Attackers 'intended to terrify', court told

Max and Mason died after being stabbed in January

A teenager armed with a knife intended to "terrify" two boys during an alleged murderous attack but did not intend to kill them, his barrister has told a jury.

Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, suffered fatal stab wounds when they were attacked by four teenagers in a case of mistaken identity in Knowle West, Bristol, in January.

Anthony Snook, 45, Riley Tolliver, 18, and three boys aged 15, 16 and 17 are on trial at Bristol Crown Court charged with their murders.

Max and Mason had been wrongly identified as being responsible for bricks being thrown at a house in Hartcliffe earlier that evening.

'Deep terror'

They were attacked after leaving Mason's home on Ilminster Avenue.

A CCTV camera on Mason's house captured the attack, which lasted 33 seconds.

The footage showed Snook's Audi car stopping and four teenagers allegedly jumping out and attacking the pair before returning to the car and it driving off.

In her closing speech to the jury, Anna Vigars KC, representing the 16-year-old, said the teenager did not have any intention to kill or cause harm to Max or Mason.

She suggested the reason he had a weapon with him was to scare those responsible for the attack on the house.

"He could have intended to terrify people," she said.

"To do that you need a really large knife.

"It is what you carry if you wanted to create deep terror and fear - making them fear for their lives.

"Make them fear about going to that property in Hartcliffe ever again."

'No plan'

The court also heard from Christopher Quinlan KC, representing the 17-year-old, who had admitted the manslaughter of Max but denied injuring Mason.

"We say when you divorce Mason’s movements from the 17-year-old then the evidence is not there that he did stab him or make contact with him," he said.

“He accepts what he did as far as Max is concerned.

"If there was a plan for serious violence, would he have left his home with CCTV running and got into an identifiable car?

"It speaks of spontaneity and not a planned mission.

"Could it show that what happened started and then spiralled well beyond what any of them intended?" he said.

'Set the tone'

Ignatius Hughes KC, representing Riley Tolliver, said he had "set the tone" with his attack and was not capable of assisting or encouraging the person who fatally stabbed Max and Mason.

"You can see he assaulted Mason with what the prosecution accepted was a bat, not a sword, or a zombie knife," he said.

"By swinging the bat at one or both of the boys, he has committed a common assault.

"A baseball bat is a very different choice of weapon to go out with than a great big zombie knife,” he said.

“That may be a more important indicator of his level of intention. You can cause really serious harm with a bat. You can take a head shot.

“There is no injury to the head of either Max or Mason," he said.

The trial continues.