Disturbing details have emerged during an ongoing inquest regarding the quadruple murder that took place at a house in Derbyshire earlier this year. Damien Bendall, who pleaded guilty to the murders, made chilling statements about killing his girlfriend and her children if their relationship “went bad,” as disclosed during the proceedings.
On September 19, 2021, officers were dispatched to a residence in Killamarsh and tragically discovered the bodies of four victims inside the house. Bendall, who was 31 years old at the time, immediately confessed to the murders upon their arrival, stating, “I need the police and an ambulance because I just killed four people.”
During the inquest at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, it was revealed that an Electronic Monitoring Service (EMS) officer had been fitting a tag on Bendall for a previous offense when he made the alarming comments. He explicitly expressed his intention to “murder my girlfriend and children” if the relationship soured. However, the officer did not report these remarks.
Aisha Fatima, a probation officer from the Chesterfield probation service, testified that she had not been aware of Bendall’s threatening statements when she was handling his case in June 2021. At that time, Bendall was serving a 17-month suspended sentence for arson in Swindon and was living with Terri Harris and her children in Killamarsh.
During the inquest, Fatima admitted that had she known about Bendall’s threats, she would have taken immediate action to ensure the safety of Harris and her children. She stated, “I wouldn’t have allowed Bendall to reside at the address with Terri Harris and her children.” It was also revealed that Fatima had not thoroughly reviewed Bendall’s history or read the majority of the risk assessment reports provided.
The inquest has shed light on the overwhelming workload faced by probation officers who interacted with Bendall before the tragic events unfolded. Several officers have expressed the challenges they encountered due to their heavy caseloads.
