Damien Bendall: Man who killed partner and three children given second life sentence

A man already serving a whole-life sentence for the brutal murders of his pregnant partner and three children has received a further life term after carrying out a hammer attack on a fellow inmate.

Damien Bendall, 36, a former cage fighter, was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court for the attempted murder of Michael Mullaney at HMP Frankland, Durham. The court heard Bendall struck Mr Mullaney four times in the head with a claw hammer without warning, with the first blow to the back of his head rendering him unconscious.

Bendall had previously used a claw hammer in the horrific killings in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, in 2021, for which he received his initial whole-life tariff.

The attack in a workshop in May 2024 was so severe that a prison officer believed the victim could be dead, Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, said.

When the officer drew his baton and sounded an alarm, Bendall submitted, the court heard.

Mr Perks said: “The defendant immediately threw his hammer to one side and put his arms out to show he had stopped his assault on Mr Mullaney.”

After he was handcuffed, officers asked Bendall why he had attacked his friend, with whom he had sometimes played dominos.

Mr Perks said: “The defendant responded ‘I don’t know’.”

His victim spent four nights in the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, being treated for depressed skull fractures and bleeding on the brain.

The court heard that the severity to the blows could have been fatal.

In a victim statement made three months after the attack, Mr Mullaney said it had left him anxious, reluctant to leave his cell and struggling to sleep.

Bendall had planned the attack to engineer a move to segregation unit because he was concerned that his mental state was deteriorating, Vanessa Marshall KC, defending, said.

She said Bendall wanted to apologise to Mr Mullaney, saying: “He held no contempt for Mr Mullaney, despite what he did.

“There is evidence that they were friends and he wanted to convey his regrets and apologies.”

Judge Francis Laird KC said the sentence was life with a minimum term of 15 years, but that Bendall will never be released in any event.

He said the attempted murder was aggravated because it happened in prison and due to his “previous convictions for the most serious violent and sexual offences”.

Former cage-fighter Bendall murdered pregnant Terri Harris, 35, her children – 11-year-old Lacey and 13-year-old John Paul – and Lacey’s friend, 11-year-old Connie Gent, in Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh, Derbyshire, on September 19 2021.

He was given a whole-life order in December 2022.

He used a claw hammer to carry out the prolonged attacks at the home he shared with Ms Harris.

He also admitted to raping Lacey as she was dying.

Bendall, in a blue T-shirt and with a shaved head, watched the proceedings via a videolink from HMP Wakefield.