Hopefully just rot and not the beginnings of something like verticillium wilt showing itself...
When you said the plant had no real roots left, it brought up images of what used to happen to mine before I started grafting with resistant rootstock. What did the leaves on the Matina look like?
V wilt is a fungal disease that thrives in cool, wet conditions so some years the effect is worse than others. And I've noticed in my beds, at least, it hits harder in some spots than others. As I said, I hope that's not what you have, but look into it and see if you can cross it off the list.
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