Moment ‘sleepover’ killer went to swap victim’s Xbox for drugs after murdering three children
Damien Bendall was given a whole life order for the four murders in Killamarsh, after taking the life of his partner, two girls and a boy
CCTV footage captured the moment a quadruple murderer took his 13-year-old victim’s Xbox to swap for drugs just hours after killing him.
Damien Bendall left his partner Terri Harris’s home in Killamarsh, near Sheffield, the morning after murdering Ms Harris, her two children Lacey and John Bennett, 11 and 13, and Lacey’s friend Connie, 11.
Bendall was filmed leaving the house just before 6am on 19 September 2021 after the horrific attack.
He took a taxi to Sheffield and was captured on CCTV carrying a bag, which contained John’s Xbox. He later traded the game console for drugs, a court heard on Wednesday.
He told the tax driver that his night had been “not too bad, a bit mad”. When the driver asked what he had been doing, Bendall replied: “Just chilling with family really.”
In truth, Bendall had gone room to room of his partner’s home on Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh, brutally attacking her and the three children with a hammer. Connie Gent, Lacey’s friend, had been staying at the house for a sleepover on the night of the murders.
He had then raped Lacey Bennett while she was suffering from the wounded he had inflicted.
Bendall was given a whole life order for the rape and murders at Derby Crown Court on Wedneday, meaning he will die in jail.
In an emotional victim impact statement, Lacey and John’s father Jason Bennett said: “It’s like my life has been shattered into a billion pieces, never to be repaired. I no longer have a future. Life is empty.
“All I have is sadness. The love I crave is from my beautiful kids.”
The court heard that Bendall had returned to Chandos Crescent after the Xbox trip on Sunday morning and called his mother, before heading out again to buy tobacco.
His mother called the police and told them her son had suffered a self-inflicted wound. When the police arrived at the house they were met by the 32-year-old, who told them he had “killed four people”.
In a police interview after his arrest, Bendall told officers: “The whole house is covered in claret. I used the hammer. I didn’t realise what I did until I walked into my room and saw my missus and my daughter.”
He added: “Bet you don’t usually get four murders in Killamarsh do you - well, five [murders] because my missus was having a baby.”