A middle-aged man who helped four teenage accomplices escape after they stabbed two schoolboy friends to death in a machete attack has been jailed for life.
Getaway driver Antony Snook was found guilty of the murders of Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, who were attacked in a case of mistaken identity. Today he was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 38 years behind bars.
The teens tragically died after they were stabbed to death after leaving Mason’s home in the Knowle West area of Bristol, shortly after 11pm on January 27 The two boys had been wrongly identified as being responsible for bricks being thrown at a house in the rival Hartcliffe district earlier that evening.
Around an hour after that attack, Snook, 45, left the property in an Audi Q2 with two of the boys and picked up the other two in a nearby street before heading to Knowle West. The car was driven around the area for at least 12 minutes before the attack, the jury was told.
Snook drove down the street where Mason lived and spotted him and Max outside, wrongly believing they had spotted those responsible for the attack. Ray Tully KC, prosecuting, told the jury: “They were entirely wrong about that. Max and Mason had absolutely nothing to do with any earlier incident and no connection whatsoever with those events.”
A CCTV camera on Mason’s nearby house captured how the attack lasted just 33 seconds from the car pulling up to the teenagers getting back in and leaving. Footage played in court during the trial, showed four teenage boys armed with some what the prosecution described as “some pretty fearsome weapons” as they drove past them in an Audi Q2 car.
Tolliver, who had a baseball bat, and the three teenagers armed with machetes jumped out of the car and chased after the two boys. Max and Mason are seen going to different sides of the street, each pursued by two people from the vehicle.
Tolliver and the 15-year-old boy attacked Mason, while the 16-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy chased Max. The 17-year-old boy also struck Mason, who was lying injured on the ground, as he headed back to the Audi after attacking Max.
The jury of nine men and three women found them guilty at Bristol Crown Court after a six-week trial. As the jury returned their verdicts members of Mason’s and Max’s families were sat in the public gallery. Some cried as the guilty verdicts were given, while other relatives cheered and punched the air.
Today during sentencing of Snook, the sister of Mason Rist described how he was diagnosed with autism when he was a young child, meaning the family were “over protective because he was so vulnerable and harmless”.
Chloe Dore told Bristol Crown Court her little brother was “silly, clumsy and the joker of the family”, and laid out the devastating impact of his death. I didn’t make it in time to the hospital and was told Mason was dead on arrival, and I couldn’t see him because he was evidence,” she said.
“Just imagine not being able to touch your defenceless brother or being able to say goodbye.” She told of walking to her mother’s home and seeing Mason’s favourite coat “ripped up” and his blood on the pavement, before going into his bedroom “praying he was in there”.
Ms Dore added: “Mason’s dad died of Covid two years ago, so the last two years of Mason’s life, I just saw his heart break. He was just starting to feel himself again. The first time he went out, this happened. Mason doesn’t like confrontation. I know he would have been really scared that night, not knowing why this was happening to him. He tried to come home, he was so close but he didn’t make it.”
She described how her brother was looking forward to starting a bricklaying course, adding “he was so worthy of a good life”.
Addressing Snook, she said: “Although I haven’t seen any remorse or regret, it must weigh heavy on you that you got the wrong boy. Mason wasn’t your enemy, he wasn’t anyone’s enemy. Mason would have been your friend but now he’s your victim.” Mr Tully summarised a victim impact statement from Nikki Knight, the mother of Mason. She described how the attack on her son took place outside their home.
Mr Tully said: “She hopes that Mason will still walk through her door, though she knows that will never happen. She, as a mother, feels she failed to protect her son. That is a thought that will stay with her. Ultimately, she says when trying to find words to put her emotions and feelings down on paper, it is an impossible task. She speaks about the fact she still can’t go into his bedroom because of the feelings she knows she will have, simply being in that room.”
Leanne Ekland, Max Dixon’s mother, spoke after the guilty verdicts were returned. She said her son and Mason had known each other since nursery school. “The last six weeks have been emotionally draining,” she said. Today’s outcome doesn’t change the fact that two families go home without their boys. We can now hopefully begin to process that and remember them both and the happy memories that both families have of Max and Mason.
“I need to thank everyone that’s been involved in our case. I have so much respect for the hard work, dedication and support for our families. There are no words to express how thankful I am to everyone. I will be forever grateful to them. I wish we didn’t have to be here today, but we’ve got some sort of justice for our boys.”
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Passing sentence, Mrs Justice May appeared emotional as she described Max Dixon and Mason Rist as “two good boys from loving homes”. She praised their families for the “dignity and grace” shown during their attendance at the six-week trial of Snook, Riley Tolliver, 18, and three teenage boys who cannot be named due to their age.
The judge told the court: “Mason, 15, and Max, 16, had been best friends for a long time. These were two good boys from loving homes with their whole lives ahead of them. She described the “burning sense of unfairness of the attack on these two boys” who were walking to get food in their community. Nothing can undo the dreadful events of that night, or bring Mason or Max back,” the judge said.
Speaking outside Bristol Crown Court, Mason Rist’s uncle David Knight said: “We would like to say a massive thank you to Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins and all his team. They promised us right at the beginning that they would do everything in their power and they have. They’ve got them.
“We would like to thank the jury for having to see what we’ve seen, and no-one should ever see any of that. We want to thank them for coming to the correct decision.”
Mr Knight described his family as a “big jigsaw puzzle”. “Mason was a massive part of that jigsaw puzzle and basically that piece of puzzle has now been destroyed and will never be replaced,” he said.
“He will always be in our hearts. Mason was a real quiet, quiet boy who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He was so loving and caring. These animals took away a son, a brother, a nephew, an uncle, and a grandchild. We must now navigate the rest of our lives without our puzzle piece.”
The mother of Max Dixon told Bristol Crown Court how she rushed to the road where he was stabbed and cradled her son as he lay fatally injured on the pavement. Leanne Ekland described hearing a car pull up outside her house and the words “Max has been stabbed”, which she initially thought was a joke as she believed her son was in bed before realising he was not.
Arriving at the scene, she said: “I sat on the ground with Max’s head between my legs, telling him to open his eyes. He said he just wanted to sleep. The paramedics were working on him, cutting away at his clothes. He was so pale.” Ms Ekland told how she screamed after being told at Southmead Hospital that her son would not survive his injuries.
“We were taken to a room where a doctor came in and said, ‘I am sorry…’ I didn’t let him finish. I screamed and ran out of the room and fell to the floor,” she said.” My heart was ripped out and the pain was unbearable. I knew then my life had been changed and my heart ripped out. I have never felt so much pain. When we were allowed to see Max, we walked in on them trying to save him, then stop and record his time of death. All I wanted to do was hold him and I wasn’t allowed because he was a crime scene.”
Ms Ekland attended each day of his trial, including on Max’s 17th birthday when evidence from the pathologist was heard. She described her son as a “big character” who was funny, kind and caring, and popular among his friends. Speaking to Snook, Ms Ekland said: “My son didn’t deserve to die and neither did Mason. Our families didn’t deserve to go through this. Due to your actions that night, two families have been destroyed. There are no words to describe how much I love my son, no words to describe the pain of losing him. Our family unit has been destroyed.”
And the sister of Max Dixon told Snook how his actions had traumatised her and her family. Kayleigh Dixon, speaking at Bristol Crown Court, said: “I wanted to start by saying it was 33 seconds for our lives to be changed. The one thing I will constantly remember is him being in pain, dying in his blood. My lasting memory will be Max wanting to go to sleep.”
Breaking down in tears and addressing Snook, she said: “I want you to know that you killed me that day. I can’t sleep. I want you to know how much you have traumatised me. Max and Mason should have been safe. They will forever be 16. I do not believe I will fully recover and I hope that justice will be served, and you will spend the rest of your life suffering.”
Speaking after the verdicts, Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, senior investigating officer at Avon and Somerset Police, said Max and Mason had been going for a pizza when they were fatally attacked in a case of mistaken identity.
“They are beautiful boys, going about their business, in their own community when they were senselessly attacked by the individuals for no reason. What we know is that they passed Max when he was walking towards Mason’s house. Then Mason walks out of his house and joins Max.
“The vehicle is passing, they think ‘that’s them, they will do’. They were hunting around Knowle to find people. We know they had driven around Knowle two-and-a-half times before they came across these two boys.”
Riley Tolliver, 18, a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy were also found guilty of the murders of Mason and Max. A 15-year-old boy was also found guilty of the murder of Max after previously pleading guilty to the murder of Mason. The three boys, 15, 16 and 17, cannot be named for legal reasons.
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