In the evening of 18 September 2021, Damien Bendall murdered his partner Terri Haris, her two children Lacey and John-Paul Bennet, as well as Lacey's friend Connie Gent at a residential property on Chandos Crescent in

Killamarsh Killamarsh is a village and civil parish in North East Derbyshire, England, close to Derbyshire’s border with South Yorkshire. It forms part of the Sheffield urban area and lies about 8 miles south-east of the centre of Sheffield. Killamars ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, an outer suburb of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

. He had also raped Lacey as she was dying. After being arrested the next morning, Bendall was charged with four counts of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

and later rape of a girl under 13 in connection with the incident. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to a whole-life prison term on 21 December 2022.

Overview

Crime details

Based on phone evidence, it is estimated that the murder spree had occurred shortly after 21:42 local time on 18 September 2021. According to prosecutors, at that time, the children were preparing to go to bed while Bendall was trying to contact his drug dealer for cocaine. Bendall had killed his pregnant partner Terri Harris, her children Lacey and John-Paul Bennett, as well as Lacey's friend Connie Gent, who was staying there for a sleepover, by striking them with a claw hammer over their heads. He had also raped Lacey as she was dying from her head injuries. After committing the murders, Bendall ordered a taxi, and went to

to exchange John's Xbox for drugs.

Bendall's arrest

Police officers from the

Derbyshire Constabulary Derbyshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Derbyshire, England. The force covers an area of over with a population of just under one million. History In 1965, the force had an establishment ...

attended to reports of a disturbance at a residential property on Chandos Crescent, close to Killamarsh town centre, at 07:26 on 19 September 2021. Bendall had also called 999, saying that he would need police and ambulance because he killed four people. Arriving at the property at 07:39, officers found Bendall outside, with self-inflicted stab wounds on his chest and stomach from a bread knife. Bendall told the officers he knew he would 'be going to prison again', and when asked what he had done, calmly responded with 'I've murdered four people.' The officers then entered the property where they located the remains of the victims. Subsequently, Bendall was arrested under the suspicion of murder.

Legal proceedings

On 22 September 2021, Bendall was charged with four counts of

and later rape of a girl under 13 in connection with the incident. He admitted all charges and was sentenced by Mr Justice Sweeney to a whole-life prison term on 21 December 2022.

Aftermath

Vigil

On 20 September 2021, members of the community held a vigil in honor of the victims. Around 300 people attended including family members of the victims.

Evaluation of probationary practices

Due to the fact that Bendall was on probation when he committed the murders, the

HM Inspectorate of Probation His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) is a statutory body and independent UK inspectorate funded by the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice, formed in 1936. Role and functions HMIP reports to the Secretary of State for ...

conducted a Serious Further Offense review into the way the National Probational Service managed Bendall. Both it and a separate coroner's report expressed concerns about the lack of child safeguarding and domestic abuse checks conducted by the Probational Service in this case and inexperienced staff within the Probational Service among other issues.

Demolition

On 21 July 2023, the properties where the murders took place were demolished on the orders of North East Derbyshire District Council, this was preceded by consultations of the council with local community members, residents of the area, and relatives of the victims.

References

{{Mass stabbings in the 2020s 2021 murders in the United Kingdom 2021 in England 2020s in Derbyshire Crime in Derbyshire September 2021 crimes in Europe September 2021 in the United Kingdom North East Derbyshire District Hammer assaults 21st-century mass murder in England Mass murder in 2021 Familicides in the United Kingdom Rape in England Child sexual abuse in England Incestual abuse Deaths by beating in the United Kingdom Incidents of violence against girls Child murder in England