Bristol stabbings: Max Dixon and Mason Rist’s murderers detained

Four teenagers have been detained for life for the murders of best friends Max Dixon and Mason Rist – who were killed in a case of mistaken identity in January.

Mason, 15, and Max, 16, were stabbed to death with machetes yards from Mason’s front door in Knowle West, Bristol.

Riley Tolliver, 18, and 17-year-old Kodishai Wescott, who can be named for the first time after reporting restrictions were lifted, were told they would each be detained for a minimum of 23 years.

A 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were detained for life with minimum terms of 15 and 18 years respectively.

Max and Mason were killed after being wrongly identified as being responsible for bricks being thrown at a house in Hartcliffe earlier the same evening, on 27 January.

The four teenage defendants spotted the two best friends while being driven around Knowle West by a fifth defendant, Anthony Snook, 45, looking for “revenge”, the court previously heard.

All five were convicted of two counts of murder last month following a six-week trial at Bristol Crown Court. Snook was later jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 38 years.

Before sentencing, statements written by the mothers and sisters of Max and Mason were read to the court, concluding with Mason’s sister, Chloe Rist, holding up packets containing her brother’s ashes and hair, as well as a print taken of his hand following his death.

Ms Rist described how Mason had been diagnosed with autism at the age of three, which meant the family were protective of him as he was “vulnerable and harmless”.

She told of the devastating impact of his death on her family, including the “ripple effect” of her grandmother suffering a heart attack and her baby being born prematurely.

Concluding her statement, she held up the packets of Mason’s ashes and hair, as well as the hand print, and told the defendants: “This is Mason’s ashes and this is what you’ve done. If anyone is upset about me bringing them to court today, that is all I have left of him.

“I shouldn’t have to look at my brother’s bone fragments either.

“I also have a piece of his hair which has his blood on it, if you want to see it?

“This is my dead brother’s handprint. Another thing you’ve done. I should be able to hold my brother’s hand, not look at it on a piece of paper. This is all I have left of him.”

Sentencing the four teenagers on Thursday, Ms Justice May said: “It is impossible to know what prompted the boys to attack Mason and Max.

“Nothing can undo the events of that dreadful night. No sentence can lessen the sense of loss and grief caused to their families.”

During the trial, the jury was told there had been a long-standing rivalry between Knowle West and Hartcliffe, and there had previously been incidents involving people from “both postcodes”.

Max and Mason were heading out to buy a pizza when they were attacked “with some of the most horrific weapons” police had seen, the court was previously told.

CCTV cameras captured Snook’s Audi Q2 pulling on to Ilminster Avenue, where the four teenagers then jumped out, wielding large machetes and a baseball bat.

The attacks lasted just 33 seconds, while Snook sat waiting in his parked car with the lights off.

The teenage defendants then got back into Snook’s car, which performed a U-turn in the street and sped away, leaving the injured boys collapsed in the street.

They died in hospital within 15 minutes of each other in the early hours of the next morning, while their murderers ate a McDonalds, the trial heard.