Four teenagers are starting life sentences for murdering two best friends who were stabbed to death in a case of mistaken identity sparked by an escalating tit-for-tat postcode rivalry.
Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, were chased and cut down by a gang of youths armed with machetes in Bristol.
They died from stab wounds when they were confronted by the teenagers in the Knowle West area of Bristol on January 27 this year.
Their attackers – Riley Tolliver, 18, Kodi-Shai Wescott, 17, and two boys aged 15 and 16 – had been driven to Ilminster Avenue by Antony Snook, 45.
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.
Mrs Justice May detained the 15-year-old boy for life with a minimum term of 15 years and 229 days, and the 16-year-old boy for life with a minimum term of 18 years and 44 days.
Following submissions by media organisations including the PA news agency, the judge lifted reporting restrictions relating to Kodi-Shai Wescott – meaning he could be identified for the first time.
Wescott was detained for life with a minimum term of 23 years and 44 days, while Tolliver received a minimum term of 23 years and 47 days.
“Mason and Max had been best friends for a long time,” the judge said.
“They were simply and tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“They had had nothing whatsoever to do with the earlier attack on the address in Hartcliffe, or with any strife between the neighbouring districts.
“The CCTV capturing their brutal cutting down by these defendants is shocking and distressing viewing.
“Mason and Max were good boys from homes where people loved them very much. They had their whole lives ahead of them.
“The shock of such vicious weapons in young hands causing deaths on a residential street affects everyone in the community, even those who did not know Mason, Max or their families.”
On Thursday morning, victim personal statements written by the mothers and sisters of Max and Mason were read to the court.
Chloe Rist, the sister of Mason, described how he had been diagnosed with autism at the age of three which meant the family were protective of him as he was “vulnerable and harmless”.
At the conclusion of her statement, she held up packets containing Mason’s ashes and hair, as well as a print taken of his hand after his death.
Ms Rist 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.
“I hope your sorrys are genuine but unfortunately I can’t be sure. I hope you don’t forget Mason because he didn’t deserve any of this.”
The defendants remained expressionless in the dock as Ms Rist showed them the items.
Previously, the court heard how Snook and the armed teenagers set out for revenge after masked youths wielding machetes threw bricks at Wescott’s home in Hartcliffe – leaving his mother Abailene “Abi” Burke injured from broken glass.
The brick attack was retaliation for tit-for-tat incidents between the Wescott family and their associates in Hartcliffe and their rivals in Knowle West.
Older brother Bailey, 23, a convicted heroin and cocaine dealer, believed he knew who was responsible and began making calls and sending text messages.
Snook was summoned to Vowell Close and left minutes later with Kodi-Shai Wescott and a 16-year-old friend, having armed themselves with machetes taken from the house’s armoury.
They picked up Wescott’s cousin Tolliver, 18, and the 15-year-old, another family friend, on the way and headed to Knowle West.
Snook’s Audi Q2 motability car was driven around the district for at least 12 minutes before the attack.
Max and Mason, who had been best friends since attending nursery together, were heading out for a pizza when they were spotted by those in Snook’s car and wrongly identified as being connected to that attack.
Tolliver, who had a baseball bat, and the three teenagers armed with machetes, jumped out of the car and chased after the two boys.
Within 33 seconds, the attackers had returned to Snook’s Audi Q2 motability car – leaving Max and Mason lying fatally injured on the street.
They were both pronounced dead in hospital in the early hours of January 28.
On Tuesday, Jamie Ogbourne, 27, of Hartcliffe, and Bailey Wescott, 23, of Whitchurch, were both jailed for five years and three months for helping the teenagers after the murders.
Speaking outside court, Mason’s uncle David Knight said no sentence passed would “ever be enough”.
“No family should ever have to go through what our two families have gone through,” he said.
Mr Knight described Mason as “just a normal 15-year-old boy” who loved to spend time with friends and play computer games.
“It is so hard to accept that Mason and Max were taken from us just for walking to the shops to get some food,” he added.
Max’s mother Leanne Ekland said: “These boys are not a postcode. They were sadly taken for no reason whatsoever.”
Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, who led the investigation, said: “This is a desperate case with no winners.”
