‘I’ve murdered four people’: Moment Damien Bendall tells police he killed his partner and three children
Police bodycam footage captured the moment Damien Bendall told officers he had killed his pregnant partner and three children.
The 32-year-old, who has been sentenced to life in prison, stands outside his home speaking to police and telling them of his own injuries, before he confesses to his crimes.
Warning: This article contains details of the killings that some people may find disturbing
Bendall raped and murdered 11-year-old Lacey Bennett, then killed her brother John Paul Bennett, 13, their mother and his partner Terri Harris, 35, and Lacey’s 11-year-old friend Connie Gent in Killamarsh, Derbyshire in September 2021.
Video showed him telling officers: “I’m going back to prison again, I’ve murdered four people.”
In the footage Bendall was seen standing outside the house where he committed the murder, wearing a buttoned up coat and telling officers he had no weapons on him.
The murderer then calmly tells officers he stabbed himself in the chest and stomach with a breadknife.
Bendall told officers he had killed four people
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.”
When the officer asks why, he bluntly responds: “I’ve murdered four people.”
He was then handcuffed by police and officers prepared to search the property where they would discover the bodies of Lacey, Connie, John and Terri.
Before they entered, Bendall could be seen sitting on the ground outside the house, wearing a Chelsea football top.
Damien Bendall who has been given a whole life order at Derby Crown Court
After the search, officers can be heard reading Bendall his rights before leading him away to be put in the back of a police van and taken to the station.
Bendall pleaded guilty to the rape and four murders at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday.
The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, said the sexual offence was committed “in the grossest breach of trust” as the 11-year-old’s life ebbed away.
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.
Lacey and John Paul were Ms Harris’s children from a previous relationship, and Connie had been at the house in Killamarsh, near Sheffield, for a sleepover.
Connie was only due to stay for one night, but managed to get permission from her mother, fatefully extending her stay by another night – coinciding with the attacks, the court heard.
Bendall is believed to have gone around the family home looking for his victims individually, and then attacking them in different rooms in order to kill them, the court was told.
Terri Harris who died along with her children Lacey and John Paul Bennett and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent
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.
Mr Mably said Bendall attacked them with a claw hammer which he used to hit them over the head and on the upper body.
“Their skulls were smashed in” and “it was perfectly clear none of the victims stood a chance,” Mr Mably added.
He continued: “One of the dreadful facts about this case is that during the attacks, the defendant raped 11-year-old Lacey.”
Connie Gent. Pic: Derbyshire Constabulary
Ms Harris and the three children were found dead in Chandos Crescent on 19 September last year.
After Bendall killed them, he took John Paul’s games console, then went to Sheffield in a taxi, and there he exchanged the device for drugs, said Mr Mably.
Bendall would later tell police he had consumed “three to four bags of cocaine and then blacked out”.
In an interview with officers at Ripley police station after he was arrested, Bendall told them: “I used the hammer.”
He added: “Bet you don’t usually get four murders in Killamarsh do you – well, five (murders), because my missus was having a baby.”
Lacey Bennett was one of the three children killed at the house in Killamarsh
Mr Mably said: “On the night of Saturday September 17, 2021, stretching into the early hours of September 19, 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 murdered Terri’s two children, by a previous partner, her 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter Lacey, and he murdered Connie Gent, also aged 11.
“She was a friend of Lacey’s who just happened that evening to be staying at Lacey’s house for a sleepover.”
John and Lacey’s father, Jason Bennett, said that the murder had “destroyed” him and that life now seemed “pointless”.
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… I have lots of love around me but the love I crave off my beautiful kids, I can’t have that, that’s a hole that can never be filled.”
Connie’s father Charles Gent said no sentence would ever be sufficient justice for his daughter’s death adding: “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.”
John and Lacey’s dad Jason (pictured) has said the murder was like ‘having his heart shattered into a billion pieces’
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. He went through the house looking for the victims until he had killed them all, raping one of the children in the attack.
“What he did left two families utterly devastated by grief and a community in bewilderment and shock.”
Earlier, Mr Mably told the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, that prosecutors were seeking a whole life term for Bendall, given the gravity of the offences.
Wes Streeting has defended plans to make over 70s take compulsory eye tests every three years – which could see them banned from driving if they fail, it is understood.
Ministers are considering “tougher” measures to tackle road deaths and injuries in England and Wales, which they believe have “remained stubbornly high under successive Conservative governments”.
Under the new proposals, first reported by The Times, the drink-drive limit would be lowered to match the current rules in Scotland.
Currently, the drink-drive limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath in England and Wales, or 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
But this is expected to be lowered to 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath or 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, to match the stricter levels already enforced in Scotland.
Those caught not wearing a seatbelt could also receive penalty points for the first time, while drivers found on the road without insurance could also face more severe consequences.
As well as this, plans are currently being drawn up to make those aged 70 or over take a compulsory eye test every three years when they renew their driving licence.
Those who fail this would lose their right to drive under the proposals. It’s understood that tests for other conditions, such as dementia, are also being considered.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Streeting said the transport secretary is consulting and “considering a whole range of proposals”, which will be unveiled in the “not too distant future”.
It is understood that Heidi Alexander will unveil the measures in a new road safety strategy in the autumn.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to introduce the changes as part of the government’s road safety strategy in the autumn.
Pic: Reuters
The health secretary also defended the plans around elderly drivers.
He told broadcasters: “It cannot be right that we’ve ended up in a situation where the NHS is hit with a £2 billion a year bill because we are not taking road safety seriously enough – particularly as we get older and the quality of our eye health deteriorates, that we’re not keeping a regular check.”
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A Labour source said: “At the end of the last Labour government, the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads was at a record low, but numbers have remained stubbornly high under successive Conservative governments.
“In no other circumstance would we accept 1,600 people dying, with thousands more seriously injured, costing the NHS more than £2bn per year.
“This Labour government will deliver the first Road Safety Strategy in a decade, imposing tougher penalties on those breaking the law, protecting road users and restoring order to our roads.”
It comes after 1,633 people died in road traffic accidents in 2024, with nearly 28,000 victims seriously injured.
An amber heat health alert has been issued for large parts of England.
The amber alert – described as an “enhanced hot weather response” – covers East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, and the South East.
The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), is due to be in place from 9am on Tuesday, until 6pm on Wednesday.
Explainer: What is a heat-health alert?
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued alerts across England
The UKHSA, a government agency for England, warned “significant impacts are likely” across health and social care services due to the high temperatures.
Parts of the country are facing a fourth heatwave of the summer, where highs pass a threshold on three consecutive days.
A yellow alert, also between 9am on Tuesday until 6pm on Wednesday, covers the North East, North West, Yorkshire, The Humber, and the South West.
Check the weather forecast where you are
Dr Paul Coleman, consultant in public health at UKHSA, said temperatures are forecast to rise above 30C (86F) across some areas which “can result in serious health outcomes” particularly for the elderly or those with serious health conditions.
“If you have friends, family or neighbours who are vulnerable, it is important to ensure they are aware of the forecasts and are following the necessary advice.
“Check in on them if you can to make sure they know that hot weather is on the way and how to keep themselves safe,” Dr Coleman said.
Temperatures could peak in the low 30s on Tuesday, with a small chance of hitting 35C (95F)
Sky News meteorologist Christopher England said the high pressure that brought the warmth of the last few days via the “heat dome” effect is moving east, as low pressure moves in towards the west.
“On Tuesday, southern Britain can expect temperatures widely into the low 30s… perhaps exceeding 35C (95F) in places,” he said.
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Drought in England explained
On 1 July, the UK recorded its hottest day of the year so far with a temperature of 34.7C (94.4F) recorded at St James’s Park in central London.
The Met Office’s criteria for a heatwave are met when temperatures are above a certain level for three consecutive days. This threshold varies from 25C to 28C (77F to 82F) depending on the location.
People enjoying the hot weather in North Shields in June. Pic: PA
Mr England added: “There’s around a 10% chance Wales may exceed its August peak temperature of 35.2C (95.3F) recorded at Hawarden on 2 August 1990.
“Expect some tropical nights too, with temperatures holding above 20C (68F).”
In July, the Met Office warned Britain’s climate is changing rapidly, with records regularly being smashed and extremes of heat and rainfall becoming the norm.
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The UKHSA has issued advice for keeping cool:
• close windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun
• seek shade and cover up outside
• use sunscreen, wear a hat and sunglasses
• keep out of the sun at the hottest times, between 11am and 3pm
• restrict physical activity to the cooler mornings or evenings
• know how to respond to heat exhaustion and heatstroke
Around 30 residents have been evacuated from their homes in north London after a water main burst, leaving roads under 44cm (17in) of water.
Seventy firefighters were dispatched by London Fire Brigade to the area around Canonbury Street in Islington just after 10pm on Sunday.
People have been urged to avoid the area including Essex Road, Elmore Street, Halliford Street and Ecclesbourne Road – and warned against driving through floodwater.
Canonbury Street in Islington experienced significant flooding. Pic: London Fire Brigade
Fire crews used flood barriers and sandbags to divert floodwater away from homes as they warned disruption was likely to continue into Monday afternoon.
Islington council also warned at 9am on Monday that Canonbury Street was closed from Essex Road up to Arran Walk.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We have now managed to stop the flow of water and ensure that the site is safe. We have also been able to move parked cars which were over another critical water main.
“We have a specialist team on site for those impacted by the incident, at Cedar Place on Essex Road, and are supporting customers who have been affected.
“To keep the public and our team safe, we’ve arranged equipment to help manage the traffic while we work in the road. We are sorry for the impact this may have on traffic in the area.”
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