In September of last year, Damien Bendall murdered his pregnant partner, her two children, and their young buddy with a claw hammer.
The probation service’s handling of Damien Bendall’s case before his murder of three children and his pregnant partner will be examined formally.
Bendall killed 35-year-old Terri Harris, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her 13-year-old son John Paul Bennett, and Lacey’s 11-year-old friend Connie Gent with a claw hammer.
Bendall also acknowledged committing rape against Lacey during the attack, which occurred in September of last year in the Killamarsh, Derbyshire home he shared with Ms. Harris.
Wednesday, the 32-year-old was condemned to a life term.
When Bendall committed the killings, he was on probation for arson, robbery, attempted robbery, and grievous bodily harm and was serving a 24-month suspended sentence.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the probation officer who evaluated Bendall for punishment in the arson case was fired for gross misconduct after classifying him as “medium risk” rather than “high risk.”
After assigning the case to a trainee, another probation officer was found guilty of wrongdoing.
A Ministry of Justice official stated, “These were heinous atrocities, and our condolences are with the victims’ families.”
“The deputy prime minister has requested that the chief probation inspector review this matter, and we will provide a further comment once the results are revealed,”
The evaluation will likely be published in the new year.
Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland, who resigned just three days before the Killamarsh murders, stated, “I believe we must admit that such a mistake is an unforgivable failure.
“The ministry must be as open and honest as possible regarding the cause of the incident, and ensure that the chance of it happening again is minimized, if not eliminated.
Before this type of basic error could occur, there should be procedures in place to ensure that certain thresholds and tests are satisfied.
