Bristol teenagers Mason Rist and Max Dixon stabbed to death in case of mistaken identity, jury told

Two teenagers suffered “instant severe blood loss” after being fatally stabbed in a case of mistaken identity, a jury has been told.

Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, died on the night of Saturday 27 January in the Knowle West area of Bristol.

Five defendants, including Riley Tolliver, 18, and Anthony Snook, 45, and three teenagers aged 15, 16 and 17, are on trial for murder at Bristol Crown Court.

Prosecutor Ray Tully KC told the jury the friends were set upon by the group travelling in Snook’s Audi Q2 while they were out seeking revenge on those responsible for throwing bricks at a house in the Hartcliffe area an hour earlier.

The 33-second attack on the two boys was captured by a CCTV camera on Mason’s house.

It showed the vehicle stopping before four people ran out and attacked the two friends.

Mr Tully told the jury on Wednesday that Max and Mason “had absolutely nothing to do with any earlier incident”.

On Thursday, the court was shown CCTV footage of three others throwing bricks at the property in Hartcliffe – some armed with knives.

The jury was also shown computer-generated images of the victims’ injuries and details of the initial police response.

Describing pathologist Dr Russell Delaney’s evidence, Mr Tully said Mason suffered two stab wounds to his back and chest which were described as “unsurvivable injuries”.

Max was stabbed in his abdomen. Both boys suffered “instant severe blood loss”.

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Boy was ‘covered in blood’

Mr Tully told the jury PC Luke Douglas was one of the first officers on the scene, adding: “He found Mason lying in the road covered in blood. He described the scene around him as chaos.”

“PC Ben Tucker also went to Ilminster Avenue. He was pointed towards a male lying on the floor, that person was Max. Max was struggling to breathe and there was a pool of blood around his body,” he added.

The court was shown images of two machetes Mr Tully said had been recovered following the fatal attack.

Prosecution says defendants acted jointly in murders

The jury heard the youngest defendant, who was 14 at the time of the attack and is now 15, has pleaded guilty to the murder of Mason but not guilty to the murder of Max.

The 17-year-old has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Max but denies both counts of murder.

The 16-year-old, Tolliver and Snook all deny two counts of murder.

The prosecution says all five acted jointly in killing the two boys.

The trial, expected to last around eight weeks, continues.