Man slaughtered mum and 3 kids at sleepover before raping girl as she lay dying.
Damien Bendall, 32, has admitted murdering 35-year-old Terri Harris, her children Lacey Bennett, 11, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey’s friend, 11-year-old Connie Gent at a home in Killamarsh, Derbyshire.
He also pleaded guilty to raping Lacey in the “brutal, vicious and cruel attacks”, in which he smashed in the victims’ skulls using a claw hammer, said prosecutor Louis Mably.
The Crown’s KC detailed the “truly hideous and dreadful” aspects of the crime, including the fact Harris was murdered while carrying Bendall’s unborn child – a fact revealed by a post-mortem paternity test.
He told Mr Justice Sweeney the Crown would be seeking a whole life term for Bendall, given the gravity of the offences.
He said;
“In view of all this, the prosecution’s submission as to sentence is that the seriousness of the offending is so exceptionally high, it falls into the category of case that calls for the imposition of a whole life order, rather than a minimum term.”
Bendall had moved in around 18 months before the killings, after meeting Ms Harris online and exchanging messages. He is expected to be sentenced later on Wednesday.
