Killamarsh murders: Damien Bendall given whole-life order

Terri Harris (bottom left) and her children John Bennett (top left) and Lacey Bennett (bottom right) were found dead along with Lacey's friend Connie Gent (top right)

A man who murdered his pregnant partner, her two children, and another child has been sentenced to a whole-life prison term.

Damien Bendall killed his four victims with a claw hammer at a house in Derbyshire in 2021.

He pleaded guilty to murdering Terri Harris, 35, her son John Bennett, 13, daughter Lacey Bennett, 11, and Lacey's 11-year-old friend Connie Gent.

He also pleaded guilty to raping Lacey.

Bendall, 32, admitted the charges at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday, where he was sentenced by Mr Justice Sweeney.

He was given a whole-life order, meaning he will never be released from prison, except in exceptional compassionate circumstances.

Mr Justice Sweeney told him: "As the prosecution have said, you carried out vicious, brutal and cruel attacks on a defenceless woman and three young children, during which you went around the house attacking them."

'Stood no chance'

Ms Harris and the children were found dead at a house in Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh, on 19 September, having been killed on the evening of 18 September.

"The defendant attacked them using a claw hammer which he used to hit them over the head and on the upper body," prosecution barrister Louis Mably KC told the court.

"It was perfectly clear none of the victims stood a chance."

Mr Mably told the court Bendall and Ms Harris had been in a relationship, having met on a dating app after her relationship with her children's father ended.

Police arrived at the house on the morning of 19 September, having been alerted by Bendall's mother, as he told her he had stabbed himself.

In police bodycam footage played to the court, he could be seen speaking to officers outside the house, telling them calmly, "I've murdered four people", and "I'm going back to prison".

Police initially did not believe him, Mr Mably said, but an officer found all four bodies when he went inside.

He found John first, lying naked on the floor of the bathroom, as he had been due to have a shower before Bendall attacked him.

He then found Ms Harris and her daughter in the main bedroom. Terri was on the floor but Lacey was on the bed.

'I used a hammer'

Forensic evidence indicates that Bendall attacked and raped Lacey downstairs before moving her upstairs, where he raped her again.

He also used some kind of ligature around her neck, and this contributed to her death along with the head injuries.

Connie, who was stopping with Lacey for a sleepover that night, was found dead in another bedroom.

Bendall, who the court heard was under the influence of cocaine and cannabis, left the house after the murders, taking John's games console with him in order to sell it for drugs.

He was arrested and taken to hospital, but the wounds he had inflicted on himself only required stitches.

He was then interviewed by police, telling them: "I used a hammer. I did not realise what I did until I walked into my room and saw my missus and my daughter."

He knew Ms Harris was pregnant when he killed her, because he also told police: "Bet you don't usually get four murders in Killamarsh do you? Well I mean five 'cause my missus was having a baby."

Damien Bendall admitted four murders and the rape of 11-year-old Lacey

Victim personal statements from relatives of the victims were read to the court by the prosecution.

Angela Smith, Ms Harris's mother, said: "Terri, Lacey and John meant the world to me and were the most precious people in my life. Not being able to give them a kiss and a hug and tell them I love them breaks my heart."

She recalled her grandchildren telling her they were scared of monsters when they were younger.

"I told them there's no such thing as monsters, but how wrong I was," she said.

John and Lacey's father, Jason Bennett, said he was living in a "continual nightmare"

Jason Bennett, John and Lacey's father, said their murders had "destroyed and taken my life away".

"I am living in a continual nightmare," his statement said. "I have a story in my head of how they died, I live their trauma and feel their pain; it feels like a recurring punishment."

He recalled how Lacey and Connie had been selling sweets for charity on the day they died, describing his daughter as "kind and caring".

"John would not hurt a fly, literally. If he saw an insect he would carefully put it outside," he said.

Charles Gent, Connie's father, said his daughter's murder had "completely torn my life apart".

"The man who carried out the crimes can only be described as truly evil and should never be free from incarceration, just like the families of the victims in this case will never be free from their life sentence as a result of the shocking and abhorrent crimes he committed on a defenceless woman and children," he said.

Connie (front) had been stopping over at her friend Lacey's house when she was murdered

During the sentencing hearing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) made representations that the whole-life tariff was necessary.

This was agreed by Bendall's defence barrister, and Bendall himself.

Defence barrister Vanessa Marshall KC said: "His instructions are clear that nothing but a whole-life order is warranted for taking, as he did, these four young lives away, and in such awful circumstances."

Bendall previously pleaded guilty to four counts of manslaughter but denied murder and rape, meaning he was due to stand trial for these offences before he changed his pleas.

"Bendall's defence put forward theories that his judgement was psychologically impaired," said Andrew Baxter, deputy chief crown prosecutor.

"Throughout the process, the CPS instructed its own medical experts to assess whether the arguments had merit, which they did not.

"When all medical angles had been exhausted, the evidence that he had murdered all four victims with no impairment to his actions was overwhelming and Bendall admitted all charges."