A Sydney father of three who was allegedly stabbed to death while trying to help a group of young people get home safely has been remembered as a kind-hearted, hardworking family man whose greatest joy was his children.

Joshua James Smith, 36, was making his way home from work on Friday night when a seemingly innocent encounter in Mount Druitt, in Sydney’s west, ended in an act of violence that has left his family and community devastated.

The father of two daughters and a son had stopped to speak with young people he knew through family and friends near Westfield Mount Druitt. According to police, he was planning to withdraw money from an ATM to help them get home safely.

But another group of teenagers allegedly took offence to the conversation, sparking a confrontation that would cost Joshua his life.

Police allege a 13-year-old boy stabbed Joshua twice in the torso before he was pursued and further assaulted by other young people.

Emergency services were called to Cleeve Close shortly before 9pm on October 9, where officers found Joshua suffering critical injuries. Despite desperate attempts to save him, he died at the scene.

NSW Police Superintendent Darrin Batchelor described the circumstances as almost impossible to comprehend.

“In my 30-year career of policing, I find this absolutely senseless,” he said.

“You have a male who was going home from work, going about his business and stopped to talk to some family friends, and is now dead.”

The tragedy has become even more heartbreaking as details emerge about the man behind the headlines.

Joshua’s childhood friend Dea Maree described him as someone who would do anything for the people he loved.

“He’s got no bad bone in his body,” she told 7NEWS.

“He really did not deserve that at all.”

She remembered a generous friend who would drop everything to help someone in need, regardless of his own circumstances.

“He was a very beautiful soul,” she said.

Joshua had grown up in Sydney’s west and worked as a tradesman since leaving school. He enjoyed football, motorbike riding and music, but it was his family that meant the most to him.

He had been with his longtime partner since they were teenagers, and together they had built a life centred around their three children.

Maree said fatherhood had brought out the very best in him, transforming him into a devoted and caring family man.

Now, his partner faces the unimaginable task of raising their children without him.

Friends and relatives have flooded social media with tributes, struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss.

One cousin shared a particularly moving farewell, reflecting on their childhood memories and the years they should have had ahead of them.

“I wish we had more time more laughs, more memories to make,” he wrote.

“This isn’t how your story should have ended Josh But I promise your memory won’t end here.”

Family friend Lauren Partridge has established a GoFundMe campaign to provide financial support for Joshua’s children.

She remembered him as a man who brought happiness to those around him and whose world revolved around his family.

“Josh was a character – he made people smile, laugh and most of all lived for his children he will be forever missed,” she wrote.

“No child should ever have to grow up without their father.”

A 13-year-old boy has been charged with murder, breach of bail and an unrelated robbery offence. Police have confirmed he was already known to authorities and was on bail at the time of the alleged attack.

A second boy, aged 16, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Both have appeared before the NSW Children’s Court and remain in custody. Police are continuing their investigation and have indicated further arrests may follow.

For Joshua’s loved ones, however, the criminal proceedings cannot undo what happened that Friday night.

Three children have lost their father. A woman has lost the partner she had loved since her teenage years. And a family is left mourning a man whose final moments began with an ordinary act of kindness.

As Superintendent Batchelor observed, the consequences of that night will be felt for years to come.

What should have been a routine journey home has instead left a family facing a future they never imagined.