The sister of a murdered 15-year-old boy brandished her brother’s ashes at his killers during their sentencing hearing, demanding they do not forget him.
Mason Rist and his best friend, Max Dixon, 16, were attacked by four armed teenagers in case of mistaken identity in the Knowle West area of Bristol earlier this year.
The innocent pair, who died of stab wounds, were set on for revenge after masked youths wielding machetes threw bricks at a property in the rival area of Hartcliffe.
Their killers – Riley Tolliver, 18, and three boys aged 15, 16, and 17, who cannot be named due to their age – were convicted of two counts of murder last month following a six-week murder trial.
On Friday, at sentencing hearing for the four teenagers at Bristol Crown Court, relatives of the boys were given the opportunity to make statements, including Mason’s sister, Chloe Rist.
She brought with her Mason’s ashes, a handprint and hair with the boy’s blood into the packed courtroom.
Facing her brother’s killers, she said: “This is Mason’s ashes and this is what you’ve done. If anyone is upset about me bringing them to court today, that is all I have left of him.
“I shouldn’t have to look at my brother’s bone fragments either. I also have a piece of his hair which has his blood on it, if you want to see it?
“This is my dead brother’s handprint. Another thing you’ve done. I should be able to hold my brother’s hand, not look at it on a piece of paper. This is all I have left of him.
“I hope your sorrys are genuinely but unfortunately I can’t be sure. I hope you don’t forget Mason because he didn’t deserve any of this.”
The trial heard how Max and Mason, who had been best friends since attending nursery together, were heading out for a pizza when they were wrongly identified as being connected to that brick attack on the house in Hartcliffe.
Tolliver, who had a baseball bat, and the three teenagers armed with machetes, jumped out of a car and chased after the two boys.
Within 33 seconds, the attackers returned to the car driven by a man called Antony Snook, who sped away with them, leaving Max and Mason lying fatally injured on the street.
They were both pronounced dead in hospital in the early hours of January 28.
Snook was jailed for lfie and ordered to serfve a minimum 38 years after also being found guilty of the boys’ murder.
The four teenagers will learn their sentences on Friday afternoon.
