Some of the killers of Max Dixon and Mason Rist fist-bumped each other in the dock just before they were sentenced to life in prison, and stared down the mother of one of the boys in court.
The behaviour of the four teens in the dock on the day of their sentencing has been highlighted by Leanne Ekland, Max’s mother, after the judge jailed each one for the double murder.
In emotional scenes in court on Thursday, Leanne, along with Mason’s sister Chloe Rist, broke down in tears as they tried to explain to the judge and the four teenagers who had chased and killed them outside Mason’s home what the impact of the murders had been like. Chloe even went to the extremes of holding up a bag containing Mason’s ashes and locks of his blood-stained hair, in order to show the teenagers ‘what they had done’.
In the dock, Kodi Wescott played with a blue wrap or bracelet, after fist-bumping the 16-year-old defendant at the start of proceedings, before the judge arrived. At the end of his sentencing hearing, the 17-year-old Wescott waved at the families of Max and Mason, while Leanne Ekland said later the 16-year-old had tried to stare her down from behind the glass dock.
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“Do I think we got justice?” she asked in a Facebook post. “No, but no sentence would have been justice for us. Did they show any remorse? None! Fist-pumping, smirking, waving, making paper aeroplanes. They only did this when no jury were in sight, and no judge. So, considering their mental ages are low, they certainly knew the timings of their actions,” she wrote. “Do I believe they’re sorry? No. Sorry they got caught maybe, and have to spend many years behind bars.
Earlier, the judge ruled that the order banning the name of that 16-year-old defendant being known remained in force, while allowing Kodi Wescott’s name to be published. Leanne said she was disappointed. “I am disappointed that the 16 year old wasn’t named as he showed absolutely no remorse, he looked at me as if it was my fault that he was stuck in the dock, many times had tried to stare me down but I wouldn’t look away,” she said.
“You did this to yourself – you all did,” she added. Leanne said that Max and Mason’s two families had been brought closer together through the ordeal of the trial, and she paid special tribute to the work of the police and Crown Prosecution Service.
“To everyone that has been touched by Max and Mason’s story, it can happen to anyone – two innocent boys went out for food and never came home,” she said., adding: “To Max, you are my shining bright star. You may not be here in body but I will continue to be your voice for as long as I breathe.”
Max, 16, and Mason, 15, were killed in an attack in Ilminster Avenue, Knowle West, back in January this year. Seven people have been jailed over the attack, five for both murders and two more for two counts of assisting an offender.
Antony Snook was jailed for life with a minimum term of 38 years – he drove the car that took four teenagers to carry out the attack. Riley Tolliver, 18, and Kodi Wescott, 17, were jailed for life with a minimum term of just over 23 years, while two younger teenagers, were also jailed for life. A 15-year-old, who cannot be named, was jailed for just over 15 and a half years, and a 16-year-old was jailed for just over 18 years.