cp8p5llz8ddo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">the BBC<\/a>, WA Police Sergeant Michael Wear said the 38-year-old was close to his boat when the shark bit him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe friends have witnessed the horrific event,\u201d he told local media, according to the BBC.<\/p>\n<p>Their heroic efforts in that terribly difficult moment were later praised by police during a press conference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to acknowledge the diver\u2019s friends who played a critical role in doing the best they could to bring [him] back to shore,\u201d WA Police Minister Reece Whitby said, according to the ABC. \u201cMy heart and thoughts go out to the man\u2019s family, friends and loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-steven-mattaboni-has-been-identified-as-the-victim-of-a-fatal-shark-attack\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steven Mattaboni has been identified as the victim of a fatal shark\u00a0<\/strong>attack<\/h2>\n<p>His family \u2013 including his wife, Shirene Mattaboni \u2013 is now grieving the unimaginable loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur hearts are irrevocably broken by the loss of Steven,\u201d she said the day after the attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn avid fisherman and spearfisherman, who lived and breathed the ocean, he was always in tune with the sea,\u201d she continued, saying he \u201cwas fiercely loyal, endlessly generous, and the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also leaves behind the couple\u2019s two young daughters \u2013 one nearly 3 years old, and the other just 4 months old.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world has lost a truly one-of-a-kind gentleman, and our daughters have lost an incredible father far too soon,\u201d Shirene said.<\/p>\n<p>Loved ones have since launched a GoFundMe to support the family during this difficult time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSteven was truly one of a kind \u2013 a loving husband, devoted father, and an incredibly kind and genuine man who brought warmth and happiness to those around him,\u201d the page reads. \u201cAbove all else, he absolutely adored his three girls and was the most amazing dad.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>38-year-old Steven Mattaboni has been identified as the victim of a fatal shark attack off the west coast of Australia that took place over the weekend. Mattaboni was spearfishing with three friends about half a mile offshore when tragedy struck. He was attacked and\u00a0killed by a shark estimated to be around 13 feet long, according&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[19,17,11,20,24,15,12,25,22,18,16,21,14,23,13],"class_list":["post-46978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chronic-diseases","tag-fitness","tag-health-tips","tag-healthcare-technology","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-healthy-living","tag-medical-advice","tag-medical-awareness","tag-medical-research","tag-mental-health","tag-nutrition","tag-patient-care","tag-preventive-care","tag-public-health","tag-wellness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friends watched in horror as shark killed dad of 2 \u2013 what they saw in his final moments will haunt them forever - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46978\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friends watched in horror as shark killed dad of 2 \u2013 what they saw in his final moments will haunt them forever - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"38-year-old Steven Mattaboni has been identified as the victim of a fatal shark attack off the west coast of Australia that took place over the weekend. Mattaboni was spearfishing with three friends about half a mile offshore when tragedy struck. 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