Damien Bendall, 32, was yesterday told he would spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of three children and his partner. He moved from room to room with a claw hammer and meted out what a prosecutor called “brutal, vicious and cruel attacks”.
At Derby Crown Court, the Killamarsh community finally heard the harrowing events that took place in the house on Chandos Crescent on the night of September 18, 2021 – including the previously unknown fact that Bendall left the house after the killings to sell youngest John Paul Bennett’s Xbox for drugs.
Our gallery below lays out the timeline of the murders as heard in court, as well as some of the events leading up to the day of the killings.
Our gallery below lays out the timeline of the murders as heard in court, as well as some of the events leading up to the day of the killings.
5. Bendall tells probation service he is not on drugs
Also, during September, 2021, Bendall persuaded the probation service while on a suspended prison sentence that he was not under the influence of illicit substances. But he was, in fact, still taking drugs during this time. Image courtesy of SWNS and artist Elizabeth Cook. Photo: SWNS and artist Elizabeth Cook
6. 9.42pm - The attacks begin
Shortly after 9.42pm, Sept 18, 2021, as the children were preparing for bed, the attacks are believed to have begun. John had sent a text at 9.42pm, indicating he was going to have a shower. His dead body was later found in the bathroom by police. Photo: Dean Atkins
7. The next seven hours
At 10.30pm phone evidence showed Bendall had again repeatedly been trying to contact a drug-dealer after the killings. Between 9.42pm and these, Bendall moved through the house and killed all four occupants by striking them with a claw hammer. Sometime between the attacks and 5m, he also raped 11-year-old Lacey as she was dying, Terri and Lacey's bodies were found in the master bedroom. John was killed in the bathroom and Connie was found in another bedroom. Photo: Dean Atkins
8. Bendall calls police himself
At 7.38am, Bendall called 999 himself to say he had killed four people and stabbed himself. He makes this call just as other officers had arrived at Chandos Crescent after his mother's call to police. He tells officers: "The whole house is covered in claret. I used a hammer. Obviously I'm going to prison as I've murdered four people." He also said to officers: “I bet you don’t get four murders in Killamarsh, do you?” Photo: Derbyshire Police / SWNS