Gang who hunted down and knifed two innocent pals to death in gruesome case of mistaken identity are GUILTY of murder
A GANG who hunted down and knifed two innocent boys to death in a grisly case of mistaken identity have been found guilty of murder.
Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, were unwittingly embroiled in a “postcode rivalry” in the Bristol suburb of Knowle as they went to buy a pizza.
Their killers had wrongly identified them as the culprits of an earlier attack – leading them to “tool up” with an arsenal of “fearsome weapons”.
Chilling CCTV then showed the brutes chasing down the two teens as they innocently walked down the street together.
Both pals attempted to run back towards Mason’s home nearby but were separated during the hunt.
Mason was knifed once in the back and chest – causing “unsurvivable injuries” – while Max was stabbed once in the abdomen.
They tragically died within 15 minutes of each other after being rushed to hospital.
Antony Snook, 45, and Riley Tolliver, 18, and three teenage boys aged 15, 16 and 17, were jointly charged with murder.
Tolliver, 18, the 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy and Snook, 45, have now been convicted following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
The 15-year-old was also found guilty of the murder of Max after previously pleading guilty to the murder of Mason.
Jurors heard the horror unfolded on January 27 amid a postcode “rivalry” between the Knowle West and Hartcliffe areas of Bristol.
Around an hour before the boys were killed, a house in Hartcliffe had been attacked by youngsters hurling bricks through a window and injuring a woman.
At 11pm, Snook, Tolliver and the three teen defendants left the area armed with their stash of weapons.
They drove from Hartcliffe to Knowle West “on the hunt” for the people they believed were responsible for the attack on the house.
Ray Tully KC, prosecuting, said: “As they drove past Max and Mason walking down the street, they thought they had spotted the people responsible for the earlier attack – or at the very least, people connected to it.
“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.”
Timeline of horror - how the attack unfolded
Saturday January 27, 2024
10:07pm: Three men armed with machetes throw bricks at the windows of a property in Hartcliffe, injuring a woman. The attack is captured on CCTV.
10:48pm: Antony Snook, 45, and a 16-year-old return to Hartcliffe from Swindon in Snook’s Audi Q2. They had bought a mobile phone.
10:57pm: Snook, the 16-year-old and a 17-year-old leave the Hartcliffe property in Snook’s car. They pick up a 15-year-old and Riley Tolliver, 18, from a nearby street. Three are armed with machetes while Tolliver has a baseball bat. They head to the rival Knowle West district.
11:13pm: The Audi arrives in Ilminster Avenue, Knowle West.
11:13pm: Max calls round to his friend Mason’s home in Ilminster Avenue. They leave the property almost immediately. Within seconds the Audi drives past the friends, turns around, and heads back towards them.
11:14pm: The Audi stops and the four armed teenagers get out and chase after Max and Mason. The attack on the two boys lasts just 33 seconds. The car then leaves the scene. The 15-year-old and Tolliver are dropped off.
11:21pm: Snook and the 16 and 17-year-old return to the Hartcliffe property. Within minutes items of clothing are being burned in the back garden.
11:29pm: Snook arrives back at his home address on Dowling Road.
Sunday January 28
0:12am: Mason arrives at Bristol Children’s Hospital.
0:15am: Snook is arrested at his home address.
0:33am: Max arrives at Southmead Hospital.
0:49am: Mason is declared dead.
1:02am: Max is declared dead.
1:08am: The 16 and 17-year-old travel to a block of flats in a taxi. They arrive 15 minutes later.
5:07am: The 16-year-old leaves the flat.
5:22am: The 16-year-old returns carrying McDonald’s takeaway and drinks.
Tolliver and the 15-year-old boy allegedly attacked Mason, while the 16-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy are said to have chased Max.
The footage showed the gang speeding off in Snook’s Audi as Max and Mason were left dying on the street.
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,” he told the PA news agency.
“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.”
The gang were remanded into custody to be sentenced on a later date.
Mason and Max's devastated family's pay tribute
Max’s family said: “Max was a big character with a happy and joyful look on life. He was funny, kind and caring. He was a huge part of the family and was very popular among his friends. He was full of life and had such a cheeky side, but was always respectful.
“The past six weeks have been emotionally draining. Today’s outcome doesn’t change the fact that two families go home without their boys. But we can now hopefully begin to process and remember them both and the happy memories both families have of Max and Mason.
“Max and Mason have known each other since nursery school and have always been in the same classes. We often joked it was a funny friendship as they were both so different but they bounced off each other and brought out the best in each other.
“We will miss everything about him. We are broken without him but he would want us to carry on and he wouldn’t want anyone to be down.
“We need to thank everyone that’s been involved in our case. We have so much respect for the hard work, dedication and support to our families. There are no words to express how thankful we are to everyone. We will be forever grateful to them.”
While Mason’s family said: “Our family is like a jigsaw puzzle and, with the loss of Mason, it is like a part of our jigsaw is gone forever and will never be complete. Mason was a quiet boy who would never hurt a fly. He was just so lovely and innocent.
“It is impossible to put into words how we feel. This whole process has been incredibly hard and hearing what we have heard, what happened to him, it is horrible to think about Mason’s last moments.
“These dangerous individuals took away our son, brother, nephew, uncle and grandchild and we must now navigate the rest of our lives without our missing puzzle piece.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank everyone worked so hard on this case. The investigation team for being so hard working and dedicated, we appreciate it wasn’t easy working endless hours and under pressure but it is because of you we got this result.
“The family wouldn’t have been able to get through this unbearable time without having the best family liaison officers assigned to us. They have gone above and beyond to ensure we are always updated, guided and supported throughout this awful process.