Damien Bendall

Bendall had previously admitted the manslaughter of a woman and three children but had denied murder until today.

He then continued through the house, going upstairs, where he found the bodies of Lacey and Terri in the main bedroom – Lacey was on the bed and Terri on the floor. In reality, he was feeling sorry for himself, making excuses, and uppermost in his mind was his own situation, and the fact he didn’t want to go back to prison. Mr Mably said: "Lacey was found with her nightdress pulled up and bundled tightly around her neck and so it is possible that the nightdress itself was used as a ligature and the conclusion was that Lacey had died of head injuries and application of pressure to the neck." In it he said: "The murder of my two children has destroyed me and taken my life away. Mr Mably said Terri's body was found in the master bedroom at the property and in terms of injuries, the examination found that there were multiple blunt force injuries to the head and face totalling, "at least nine and probably more". Mr Mably said a fornsic examination of the house concluded that Lacey had been assaulted in the living room, before being moved to the master bedroom where her body was found. The prosecutor said John was found in the bathroom with multiple blunt force traumas to the head. [Read the full story of his depraved acts here.](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/five-life-sentences-killamarsh-paedophile-7955447) Damien Bendall, the man responsible for the murder of three children and a woman at a house in Killamarsh has been told that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. It should also be said that the decision to investigate whether or not there was any link between (a brain abnormality) and his conduct that night and offer him a possible defence to murder was not down to him." He's now behind bars for the rest of his life and those two families can try to begin rebuilding their shattered lives. [coming to terms with the most harrowing news story of my career](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/killamarsh-deaths-one-hardest-stories-5951664), something that rocked not only a community to the core but also myself, writes Derbyshire Live reporter Jon Chubb.

Damien Bendall pleaded guilty to the murders of Terri Harris, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her 13-year-old son John Paul Bennett and Lacey's ...

After sentencing, Andrew Baxter from the CPS said: "It is hard to put into words the scale of Damien Bendall's barbaric and horrifying actions. In a victim impact statement, he said: "It's like my heart has been shattered into a billion pieces never to be repaired. I'm a shadow of my former self, I am nothing... He said "just punishment" required that Bendall be kept in prison for the rest of his life in relation to each count of murder, and he also imposed another whole life order for the rape. He murdered the four victims at the house he shared with Ms Harris, 35, in what prosecutor Louis Mably KC told the court were "brutal, vicious and cruel attacks" on a "defenceless" woman and three children. A man who murdered a pregnant woman and three children in Derbyshire will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was sentenced to a whole life prison term.

Damien Bendall previously admitted manslaughter but has on Wednesday (December 21) pleaded guilty to murdering his 35-year-old partner Terri Harris, ...

“The attacks were of such ferocity, in essence their skulls were smashed in and in the case of one of the children, 11-year-old Lacey, parts of her brain matter were found on the living-room floor. “These were brutal, vicious and cruel attacks on a defenceless woman and three young children. A KILLER has admitted raping a child and the murder of a mother and three children.

Bendall is accused of rape and murder following the discovery of the bodies of Terri Harris, her son and daughter John Paul Bennett and Lacey Bennett and ...

A post-mortem carried out on Lacey found a small trace of cocaine, but it "was not clear if she had been accidentally exposed to it," Mr Mably said the amount of was "very small." He told police after being taken to a police station: "The whole house is covered in claret. "I had a story in my head of how they died and relive the trauma. You will also see a purple towel, a hammer - a closer view of the hammer, what can be seen is a claw hammer covered in blood." "I lived and worked and did the things I did for them and have nothing to fight for. When he was instructed by the defence team to investigate whether or not there was any link between the abnormal finding in his brain, and for which you know he was being investigated for, before the offences were committed, whether there was any link between that and his conduct that night." "The last time I got to see them was in July 2020 and I couldn't comprehend this would be the last time seeing them. She said: "How could he commit such horrific acts of violence towards a woman and children who did not pose a threat towards them. I work as a builder and one of the main tools I used is a hammer. "As a result the tests do not show Chronic traumatic encephalopathy so cannot advance the partial defence of dminished responsibility, it may be that he does suffer this condition and the Dr does believe this but he is at the early stages. He said: "The prosecution's submission is that a whole life order is called for in this case. The judge said: "On your behalf it is accepted that given the seriouness of your offences is so exceptionally high the court must make a whole life order.

Damien Bendall murdered Terri Harris, her daughter Lacey, her son John and family friend Connie Gent in Killamarsh, Derbyshire last September.

After sentencing, Andrew Baxter from the CPS said: "It is hard to put into words the scale of Damien Bendall's barbaric and horrifying actions. In a victim impact statement, he said: "It's like my heart has been shattered into a billion pieces never to be repaired. I'm a shadow of my former self, I am nothing... He murdered the four victims at the house he shared with Ms Harris, 35, in what prosecutor Louis Mably KC told the court were "brutal, vicious and cruel attacks" on a "defenceless" woman and three children. He said "just punishment" required that Bendall be kept in prison for the rest of his life in relation to each count of murder, and he also imposed another whole-life order for the rape. After the officers take him around to the side of the house and ask him if he knows what's going to happen, he responds by saying: "I know what's going to happen, I'm going to go to prison again, obviously."

Damien Bendall, 32, violently murdered his partner - who was pregnant - and three children.

It was perfectly clear none of the victims stood a chance." These were brutal, vicious and cruel attacks on a defenceless woman and three young children. He told the court: "The circumstances of these offences are truly hideous and dreadful. "She was a friend of Lacey's who just happened that evening to be staying at Lacey's house for a sleepover." The prosecutor added: "The defendant brutally and viciously murdered his then partner, Terri Harris, who is aged 35 - and was in the early stages of pregnancy. He also admitted to raping young Lacey and the court heard how he committed the vile act while she lay dying after he struck her in the head with a hammer. Mr Mably went on to tell the court how Bendall's horrific attack unfolded at the Harris' family home in September last year. [Pervert offered £400 for Manchester girl to have sex with him... "The attacks were of such ferocity, in essence their skulls were smashed in and in the case of one of the children, 11-year-old Lacey, parts of her brain matter were found on the living-room floor. He continued: “I used the hammer. Mr Mably went on to say that horrific attacks "were of such ferocity" that the victims "skulls were smashed in" by the force. On the night that Lacey's friend had been staying over for a sleepover, the prosecutor said Bendall hit the victims over the head and on the upper body using a claw hammer, as he attacked each victim in a different room, going "around the house looking for them, attacking them each in turn, in order to kill them".

Damien Bendall, from Swindon, has been given a rare whole-life prison sentence after the rape of a girl and murder of four people.

My thoughts are with them. Before the sentencing, the court heard that Bendall, who had previous convictions for robbery, attempted robbery and grievous bodily harm had carried out the rape and murders while on a 24-month suspended sentence handed down at Swindon Crown Court in June 2021 for the arson of a car he had tried to steal. “He went through the house looking for the victims until he had killed them all, raping one of the children in the attack. “The attacks were of such ferocity, in essence their skulls were smashed in and in the case of one of the children, 11-year-old Lacey, parts of her brain matter were found on the living-room floor," Mr Mably said opening the case on Wednesday morning. The ferocity of the murders was such that the skulls of the victims were “literally smashed in”, the judge added. He also admitted to raping Lacey at the house in Killamarsh, near Sheffield, in 2021, during what prosecutor Louis Mably KC told the court were “brutal, vicious and cruel attacks on a defenceless woman” and young children.

Footage shows him calmly telling police officers “I've murdered four people”, as he stands outside the crime scene the morning after his killing spree. The one- ...

It was perfectly clear none of the victims stood a chance.” “I used the hammer. Welcoming the sentence, Derbyshire Police called Bendall a “monster”, while the Crown Prosecution Service labelled his actions as “barbaric”. “The defendant attacked them using a claw hammer which he used to hit them over the head and on the upper body. They’re all gone.” Bendall, who had a cannabis habit, later told police he had consumed “three to four bags of cocaine and then blacked out”. The judge told Bendall he had displayed “controlling” behaviour towards his partner, Ms Harris, before the attacks, and concerned friends described him as a “gangster wannabe” who bragged about spending time in prison. He added that after attacking Lacey in the living room, he carried her “unconscious but still alive” to the main bedroom, where Ms Harris lay dead on the floor, before placing the youngster on the bed and positioning a mirror “so you could see all of what you were going to do”. “I have no doubt you are a dangerous offender,” he told Bendall who sat looking at the floor while the victims’ families stared at him. “As the prosecution have said, you carried out brutal, vicious and cruel attacks on a defenceless woman and three young children. Audio of the police search of the house was played in court, a male officer’s voice catching with emotion as he said: “They’re gone, they’re gone. Following the sentencing, Derbyshire Constabulary released a recording of Bendall’s call to 999, in which he calmly says: “I need the police and the ambulance here now because, um, I’ve killed four people.”

Damien Bendall was accused of four counts of murder and another of rape, after the bodies of Terri Harris 35, John Paul Bennett, 13, Lacey Bennett, ...

[DerbyshireLive reported tributes](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/another-new-trial-date-set-7663871) as they poured in. The trial has had hold-ups and medical complications, with dates having to be shifted moved and hearing after hearing relisted. Connie's father, Charlie, paid tribute to his "sweet little girl" who was having a sleepover with her friend Lacey. Lacey, 11, was a West Ham fan and John a Sheffield Wednesday fan." John and Lacey's grandmother, Debbie Bennett: "We are just heartbroken. Each of the youngsters were pupils at Outwood Academy City, Stradbroke. Bendall was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital by the [I have no doubt whatsoever that punishment requires you to be kept in prison for the rest of your life](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/killamarsh-murders-horrific-incident-always-7950810)." Bendall, denies the [Derby Crown Court](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/courts) in front of Mr Justice Sweeney, the trial finally reached it's conclusion, with Mr Bendall [being handed five life sentences](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/five-life-sentences-killamarsh-paedophile-7955447), meaning he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. [Derbyshire](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/) police. [Derby shop to close for good after 100 years](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/derby-shop-close-good-after-7948784)

Damien Bendall, a man with a violent past and string of previous criminal convictions, killed Terri Harris (35), her two children John-Paul and Lacey Bennett ( ...

He admitted that he had killed them when officers first came to the address. He had followed the family to live in Killamarsh when they moved from Sheffield. Throughout the process, the CPS instructed its own medical experts to assess whether the arguments had merit, which they did not. Bendall was charged with murder in September 2021 and a further charge of rape added to the indictment that November after forensic evidence was received. After he had killed the victims, Bendall took a taxi to Sheffield to exchange John-Paul’s games console for more drugs. He disclosed to the officers attending the scene that he had killed four people.

Damien Bendall admitted four murders and the rape of a child in Killamarsh but has offered no explanation for his heinous crimes which have shattered the ...

he pulled out a knife three yards from the counter and I tried to hit him with the club. But he was clean by the time he went back to prison for the arson.' ‘They did not deserve to die and the way they did haunts me every day.’ The father of John and Lacey, Jason Bennett, said the murders had ‘destroyed my life’. He could do stupid things, but he could be very touchy-feely, and a right gentleman with his girlfriends. 'He was open about it and would say he wanted to be a bad boy.' I thought he was going to do something. I have lots of love and support around me, I do, but the love I crave off my beautiful kids, I can't have that, that's a hole that can never be filled. I just want the pain I feel to end. He was very trusting and would always see the best in people. 'I am living in a continual nightmare, I have a story in my head of how they died, I live their trauma and feel their pain, it feels like a reoccurring punishment. 'I lived and worked and did the things I did for them. realise they are not here and my mind goes back to the trauma of how they died.

During today's hearing at Derby Crown Court, the 32-year-old also pleaded guilty to raping Lacey. Read more: Five life sentences for Killamarsh paedophile ...

He was then quickly arrested at the scene. The police have now revealed bodycam footage from the arresting officers, which shows the moment Damien Bendall admitted to the killings. [Micropub in thriving village reopens under new name after £40,000 revamp](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/micropub-melbourne-reopens-under-new-7951805) [Horrific Killamarsh murders will always remain in my thoughts](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/killamarsh-murders-horrific-incident-always-7950810) [Derbyshire hospitals declare critical incident amid increasing health and care system pressures](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/health/derbyshire-hospitals-declare-critical-incident-7954851) [Main road closed by three car crash, drivers told to avoid area](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/live-main-peak-district-road-7953350) [Everything you need to know about this year's Matlock Raft Race](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/matlock-raft-race-2022-what-7934288) [Five life sentences for Killamarsh paedophile rapist and murderer Damien Bendall](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/five-life-sentences-killamarsh-paedophile-7955447) [was today handed five life sentences for murdering](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/live-killamarsh-murder-accused-damien-7951755) 35-year-old Terri Harris, her children, 13-year-old John Paul Bennett and 11-year-old Lacey Bennett, and Lacey’s close friend, 11-year-old Connie Gent. [murder of three children and a woman at a house in Killamarsh](https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/live-killamarsh-murder-accused-damien-7951755) has been told that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.