WESTBROOK – A funeral service Saturday will eulogize the life of the Westbrook man – described by friends and family as a loyal friend, exceptional student and “fine young man” – who died after being punched following a night in Portland’s Old Port.

Portland police said Eric Benson, 24, died Sunday in Maine Medical Center after being punched once in Monument Square about 1:30 a.m. He died in the hospital surrounded by family. The state has called the death a homicide.

“We’re reeling from it,” Wendy Benson, the victim’s mother said Tuesday. “As a family, we are very close knit. He was a great son. He was always there for us.”

The service will be held at noon at the St. Anthony Parish in St. Hyacinth’s Church, 295 Brown St., Westbrook. A reception follows the service, which will be preceded by a viewing from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Benson was to graduate in December from the University of Maine at Farmington. He graduated from Westbrook High School in 2005, where he played sax in the marching band.

George Bookataub of Durham, who was then the band’s director, said Tuesday he was shocked when he learned about Benson’s death.

“It’s a sad tragedy. He had his whole life ahead of him,” Bookataub said. “It was gone in a flash.”

Monday, Portland police said a suspect, William Googins, 20, of Gray, accompanied by family, turned himself in. Portland detectives arrested Googins, who was initially charged with aggravated assault pending review by the district attorney’s office.

Public tips led to the arrest and Googins was taken to Cumberland County Jail.

Tamara Getchell, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said that Googins had an initial court appearance Wednesday on a charge of manslaughter. Googins is being held on $100,000 bail.

Tuesday, an official with the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office, which performed an autopsy, said the death was a homicide. The cause of death was “blunt force trauma to the head.”

Michael Sauschuck, assistant Portland police chief, said Monday that Benson had been walking with a female friend when confronted by the suspect with two other men near 4 Monument Square, where Benson was assaulted.

“This is a complete random attack,” Sauschuck said.

Sauschuck described Benson’s death as a “tragic loss.”

“Our heart goes out to the family,” he said.

Lt. Gary Rogers, supervisor of Portland detectives, said Wednesday the suspect had been drinking in the Old Port.

“He’s not old enough to be in bars,” said Rogers.

In the Monument Square confrontation, police said, the suspect made derogatory comments on the night of the assault about the woman, who sought refuge behind Benson. Benson was punched one time in the head and he fell to the ground unconscious, according to a police report by Rogers.

The woman accompanying Benson screamed for help and a witness called 911, according to police.

Police did not release the identity of the woman and declined to reveal the community where she lived. Wendy Benson only would say the woman was “just a friend.”

Police said all had been in the Old Port and the suspect had been in several locations in the Old Port. Police said the other two who were with the suspect are cooperating and there were no criminal charges against the other two on Monday.

Wendy Benson said her son’s interests included fishing, snowboarding, bicycling and kayaking.

“He enjoyed anything outdoors,” Wendy said.

She said her son was studying geology and chemistry at the University of Maine in Farmington. He came home weekends to help fix up the Portland home of a friend’s grandfather.

He loved rock formations, she said, and had hoped to travel to Alaska.

Eric Benson had returned home to Westbrook from college about three weeks ago, his mother said, and had just started working at Lowe’s in Portland.

He played lacrosse in high school. Eric’s father, David Benson, said his son was a fan of the Portland Pirates hockey team.

A best friend since the third grade at Congin School in Westbrook, Ryan Beane of Westbrook said they went to Portland Pirates games together on weekends.

Beane said Benson was a loyal friend.

“He could turn any bad moment into something good,” Beane said. “He got along with everybody.”

Phil Rich, Westbrook’s music director, taught Benson as a student in the fifth grade at Congin School.

“He was an excellent musician,” Rich said. “He worked hard at everything.”

Bookataub said Benson performed with the band in Phoenix, Ariz., for the Fiesta Bowl in 2004.

Todd Fields, director of the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center, said Benson was very polite and most of the school’s staff knew him.

“He was an exceptional student,” Fields said, “an all- around good person.”

Fields remembered Benson as passionate about cars and had upon occasion returned after graduating to work on his car.

Benson’s mother said he launched a Maine Subaru Club and was in the process of getting his 1991 Subaru together. Beane was to help his friend repair the car. Benson had bought junkyard parts for it, which had five colors.

“It needed cosmetic work,” Beane said. “It ran great.”

David Benson said the family plans to restore his son’s car this summer. “We’ll refresh everything. We’ll get it dressed up and repainted,” he said while showing his son’s car.

He said the car might be driven to the funeral.

Westbrook High School Principal Marc Gousse described Benson as conscientious and agreed with Rich that he worked hard and was popular. “He was a fine young man. He was extremely well liked,” Gousse said.

Besides his parents, Eric Benson leaves four siblings including his identical twin, Andrew of Orono; Marc; and two sisters, Hollyanne and Heather, all of Westbrook.

Bookataub said Benson was a “great kid. He couldn’t do enough for you.

“My heart goes out to the parents and family.”

“An all-around good person” is how one person described Eric Benson, shown in his 2005 Westbrook High School yearbook photo. A funeral for Benson, who died Sunday after being attacked in Portland, is Saturday. Williams Googins, 20, of Gray, arrested by Portland detectives, was in court Wednesday facing a manslaughter charge in connection with Benson’s death.Eric Benson’s Portland Pirates cap rests in the back window of his 1991 Subaru Legacy. David Benson said family plans are to restore his son’s car. “We’ll get it dressed up and repainted,” he said. (Staff photo by Robert Lowell)