Leanne Ekland, the mother of murdered Max Dixon, 16, hopes the prison sentences handed to four teenagers involved in the attack on her son will put others off carrying knives
A mother has called for better education in schools around the laws of joint enterprise after five people were jailed for life for murdering her son.
Max Dixon, 16, and his best friend Mason Rist, 15, were stabbed to death with machetes yards from Mason’s front door in Knowle West, Bristol, in January.
Max’s mum Leanne Ekland hopes the sentences handed to four teenagers last week, as well as the hefty sentence handed to the man who drove the gang who killed her son, will put teenagers off carrying knives, Bristol Live reports.
The four teens involved were detained for life and given minimum terms before they will be eligible for parole. Riley Tolliver, 18, and Kodishai Wescott, 17, were told they would each be detained for a minimum of 23 years. They can be identified after reporting restrictions were lifted. A 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were detained for life with minimum terms of 15 and 18 years respectively.
Leanne wants to see more education in schools about the consequences of carrying knives, and being involved in gangs and groups where knives are carried. She said the school where she worked and both Max and Mason attended – Oasis John Williams in Hengrove – has already begun to teach the young people there about the law.
The murders shocked the nation in part because it was two best friends killed for no reason outside their homes, but also because of the joint enterprise nature of the court case that saw five people convicted of murder, when only two inflicted fatal injuries.
For example, 18-year-old Tolliver joined in the attack with a baseball bat, struck Mason a couple of times, but did not have a knife and did not stab anyone. He played a key role in the attack – he was the first to confront Max and Mason as they walked away from Mason’s front gate and chased them with the other three defendants.
The 16-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons took a long knife and chased the boys but did not stab either of them. Nevertheless, the role he played in the attack meant he was convicted of two counts of murder.
Leanne said: “In schools, they should be taught about joint enterprise. They should have it explained to them, the aftermath of using a knife and the ripples it causes. It starts at home. There’s a lot of parents out there who know what their children are up to, who know what they are carrying.
“I popped in (to the school) last week and they’ve been doing assemblies and showing them clips of the news and explaining to them the effects it has had on families. Not just our families, but even the defendants’ families. It’s a ripple effect everywhere.
“I think it’s important that everyone knows who they are. And it’s important to know that you might not attack someone, but if you’re in that group, that you can be done for murder. Only one person attacked my son, but five have been found guilty of his murder.”
Max was directly murdered by Wescott, who was 16 at the time. He admitted causing the fatal stab wound, acknowledged manslaughter, but denied he meant to kill Max. The prosecution said the size of the huge zombie knife he used meant he must have meant to kill Max or cause him serious harm – and the jury agreed.
All four of the teenagers who chased Max and Mason down the street and stabbed them – as well as the man who drove them to and from Hartcliffe to Knowle West that night – were found guilty, including the three who didn’t inflict any stab wounds. The jury agreed they had encouraged and supported the two who did.
Leanne made herself sit through every day of the month-long trial, which included repeated viewing of the CCTV videos shot from a range of different cameras on Ilminster Avenue.
She said: “As much as everyone was telling me not to look at this, not to listen to that, for me I needed to. I understand why other people didn’t want to, because it’s horrific. Nobody should have to listen to and see what we’ve had to see. But I needed to. It helps me process things, instead of your mind playing games and tricks on you.”
The guilty verdicts – for all five for both murders – brought a sense of relief for Leanne and the rest of the two families. The life sentence with a minimum term of at least 38 years for Antony Snook, the adult who drove the car that took the teenagers into Knowle West, was “the best outcome that I could have asked for”, she said.
