Probation officer does not recall seeing claims against killer, inquests told

The officer said that ‘on reflection’ Damien Bendall should have been deemed as posing a high risk to partners and children.

Damien Bendall, pictured on police bodycam when he was arrested following the murders (Derbyshire Constabulary/PA) (PA Media)

The probation officer who recommended that Damien Bendall could live with a mother and her children before he murdered them has said she does not remember seeing information about domestic abuse allegations and concerns he posed a sexual risk to children.

The female officer, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she did not recall being told Bendall allegedly abused a former partner in 2016 and had contact with a 16-year-old girl in care before he murdered his partner, Terri Harris, and three children.

Bendall, 33, killed pregnant Ms Harris, 35, her children – 13-year-old John Paul Bennett and 11-year-old Lacey Bennett – and Lacey’s friend, 11-year-old Connie Gent, as well as raping Lacey on September 19 2021.

Weeks before the killings he was handed a suspended sentence for arson, which included a curfew requirement at Ms Harris’ home in Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh, Derbyshire, after being deemed a low risk to partners and children.

Giving evidence at the inquests into the deaths at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court on Thursday, the officer who wrote Bendall’s pre-sentence report admitted that it relied on “Bendall’s own self-reporting” and that it was “likely” she did not read previous reports which said he posed a high risk.

Peter Nieto, senior coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, asked: “Since that time, have you become aware that there was information that probably had identified that he [Bendall] posed a potential risk to partners and children?”

The officer replied: “Yes.”

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. If I had all the time in the world, I can't say definitively that I would have come up with a different conclusion, but having more information would have been more helpful to me to not just rely on his own self-reporting

Probation Officer

Mr Nieto asked: “Do you think if you had been aware of that information at that time you wrote the report, do you think your report would have been any different?”

The officer replied: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing. If I had all the time in the world, I can’t say definitively that I would have come up with a different conclusion, but having more information would have been more helpful to me to not just rely on his own self-reporting.

“It would certainly have been mentioned within the report and most probably, yes, it probably would have changed my report.”

Asked if this would have affected her recommendation for a curfew, the officer replied: “I can imagine that it would have had an impact on the recommendation that was given.”

Bendall was given a whole-life tariff in December 2022 for the murders and the rape.

He had been given a 17-month suspended sentence with a five-month curfew requirement in June 2021, for the arson offence committed in May 2020.

The decision to give him a non-custodial sentence was contributed to by the probation officer’s report which concluded Bendall posed a medium risk of serious harm to the public and a low risk of harm to partners and children.

In an interview on June 7 2021, two days before the arson sentencing, Bendall told the officer that he had found work as a builder and had a “mass on the brain”, but these were never independently verified.

The officer later said: “On reflection, he should have been assessed as high risk.”

The inquest also heard that despite the officer ticking the box on the pre-sentence report to say safeguarding checks had been carried out, including to assess the welfare of John Paul and Lacey, these were not completed.

The officer said that she “would not have the capacity or the time to scroll back” through previous risk assessments or other information, despite Bendall having a history of serious and violent offences dating back to 2004.

I'm not disputing things were missed at all

Probation Officer

A subsequent inquiry into Bendall’s supervision by the Inspectorate of Probation found that the assessment that he was suitable for a curfew was “dangerous and entirely inappropriate” and that it was “extraordinary” that safeguarding checks were not carried out.

Paul Clark, representing Jason Bennett, father of John Paul and Lacey, and Kerry Shelton, Connie’s mother, told the officer that her report was the 12th related to Bendall, with the previous 11 all deeming him to pose a high risk, and asked her why these were not considered.

She replied: “With time constraints, it would be good practice to read the 11 reports but I think if you asked any officer doing a pre-sentence report if they had time to read all 11 reports it would be unlikely that they would.

“I’m not justifying the fact that I did not read the reports. I’m just saying with time constraints and workloads people had, it would be unlikely that people would have the capacity to read the reports.

“I’m not disputing things were missed at all.”

The inquests continue.