'Flurry of calls to help murderers evade police'

Mason Rist (L) and Max Dixon were killed in a case of mistaken identity

There was a "flurry of phone activity" as plans were made to help teenage murderers evade police after they stabbed two best friends, a court has heard.

In 2024 Riley Tolliver, 18, and Kodi Wescott, 17, Anthony Snook, 44 - along with two other teenagers who cannot be named for legal reasons - were convicted of killing Mason Rist and Max Dixon in Bristol.

Dominic Smith and Ellie-Mae Maddocks, from Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, are accused of helping Wescott, 17, and the unnamed 16-year-old.

Marcus Williams and Jillian Tolliver, from Hartcliffe, and Kristian Hooper, from Weston-super-Mare, are also on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of assisting offenders. All five deny the charges.

Mason, 15, and Max, 16, were stabbed to death with machetes just yards from Mason's front door in Knowle West on 27 January, in a case of mistaken identity.

Opening the trial on Tuesday, James Haskell, prosecuting, told the court that the offenders knew they had to keep moving to avoid arrest.

The court heard that Wescott and the 16-year-old initially stayed with Jamie Ogbourne, of Hartcliffe, who was jailed after admitting he assisted the offenders.

The pair moved on to allegedly stay with Mr Smith and Ms Maddocks in Llewyn Court, Westbury-on-Trym, over fears that the police would look for them in Hartcliffe.

The killers allegedly spent sometime in Llewellyn Court in Westbury-on-Trym after the murders

Mr Smith and Ms Maddocks are accused of taking the pair to another address in Weston the next day.

The prosecution said Ogbourne must have explained why the pair needed to help the teenagers.

Wrongly identified

Riley Tolliver's parents - Ms Tolliver and Mr Hooper - have also been charged with assisting Tolliver after allegedly taking him to stay at his grandmother's house in Weston.

Mr Williams is charged with helping Tolliver by driving him to the coastal Somerset town.

Mason and Max had been wrongly identified as being the masked youths who had thrown bricks at a house in Hartcliffe earlier that evening.

Riley Tolliver, Kodi Westcott, Anthony Snook, and two other teenagers who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted of killing Max and Mason last year.

Snook was jailed for life while Tolliver and Wescott were each detained for a minimum of 23 years.

The 15-year-old and 16-year-old were detained for life with minimum terms of 15 and 18 years respectively.

During the hearing on Monday, the court was told Ms Tolliver, who is on bail, was not fit to stand trial due to her mental health.

The trial continues.