The heartbroken mum of a teen murdered in a case of mistaken identity described the moment she found out her son had died – and how she couldn’t “protect him”. Nikki Knight’s son, Mason Rist, 15, and his friend, Max Dixon, 16, were “hunted down” and stabbed in a “revenge attack” after being wrongly identified as culprits of an earlier incident.
The two pals were on their way to get a pizza when Anthony Snook, 45, arrived in his Audi with Riley Tolliver, 18, Kodi Wescott, 17, and two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
CCTV footage – from Nikki’s house – captured the horrific 33 second attack which began when four youths jump of the vehicle on Mason’s doorstep, just metres from her the family home in Knowle West where he grew up with his siblings.
Brandishing weapons including a machete, zombie knife and baseball bat, Max and Mason suffered “un-survivable” stab wounds before the attackers fled. Nikki, 51, says neighbours found the boys and called emergency services.
She recalled the moment she received a call from Mason’s mobile – expecting to hear his voice on the other end of the line. Her heart dropped when she realised it was an officer from Avon and Somerset Police.
At first, Nikki thought it was her son making “silly voices” and pulling a prank – pretending to be a police officer in front of his friends – but she says it took seconds to realise the horrifying truth.
The officer told her Mason had been “fatally injured” and she rushed back to her street where the incident occurred, and where Mason was being tended to by paramedics.
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“I thought it was some sort of joke at first and didn’t want to believe it,” Nikki said. “I still didn’t believe it as I got a taxi back. But the whole road was closed off and the police wouldn’t let me cross the line at first.”
“I felt all over the shop and panicky as it sunk in. I didn’t see him in the ambulance, and I’m glad I didn’t. I wouldn’t have been able to cope. I thought they would just treat him, and he would be fine.”
The boys were rushed to different hospitals with Mason taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and Max Southmead Hospital. Nikki was given a lift by a friend and called family and friends to break the news.
Mason died shortly after arriving at hospital from his injuries at 12.49am on January 28, 2024, and Max passed away at 1.02am. Nikki, a health care practitioner, said: “I don’t remember what I said to family, it was all a blur.
“They gave me the chance to see him, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t have my last memory of Mason be his face, in that bed. I just wouldn’t have dealt with it.
“I have my good memories of Mason and that’s what’s kept me going. It was like a nightmare I couldn’t get through or wake up from.”
The five people involved were found guilty of double murder during a trial at Bristol Crown Court in November 2024. Snook was given a double life sentence a minimum of 38 years for transporting the teenagers.
The four teenagers, 18-year-old Riley Tolliver, 17-year-old Kodi Wescott and two boys aged 16, and 15 – who cannot be named for legal reasons – were handed life sentences at Bristol Crown Court last week.
Nikki is now desperate to move away from the street where the tragedy occurred. She said: “I’ve not been the same since. I’ve not been able to go into his room.
“I know when I move, I’ll have to go in there and pack up things. But I’ll have to have help from family to do it, I can’t on my own. If I sit and think about Mason, I’ll start crying, so I have to stay strong.
“I don’t sleep well anymore maybe a couple of hours a night. I’m a 51-year-old woman who sleeps with the light on. I don’t feel safe here anymore, anytime someone parks on the drive, like a delivery man, I’m so paranoid something else is going to happen.
“The problem is I have to keep living here and dealing with it. It happened outside of my house I can’t escape it. I was doing some weeding in the garden, and I found ECG pads the paramedic used embedded in the garden.
“That was from my son’s chest. I just had to throw it away. How do you cope with that?”
“What happened is always on my mind, so I have to put a block on it. It’s the only way to keep going.”
She described Mason as a “shy and quiet” boy, who loved spending time at home, playing on his PlayStation. Nikki said: “He only had a couple of friends from school.
“He’d come every night and chat to them online. He wasn’t mixed-up in any gangs – nothing like that. I would joke with him saying ‘you wouldn’t even hit a fly’.”
On the night of the attack – on January 27, 2024 – Nikki was having a “rare” night out with some friends going for some drinks. She left Mason £20 to order himself some food on Uber delivery and told him to text her if he needed anything.
She said: “Usually his nan would come over, or he goes to his sister’s house. This one time he stayed home on his own, but he stays in and I thought he’d be safe. I always worried about him.
“I didn’t with the older ones, but I always did with Mas. I used to cut up his food, and he’d wind me up about it saying, ‘mum, stop it’.
“That night, I told him to order his McDonald’s before I left. He was like ‘don’t worry, I’m not going to choke if you go out.'”
At around 11.55pm, while having a drink with a friend at the pub, Nikki received a call from Mason’s phone. It was a male officer at Avon and Somerset Police telling her that her son had been “fatally injured”.
She said: “When I answered and they said, ‘it’s the police’ and I didn’t believe it. I said ‘Mas, stop messing around’.
“I thought he was at home, maybe a mate came over, and they were doing silly voices. I still didn’t believe it was real, but I got straight in a taxi because something didn’t feel right.
“My street is really long, and it was all closed off at the top. The police wouldn’t let me through, and I was screaming ‘where is my son?’.
“No one was telling me anything. I thought he was still at home, but then someone said he’s in one of the ambulances. I didn’t see him in there.
“Maybe I should have fought harder to get through, but I think the police were protecting me. I think it would have been too much to see him like that.”
Nikki arrived at the hospital shortly after midnight and called her family to tell them Mason was there. Doctors met with Nikki at 12.49am and told them Mason had passed away from his injuries.
She said: “When they told me, they just blurted out ‘I’m sorry but he’s died’. I felt like there was no sympathy to them, it’s just another kid. But this was my son.
“I don’t remember much, if I cried, I was just numb. I don’t think I regret not seeing him. Everyone deals with it differently and I couldn’t have dealt with that.”
Five people were arrested and charged in connection with the boys’ deaths. All defendants denied double murder, and a case went to Bristol Crown Court in October 2024.
During the trial, the jury heard about an earlier attack in the Hartcliffe area, Bristol, where thugs threw bricks at a house and injured a female occupant – which Max and Mason were not involved in.
The five defendants “tooled up” while motivated by “revenge” and drove to the neighbouring suburb of Knowle West looking for those responsible.
At around 11.13pm, Max arrived at Mason’s house to go and get a pizza, and the pair were spotted leaving as the defendants pulled up in an Audi.
The jury heard that both boys were victims of “mistaken identity” with the prosecution saying that they were completely “innocent” and had “nothing to do with the attack at the property”.
Nikki said: “I don’t know the people – Mason didn’t know them. I went to court, but I couldn’t listen to all of it. I don’t know how anyone can watch the CCTV. It makes me sick to think.”
On October 15, 2024, all five defendants were found guilty of double murder. Snook, 45, was sentenced 38 years in prison.
Tolliver, 18, was jailed for a minimum of 23 years and 47 days. Wescott, 17, who can be named for the first time after a judge lifted a Section 45 order, was told he would serve a minimum of 23 years and 44 days.
The 15-year-old boy was told he would serve at least 15 years and 229 days, while the 16-year-old was given a minimum term of 18 years and 44 days.
Nikki said: “I didn’t feel anything at the verdict. It doesn’t matter what they say, it’s not going to change anything or bring him back.”
Nikki – who is still struggling to come to terms with losing her son – said she tries to remain “strong” and keep going. She also wants laws in place protecting people from knife crime.
Nikki said: “People who know me think ‘Nikki’s OK she’s strong’. Even if I’m not, you just have to be. Something has to be done about knife crime.” How has it got this bad in this country?”
“We’ve got kids killing kids. In America, you get 50 or 60 years for killing. Here it’s like 15 years – it’s not tough enough. Something needs to improve.”
Nikki hopes people remember Mason for being a “thoughtful” boy, and is hoping to set up a charity in his memory. She said: “I want set up a charity for Mason – helping underprivileged children get basic school supplies. He had everything he needed, but some kids don’t have that.
“I think he would like that. I want Mason to be remembered. There wasn’t a bad bone in his body. He was just a quiet boy and thoughtful.
“If someone was in trouble or was being bullied at school, he’d help them. I never let him out and I feel bad about that. Maybe if he had more, this wouldn’t have happened. But I thought I knew he was safe at home.
“You don’t think the first time he goes out on his own, anything will happen – that this would happen. I don’t even want to celebrate Christmas, I just can’t think about it without him. I’m a shadow of my former self but I have to keep going.”