Teenagers who killed son by mistake ‘took my heart’, says mother of Bristol murder victim

The mother of a murdered teenager says the child killers responsible “took my heart” and don’t “understand the impact” of what they did.

Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, stabbed to death by a group of teenagers in a case of mistaken identity Bristol in January.

Those responsible – now aged 15, 16 and 17 – along with Riley Tolliver, 18 – were sentenced to life at Bristol Crown Court today.

In November, their getaway driver, Anthony Snook, 45, received a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years.

Max’s mother, Leanne Ekland, spoke of the panic she felt when she discovered her son was dying in a nearby street.

“Me and my partner Trevor were in bed,” she told Sky News, describing the night of the murders. “Max was at home, in his room, on his PlayStation and we didn’t think about it at all.

“The next minute a car stopped outside my house and shouted at my window: ‘Max has been stabbed’ – and I said: ‘No, he’s not, he’s in bed.’ “

Leanne rushed to Ilminster Avenue in the Knowle West area of the city and was allowed by paramedics to sit with her son.

“It was so panicked, I don’t know what I was thinking, I was sitting on the floor and the paramedics were cutting his clothes off,” she said.

Max had met his friend Mason at his home on Saturday evening to buy pizza, but seconds after leaving he was attacked by a group armed with machetes.

The gang were seeking revenge for an attack with bricks on a house in Hartcliffe in Bristol an hour earlier – but the two boys had nothing to do with that.

“They did nothing wrong”

The gang’s deadly attack was captured on CCTV at Mason’s home.

Leanne said: “When I see Max and Mason on CCTV, when I see them meeting, I look at him and I can see him smiling.

“And the sad thing is, these boys don’t know what’s going to happen to them when they walk through that door.

“They must have been petrified. They were just going to get food.

“They didn’t do anything wrong.”

Leanne added: “I had no idea why they had been targeted. And obviously when I was told that, it’s difficult. It’s difficult to understand.

“Because there’s no reason why Max and Mason shouldn’t be here today. They didn’t do anything wrong…but unfortunately, they lost their lives.”

Her child’s killers, Leanne said, “took my heart.”

She added: “I love my daughters dearly but they also took my son. Now I have to repair my life without him.

“Everyone says it will get better, but I don’t think it will. Because he was a big part of my family and I don’t want to move on.

“He was the glue of our family and to think that I have to move on without him is difficult. They need to understand that – they destroyed me.”

“The trial was the hardest thing I have ever had to do”

Leanne attended much of the trial at Bristol Crown Court, which showed CCTV footage of the attack.

She said no family should have to go through this kind of process.

“It was very difficult to listen to,” she said. “But as Max’s mother, I wanted to hear everything, I wanted to have my questions answered, and I wanted to know what my boy experienced in the last minutes of his life.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But it’s the only thing I can do for Max…sit still and know what he went through.”

All five defendants were found guilty of murder and Leanne said it “gave me breathing space”.

She added: “When the guilty verdict came back, I was able to breathe a little because someone was being held responsible for these deaths. And it was like a weight was lifted off me.”

“Many parents know what their children are doing”

Leanne worked with her son’s local football club to introduce emergency bleeding control kits and spoke to pupils about the risks of violence and carrying knives at Max’s school.

She said more education was needed about knife crime and children should be made aware of the “ripple effect” after using a weapon.

Leanne added: “I think it starts at home. With the parents. Because I think there are a lot of parents who know what their children are doing.

“They know what they’re carrying. And I think obviously it starts at home, before it goes anywhere else.”

When asked what she has been holding close to her since her son’s death, she replied: “Everything. I still have a plate and a cup in Max’s room that I won’t take out because it is what he used that night.

“Everything around me, that belongs to Max, is precious and I will not get rid of it.”