Chilling Killamarsh Murderer Sentenced to Life
Stephen Bendall, 32, was jailed for life after brutally murdering Terri Harris, 35, her two children, 11-year-old Lacey Bennett and 13-year-old John Paul Bennett, plus Lacey’s 11-year-old friend Connie Gent. The horrific attack happened last September at the Killamarsh, Derbyshire home he shared with Ms Harris.
Adding to the horror, Bendall also admitted raping young Lacey during the savage rampage.
Probation Failures Spark Outrage
At the time of the killings, Bendall was serving a 24-month suspended sentence and was on probation for arson, robbery, attempted robbery, and grievous bodily harm. Shocking failures in his probation monitoring have emerged, with two officers disciplined for misconduct.
One probation officer, who downgraded Bendall’s risk from “high” to “medium,” was sacked. Another officer, assigned the case after it was passed to a trainee, was also found guilty of misconduct.
Justice Ministry Reacts as Ex-Secretary Calls for Accountability
“These were appalling crimes and our thoughts remain with the victims’ families,” said a Ministry of Justice spokesperson.
The Deputy Prime Minister has ordered the chief inspector of probation to investigate these glaring errors. The review is expected to be published in the New Year.
Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland blasted the probation failures, saying: “I think we have to acknowledge that such an error is just an appalling failure. The ministry must be as open and transparent as possible about what happened. Most importantly, the risk of it happening again must be reduced, if not eliminated.”
He added: “There should be processes in place to ensure strict thresholds and tests are met before such a fundamental error occurs.”
