News / Crime
‘Weak and cowardly’ driver jailed for life for role in murder of Mason and Max
The getaway driver who took four teenagers from Hartcliffe to Knowle West where they killed Max Dixon and Mason Rist in a tragic case of mistaken identity as they were on their way to buy pizza has been handed a life sentence for his part in their murder.
Antony Snook, 45, of Hartcliffe, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to more than 37 years in prison.
Snook is the first person to be sentenced for the murder in January of 16-year-old Max and 15-year-old Mason, who were stabbed in a revenge attack, following bricks and stones being thrown at a house in Hartcliffe earlier the same night.
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The landscape gardener, who lost a leg in a car crash in 2012, was described by judge Juliet May in her sentencing remarks as “so weak and cowardly as to lend yourself to the revenge scheme of others”.
She said: “For reasons which are impossible to fathom, you lent yourself and your Audi Q2 to a mission into Knowle to exact revenge…
“In convicting you of murder, the jury plainly rejected your account of taking the four boys to a safe house, of not knowing they had weapons.
“The jury were sure that you knew what the teenagers in your car were up to and assisted them in doing it.
“You all went hunting for victims around the streets of Knowle – ‘sharking’ as the prosecution put it.
“You would have experienced the atmosphere in that car, felt the mad, chaotic bloodlust of the four armed teens, yet on you went.
“Mason and Max were simply and tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time; they had had nothing whatsoever to do with the earlier attack on the address in Hartcliffe or with any strife between the neighbouring districts.
“They happened to be on Ilminster Avenue when you drove by.”
Max, 16, and Mason, 15, were described by their families as “the best of friends” who “wouldn’t hurt a fly” – photo: families
During the sentencing hearing, Mason’s sister, Chloe, spoke to Snook, saying she “will never forgive you for what you have done… he could have been your friend and now he is your victim.”
Chloe called Mason “the funniest person I have ever met”.
“He was silly, funny and the joker of the family. We all miss him dearly in a need so overwhelmingly strong… I just cannot imagine not being able to touch and cuddle (my) defenceless brother…
“Mason was a good kid who never upset anyone. Everything he did was with pure kindness.
Max’s sister, Kayleigh, also read a statement in court, saying that none of the defendants “knew anything about my brother Max or Mason, about how special and important they were to their families, how they were both a pleasure to know and how kind they were and how much they will be desperately missed”.
Kayleigh said: “I want (the defendants) to know they you killed me that day. You ripped out my heart and soul. It is broken and unfixable.
“I had so much more to learn and watch from Max as he grew up, to teach him, to guide him through life as a big sister, to always be there to love and support him.
“He had so much to learn and know about me and yet you have robbed me of a lifetime of love and memories by your malicious actions.”
Antony Snook has been handed two life sentences today (19 Nov) for murdering Max Dixon and Mason Rist.
Snook acted as the facilitator and getaway driver to four teenagers on 27 January who killed the two innocent boys in a case of mistaken identity.https://t.co/calKI54lsY pic.twitter.com/KtQgxesCgL— Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) November 19, 2024
Avon & Somerset Police senior investigating officer, detective superintendent Gary Haskins, said: “Snook was the adult in that situation. He should have taken responsibility and stopped the four other defendants from committing such a heinous crime.
“We put forward a basis of joint enterprise to the jury, meaning that even those who didn’t cause any physical harm to Max or Mason did nothing to deter the others and were even argued to be encouraging their actions.
“Snook played the role of the facilitator and the getaway driver. He drove them around Knowle like a pack on the hunt, before turning into Ilminster Avenue.
“He then saw the attack play out and then drove them away from the scene.
“If it wasn’t for him, the boys may well still be alive.”
Riley Tolliver, 18 of Holts Way in Weston-super-Mare, along with three teenagers who cannot be named as they are 15, 16 and 17, have also been convicted of the murders of Mason and Max.
They will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on December 16.
Main photo: Avon & Somerset Police
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