Stop killers 'glorifying' deaths online, say mums

Two mothers of sons murdered as teenagers have called for action to be taken over "glorifying" online videos posted by killers from prison.

Both Leanne Ekland and Margaret Mizen, whose sons were both 16 when they were murdered nearly 16 years apart, have recently seen their sons' killers share music online referencing their crimes.

They are now calling on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and social media companies alike to do more to stop inmates posting on social media from jail.

Ms Ekland told the BBC that seeing a video of her son's killer rapping had made her "really angry", while Mrs Mizen added that it felt as though her family was being "taunted".

Ms Ekland's son, Max Dixon, was killed alongside his best friend Mason Rist, 15, outside Mason's home in Knowle West, Bristol, in January 2024.

Five people, including 17-year-old Kodishai Wescott, were jailed for life in December for their murders, but in January it emerged that Wescott had posted rap tracks about the murders on Snapchat from custody.

"It made me really angry," Ms Ekland said. "It just felt like he was glorifying what he has done."

She added: "He was told in court that he was showing remorse, but I didn't see any of that, and this proves to me that there was no remorse whatsoever."

The offensive rap lyrics shared by Wescott made reference to 33 seconds - the time it took for the teenager and three others, assisted by driver Anthony Snook, 45, to ambush and kill Max and Mason.

In the wake of the video being shared online, Ms Ekland met with Mrs Mizen, whose son Jimmy was killed in London in 2008.

Jake Fahri, then 19, received a life sentence after throwing a large glass dish that shattered, fatally wounding Jimmy.

The 35-year-old was released on licence in June 2023, but was recalled in January after it was reported that Fahri had recorded music referencing the murder as masked drill artist TEN.

"It wasn't just about being shocked, it was about all the emotions that came back up, all the emotions of losing Jimmy," Mrs Mizen said.

"It's unfair. I absolutely believe that when he's doing all this, he's taunting us as a family, but I'm telling you now - he will not win."

Having recently met for the first time, both mothers have now issued a joint call for more to be done to stop killers gloating about their crimes.

While they have urged prisons to do more to stop inmates having access to the internet, they have also called on social media companies to act faster in taking down posts and accounts sharing similar content.

"These people are in prison for a reason, it shouldn't ever have been allowed to be uploaded in the first place," Ms Ekland said.

"But for us to have to fight for it to be taken down... it's just doesn't stop and it doesn't allow us to heal.

"It takes us back right to the beginning and then we've got to process everything again."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice has previously said it had disabled a number of accounts relating to the allegations of social media misuse.

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