Max and Mason: Heartbroken sister describes seeing brother's 'ripped coat' after fatal attack

The family members of two boys fatally stabbed in a case of mistaken identity in Bristol have given victim personal statements at Bristol Crown Court.

Antony Snook, 45, has been sentenced to life in prison by Mrs Justice May on Tuesday 19 November, having been convicted of murdering Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, in Knowle West on January 27.

Riley Tolliver, 18, a 17-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were also convicted of both murders on Friday 15 November, following a trial. They will be sentenced in December.

As part of the hearing, victim personal statements prepared by the mothers and sisters of Max and Mason were read to the court.

Ray Tully KC, prosecuting, summarised the statement from Nikki Knight, the mother of Mason, describing 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."

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.”

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 as 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.”

The sister of Max Dixon told Antony 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.”

Mrs Justice May described how a “posse of armed teenagers” were driven from Hartcliffe to Knowle West in Bristol to exact revenge after a house was attacked.

She told Antony Snook, wearing a suit and tie, that it was “impossible to fathom” why he had agreed to drive the four boys in his car to the area.

“The boys you took were then 14, 15, 16 and 17,” she said at Bristol Crown Court.

“The three younger ones had long knives. The 17-year-old had a baseball bat. The recovered knives were truly fearsome.

“You would have experienced the atmosphere in that car. Felt the blood lust. Mason and Max, tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“It took those boys 33 seconds to chase and stab Mason and Max. All of this was captured by the CCTV camera on the front of Mason’s home. It is profoundly distressing viewing.”

Mrs Justice May appeared emotional as she described Max Dixon and Mason Rist as “two good boys from loving homes” at the sentencing of Antony Snook at Bristol Crown Court.

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.