Damien Bendall, a 32-year-old former cage fighter, carried out a series of brutal murders in Killamarsh, north-east Derbyshire, on the night of 18 September 2021. He admitted to killing his pregnant partner, 35-year-old Terri Harris, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her 13-year-old son John Bennett, and Lacey's 11-year-old friend Connie Gent, using a claw hammer in a frenzied attack at the family home on Chandos Crescent.
The attacks were described by prosecutor Louis Mably KC as 'truly hideous and dreadful', with Bendall going room to room in the house, smashing the victims' skulls with ferocious blows. Terri was attacked in the main bedroom, John in the bathroom, Connie in another bedroom, and Lacey in the living room. Most victims had defensive injuries, showing they tried to fight back but stood no chance against the assault. After striking Lacey and leaving her unconscious but alive, Bendall carried her to the main bedroom, positioned a mirror to watch himself, and raped her as her life ebbed away—a gross breach of trust highlighted by Mr Justice Sweeney at Derby Crown Court.
The court heard that earlier that day, the children—Lacey, John, and Connie—had been happily selling sweets at a cancer charity stall. Connie had extended her sleepover by one night, tragically coinciding with the attacks. Bendall, who had a history of controlling behaviour towards Ms Harris and previous convictions for robbery, attempted robbery, grievous bodily harm, and arson, claimed he consumed three to four bags of cocaine and blacked out, remembering nothing. However, after the killings, he callously took John's Xbox, exchanged it for drugs in Sheffield, and told a taxi driver he had been 'just chilling with the family'.
Bendall was arrested on 19 September 2021 outside the house after his mother called 999, reporting he had stabbed himself. Body-worn video captured him calmly admitting, 'I've murdered four people.' Police searching the home found the bodies, with an officer emotionally stating, 'They're gone, they're gone. They're all gone.' At the station, Bendall remarked, 'The whole house is covered in claret. I used the hammer... Bet you don't usually get four murders in Killamarsh do you? Well, five, because my missus was having a baby.'
On 21 December 2022, at Derby Crown Court, Mr Justice Sweeney sentenced Bendall to whole-life orders for each of the four murders and the rape, stating the offences were of exceptionally high seriousness. The judge described the attacks as 'brutal, vicious and cruel' on a defenceless woman and three young children, and noted Bendall as a dangerous offender. Bendall had previously pleaded guilty to the murders after an initial manslaughter plea and admitted the rape. Vanessa Marshall KC, defending, called the actions 'inexplicable and motiveless'. Derbyshire Police labelled him a 'monster', and the Crown Prosecution Service described the acts as 'barbaric'. In a victim impact statement, Ms Harris's mother Angela Smith called Bendall 'evil', reflecting on how she once reassured her grandson there were no monsters.
The case was prosecuted by Derbyshire Police, with sentencing at Derby Crown Court. Bendall's crimes occurred while he was on a 24-month suspended sentence for arson from Swindon Crown Court in June 2021.