Killamarsh murders: Victim's mother says killings of mum and three children were 'evil act'

After Damien Bendall was handed five whole life sentences for murdering Terri Harris, her children Lacey and John Paul Bennett and one of their friends, Connie Gent, the victim impact statements read out in court have been released. Here's what the court heard about Terri and Bendall's relationship and the impact the victim's deaths have had on loved ones.

WARNING: This article contains details some may find distressing.

"We have some good news for you," Terri Harris excitedly told a friend on 17 September 2021.

Terri, who was described as a loving and caring mother, was looking forward to a new baby - a new brother or sister for her beloved children John and Lacey.

Terri and Bendall had been in a relationship since 2020 and, on 17 September, she seemed happy and texted a friend to say they had good news and she would call over the weekend.

Bendall had also hinted that they were expecting a baby and both had spoken of their plans for a child. But only Bendall has answers for what he did next.

A witness recalled seeing a man leaving the family in Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh, on 16 September and shouting "this is not finished yet".

As Bendall was told he would spend the rest of his life behind bars for the murders of Terri, her son and daughter John Paul and Lacey Bennett and Lacey's friend Connie, details of their relationship were told to a court in Derby.

Angela Smith, Terri's mum, described how she had given Bendall a chance and had welcomed him into her home.

She said: "I struggle to explain to my elderly parents what happened. I don't know myself, but I must accept I may never know as the only person who does is Bendall."

Mrs Smith said Bendall had told her he had changed. At the time Bendall began a relationship with Terri, he was wanted by Swindon Police for setting a car on fire - an offence he was later given a suspended sentence for.

Mrs Smith said she and Terri were "best friends" who "could spend hours chatting and filling each other's company".

She said: "Terri was a fantastic mum and wouldn't have done anything to jeopardise her children's wellbeing.

Prosecutor Louis Mably KC said Terri's friends described Bendall as "pumped up" and one of her friends described seeing him take a drug described as 'meth'.

On one occasion, he told Mrs Smith that he had killed a dog with a brick as his friend - the owner - could not afford the vets bills. He also showed her his knuckle duster.

The court heard how when Terri first moved to Killamarsh in September 2020, she did not want Bendall to know where she lived, but at some point he moved in with the family.

Terri had previously asked to borrow money from loved ones, which was used to fund Bendall's drug habit.

Mr Mably said their relationship was impacted by Bendall's unstable behaviour and drug use.

He said Terri's family "witnessed a disastrous effect on Terri's wellbeing" and her mother noticed she began selling her belongings and "it was the suspicion was they were being sold in order to get money to give to the defendant to buy drugs".

It was in January 2021 that Terri, Bendall, John and Lacey moved to Chandos Crescent.

When Terri asked her mother for paint to repair a door she said Bendall had smashed, her mother gave her an ultimatum to end her relationship with him.

She said she would when he went to Swindon, but the suspended sentence order had him living at her address.

Terri told a friend the couple were trying for a baby and she told her mother that they would get married. After receiving requests for money, Mrs Smith refused and instead would send food and items for the children.

In her victim impact statement - which was read out by the prosecution - Mrs Smith said: "Terri was a bubbly, loving person who would do anything for others.

"When I was told the harrowing news, I instantly knew it could have only been Damien Bendall... The person who has taken my world from me is Damien Bendall.

"How could he commit such horrific acts of violence towards a woman and children who did not pose a threat towards him?

"I recall when Lacey and John were younger they would say 'I’m scared of monsters' and I would tell them 'there’s no such thing as monsters', but how wrong I was.

"They did not deserve to die. I can't stop thinking the last person Terri, Lacey and John saw was this evil person Bendall looking at them.

"I cannot comprehend how a person can commit such an evil act."

Mrs Smith also described the "horrific torment" of visiting her family at the mortuary.

"After viewing Terri, I recall telling the funeral director to close the coffin as I didn’t want anyone else seeing her. Terri had gone from a 35-year-old beautiful woman to someone who looked in their 90s and this image will stay with me forever.

"After seeing Terri I could not see Lacey and John in their open coffins and asked for the lids to be closed. I recall sitting between their white coffins and saying to my husband 'I can’t believe I’m talking to two coffins with my grandchildren inside'.

"I was in total disbelief thinking this isn’t real, but it sadly was."

Terri's father, Lawrence Harris, also submitted a statement.

"I would do anything to see them one more time, to be able to give them a big hug and kiss and tell them how much I love and miss them," it read.

"My daughter and grandkids were beautiful inside and out. Kind-hearted, loving, caring, vibrant people with their whole lives ahead of them.

"Losing them in such monstrous, tragic circumstances has hit me really hard, and I won’t ever be able to understand how any human could murder a defenceless woman and children.

Mr Harris also described how the nature of the attack has specifically impacted him in his everyday life.

"I work as a builder and one of my main tools which I use daily is a hammer, but knowing that Bendall used one as a weapon against my daughter and grandkids, I have a constant reminder of the horrific attack," he said.

"In a short time, Bendall inflicted the most devastating consequences. Nothing stopped him and this was an act of monumental brutality that can never be rectified."

Charles Gent, the father of the Connie Gent, described the killings as "shocking and abhorrent" and "totally senseless".

"The murder of my daughter Connie has completely torn my life apart," he wrote. "I feel totally lost and numb through the pain and distress this has caused me.

"Whenever I am out and I hear a teenage girl's voice, for a split second Iimagine it is Connie and I desperately look for her, before the sad realisation that it is purely my imagination.

"This will haunt me until the end of my life and makes me feel a combination of sick to the pit of my stomach to raging anger about how she has been robbed of her life because of the brutality of one man."

The fourth statement read out by prosecutors was that of Jason Bennett, Lacey and John's father.

"John and Lacey were beautiful, polite, kind, well-mannered children," it said. "John would not hurt a fly, literally, if he saw an insect he would carefully put it outside. He was very trusting and would always see the best in people.

"On the last day of her life, Lacey was out with her friend Connie Gent raising money for charity. Lacey was kind and caring. We are devastated Connie has died along with them.

"It's like my heart has been shattered into a billion pieces never to be repaired. As well as taking four lives he has taken my life too. I no longer have a future, there is no hunger to succeed, life is empty, all I feel is sadness.

"The love I crave off my beautiful kids, I can't have that, that's a hole that can never be filled. I can't kiss them, I can't tell them I love them and get an answer back, I feel broken that I will never get to hug them, squeeze them tight.

"I would give anything just to speak with them and say 'goodnight my beautiful'."

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