Max and Mason: Mothers of stabbed teens say killer 'gloated' in rap
The mothers of two teenage boys who were stabbed to death has said one of the murderers should be handed more jail time after "gloating" in a rap on social media.Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, were ambushed in a case of mistaken identity outside Mason's home in Knowle West, Bristol, on 27 January 2024.It emerged earlier this year that Kodi Wescott, 17, who was found guilty of murder in November, had been sharing offensive rap tracks about the crime on Snapchat while in jail."This proves to me that there's no remorse whatsoever," said Max's mother, Leanne Ekland.
She added: "[Friday 21 March] is a year ago from when I had to bury my son, instead of being able to focus on that, I can't."
Wescott was found guilty for both murders, alongside Antony Snook, 45, Riley Tolliver, 18, and two boys aged 16 and 15 who cannot be named due to their ages, with all five handed life sentences.Wescott was told he would have to serve a minimum of 23 years. The "disrespectful" rap lyrics made reference to 33 seconds – the length of time it took to ambush and kill the teenagers.Ms Ekland, whose position is strongly supported by Mason's mother Nikki Knight, said: "He's gloating about murdering two boys that had nothing to do with them, over a postcode war."The murder trial was told there had been a long-standing rivalry between Knowle West and neighbouring Hartcliffe, and there had previously been incidents involving people from "both postcodes".
The violent video Wescott made has now been removed from social media – but Max and Mason's families have said that is not enough."For him to brag about what he did – I personally think he should be resentenced and given more time," Ms Ekland said.On Thursday, judge and former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland told the BBC Wescott's possession of a mobile phone – considered a contraband item in a youth detention centre – "might give rise to an alleged criminal offence"."Therefore it should be investigated, I think, as a separate criminal offence, for which this person could potentially be prosecuted," he said."That would then lead to a separate sentence that would be added to the sentence of life imprisonment."
Ms Ekland added: "[Wescott] should be held accountable. He should never be allowed to come out of prison."I am Max's voice and I'm not going to disappear and hide away."She added: "If you're caught with something you're not allowed to have, then you should automatically have time added onto your sentence."The Ministry of Justice previously said it disabled a number of accounts relating to the allegations of social media misuse.The council that runs the secure children's home where Wescott is held also conducted searches to remove any illicit mobile devices.A meeting has been arranged with the mothers of Max Dixon and Mason Rist, Minister for Youth Justice, Sir Nic Dakin and leaders in the Youth Custody Service to discuss the case in more detail on 6 May.
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Sidhu Moose Wala was born Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu in a Jat-Sikh family in rural Punjab, before moving in 2016 to Canada to study engineering - a journey familiar to hundreds of thousands in the Punjabi it was there, far from his village of Moosa - the inspiration for his rap name - that he reinvented himself as one of Punjabi music's most influential artists. In just five years, Moose Wala became the unmistakable voice of Punjabi his signature swagger, flashy style, and lyrical grit, Moose Wala sang openly about identity and politics, guns and revenge, pushing the boundaries of what Punjabi music had been willing to was fascinated by rapper Tupac Shakur, who had been murdered, aged 25, in 1996. "In terms of personality, I want to be like him," Moose Wala once told an interviewer. "The day he died, people cried for him. I want the same. When I die, people should remember that I was someone."Over a brief but explosive career, the singer spotlighted the darker undercurrents of India's Punjab region - gangster culture, unemployment, and political decay - while evoking a deep nostalgia for village Wala was also a global force. With more than five billion views of his music videos on YouTube, a Top 5 spot in the UK charts, and collaborations with international hip-hop artists including Burna Boy, Moose Wala swiftly built a fan base stretching across India, Canada, the UK and beyond, powered by a diaspora that saw him as both icon and fame came at a cost. Despite his rising star and socially conscious lyrics, Moose Wala was drifting into dangerous territory. His defiant attitude, visibility, and growing influence had drawn the attention of Punjab's most feared gangsters. 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When decency falls on deaf ears, it's the gunshot that gets heard."We put it to Brar that India has a judicial system and the rule of law - how could he justify taking the law into his own hands?"Law. Justice. There's no such thing," he says. "Only the powerful can... [obtain] justice, not ordinary people like us."He went on to say that even Vicky Middukhera's brother, despite being in politics, has struggled to get justice through India's judicial system."He's a clean guy. He tried hard to get justice for his brother lawfully. Please call him and ask how that's going."He appeared unrepentant."I did what I had to do for my brother. I have no remorse whatsoever." Outside the UK, watch on YouTube, or listen on The killing of Moose Wala has not just resulted in the loss of a major musical talent, it has also emboldened Punjab's the singer's murder, few outside Punjab had heard of Bishnoi or the killing, their names were everywhere. They hijacked Moose Wala's fame and converted it into their own brand of notoriety - a notoriety that became a powerful tool for extortion."This is the biggest killing that has happened in the last few decades in Punjab," says Ritesh Lakhi, a Punjab-based journalist. "The capacity of gangsters to extort money has gone up. [Goldy Brar]'s getting huge sums of money after killing Moose Wala."Journalist Jupinderjit Singh agrees: "The fear factor around gangsters has risen amongst the public." Extortion has long been a problem in the Punjabi music industry, but now after Sidhu's murder, Singh says: "It's not just people in the music and film industry who are being extorted - even local businessmen are receiving calls."When BBC Eye quizzed Brar on this, he denied this was the motive, but died admit - in stark terms - that extortion was central to the gang's working."To feed a family of four a man has to struggle all his life. We have to look after hundreds or even thousands of people who are like family to us. We have to extort people."To get money," he says, "we have to be feared."
