DAMIEN BENDALL SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR BRUTAL KILLINGS IN DERBYSHIRE AND KILLAMARSH
In a harrowing case that has shocked the community of Derbyshire and the nearby town of Killamarsh, Damien Bendall has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after committing a series of brutal murders.The court heard that Bendall, aged 32, carried out a horrifying attack that resulted in the deaths of four innocent victims, including a pregnant woman, her children, and a young girl who was visiting for a sleepover.
Damien Bendall pleaded guilty to the murders of his then-partner, Terri Harris, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her 13-year-old son John Paul Bennett, and Lacey's 11-year-old friend Connie Gent.
Initially denying the charges, Bendall changed his plea during his appearance at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday, where he also admitted to the heinous crime of raping Lacey Bennett.
The presiding judge, Mr.
Justice Sweeney, described the sexual assault as a gross breach of trust, emphasizing the severity of the crime as the young girl’s life was slipping away.
The judge stated that the gravity of the offenses warranted Bendall being sentenced to life in prison for each murder, and he also imposed a whole life order for the rape of Lacey Bennett.
The victims included children from different circumstances: Lacey and John Paul were the children of Terri Harris from a previous relationship, while Connie Gent was at the house in Killamarsh for a sleepover.
The court was told that Connie had initially planned to stay only for one night but obtained permission from her mother to extend her stay by another night, which coincided with the tragic events.
According to court proceedings, Bendall systematically searched the family home in Killamarsh, located near Sheffield, looking for his victims.
He then attacked them in different rooms of the house, aiming to kill each one.
Prosecutor Louis Mably KC described the attacks as “brutal, vicious, and cruel,” emphasizing the defenselessness of the victims.
Bendall used a claw hammer to carry out the assaults, striking them over the head and upper body.
The force of the blows was so severe that the victims’ skulls were smashed, leaving no chance for survival, as described by the prosecutor.
Adding to the horror, Mr.
Mably revealed that during the attack on Lacey Bennett, Bendall committed an act of rape.
The court was told that after the murders, Bendall took John Paul’s games console and traveled by taxi to Sheffield, where he exchanged the device for drugs.
Bendall later admitted to police that he had consumed “three to four bags of cocaine” and had blacked out during the incident.
In his police interview at Ripley police station, Bendall confessed, saying, “I used the hammer,” and made a chilling remark about the rarity of such crimes in Killamarsh, claiming, “Bet you don’t usually get four murders in Killamarsh do you - well, five (murders), because my missus was having a baby.” The court heard that on the night of September 17, 2021, into the early hours of September 19, Bendall carried out the brutal murders.
He targeted Terri Harris, who was 35 and in the early stages of pregnancy, along with her children and Connie Gent.
The attack was described as “vicious and relentless,” with Bendall using a claw hammer to inflict fatal injuries.
Following the murders, Bendall’s actions were further detailed by the prosecutor.
He took John Paul’s games console, then traveled to Sheffield, where he exchanged it for drugs.
The devastating impact on the victims’ families was evident.
Jason Bennett, the father of John Paul and Lacey, expressed his grief, stating that the murder had “destroyed” him and made life seem “pointless.” In a heartfelt victim impact statement, he described feeling as if his heart had been shattered into “a billion pieces,” and he lamented the loss of love from his children, which he said could never be replaced.
Connie Gent’s father, Charles Gent, also spoke out, asserting that no sentence could truly serve as justice for his daughter’s death.
He described Bendall as “truly evil” and insisted that he should never be released from incarceration.
Both families are now burdened with a lifelong sense of loss and trauma, a consequence of the “shocking and abhorrent crimes” committed against defenseless children and a woman in the early stages of pregnancy.
After the sentencing, Andrew Baxter from the Crown Prosecution Service commented on the case, describing Bendall’s actions as barbaric and horrifying.
He highlighted that Bendall systematically searched the house, killing each victim and raping one of the children in the process.
Baxter emphasized that the crimes left two families utterly devastated and the community in shock and bewilderment.
Earlier in the proceedings, prosecutor Louis Mably had made it clear that given the gravity of the offenses, the prosecution was seeking a whole life order for Damien Bendall, reflecting the severity and brutality of his crimes in Derbyshire and Killamarsh.
