Killamarsh murders: 'I had no idea killer was on probation', says dad of sleepover murder victim

Charlie Gent, the dad of Bendall's victim Connie Gent, who was on a sleepover at the home where Bendall was living in as part of his bail conditions, told the BBC’s File on Four radio programme, that there had been no indication anything was wrong.

The programme flagged up concerns over failings in the Probation Service, which led to Bendall being spared jail for arson in Swindon months before the murders, and being wrongly labelled by the Probation Service as a low risk to children and known adults.

Bendall, aged 33, is serving a whole-life order for the murders of Terri Harris, 35, her daughter Lacey Bennett, 11, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey's friend Connie Gent, 11, after he attacked them with a claw hammer at Terri’s home on Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh.

Mr Gent told the programme of his daughter’s murder: “It’s the one thing you dread when you have kids.

“She’d been best friends with Lacey all the way through school, so she spent the majority of the weekends at Lacey’s.

“I knew Lacey’s mum was there. I wasn’t too familiar with what males were in the house or whether she was still with her original partner, Lacey’s dad. I think in the six week holidays I asked her and she said that’s Terri’s boyfriend. I asked what he was like and Connie replied, ‘uh, alright, he’s just a man isn’t he? He laughs, he jokes’. She never indicated to me that there was anything wrong.”

He said he did not know Bendall was on probation.

‘Like living in a nightmare’

He added: “It’s been hell, like living in a nightmare you can’t wake up from. Imagine being in a supermarket a really busy place, and you lose sight of them for two minutes. That two minutes turns into five minutes. and the panic starts to draw. Imagine that feeling never going away. It’s the best way to describe it.”

Terri Harris’ former partner, Jason Bennett, father of Lacy and John, shared videos with the programme stating he could not erase the details he was given and hoped no one ever went through what his family had been through.

Justin Russell, chief inspector of probation, told the radio programme Bendall had a history of attacks against prison officers.

Bendall, who was jailed for life for murdering Terri, John, Lacey and Connie, was given a suspended jail sentence in Swindon months before he carried out the killings, after setting a car alight. Judge Jason Taylor suspended the sentence after reading a pre-sentence report from the Probation Service which stated Bendall was remorseful, had taken steps to address alcohol problems and had no arson convictions.

Mr Russell told the programme previous partners had complained about Bendall and asked for restraining orders. He said it was not unusual for the Probation Service to fail to make important domestic abuse checks with police, or checks with social services about risks to children, adding that in in nearly 50 per cent of cases a domestic abuse check was not done when inspectors thought they should have been.

The National Association of Probation Officers said the service was around 1,700 staff short and case loads were too high for current staff. General secretary Ian Lawrence, said staff needed help, and the impact on changes made to the services several years ago, which were later reversed, were still being felt.

Kim Thornton-Edwards, the new head of the Probation Service, told the programme the service saw itself as family, and it had taken time to recover from changes that were made to the services. She said it had now recovered from the effects of the pandemic and was getting back to strength. It was starting to see 2,500 new probation officers recruited, with another 1,500 to be brought in.

Probation officers ‘took it at face value’

Mr Russell told File on Four that Bendall was given a curfew even though domestic abuse checks were not done, and there had been no conversation with Terri Harris or her family to ask if it was a good idea.

He said: “They took it at face value, his assurances that he was a father figure to Terri Harris’ children, that she was quite happy for him to live with her. They didn’t track back his previous record in terms of Wiltshire Police’s concerns about his potential risk to children.

“I think if his risk had been correctly identified as high, if a curfew order had been ruled out as an inappropriate sentence, or the judge had considered custody, I think it’s certainly possible these murders would not have happened.”

When Bendall appeared in court last year, the court heard he had been convicted of robbery in Swindon in 2011 and had served three years of custody; attempted robbery and possessing a knife in Swindon from 2015 and had served three years custody; inflicting grievous bodily harm and two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Plymouth for which he received 54 months of custody.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab ordered a review of how probation staff had supervised Bendall when it emerged he had a string of convictions and a history of violence before the killings. When it was completed, making 17 recommendations for improvement, Mr Russell told reporters the case was “the most concerning” of his tenure and said the parents of Ms Harris and Connie Gent were “shocked” by the findings. A staff member was sacked.

Prisons and probation minister Damian Hinds said at the time: “These were appalling crimes. The chief probation officer has apologised to the victims' families for the unacceptable failings in this case and disciplinary action has been taken against two members of staff.

“The extra funding of £155 million a year we have put into the Probation Service is being used to recruit thousands more frontline staff and to ensure domestic abuse and child safeguarding checks are always carried out before any offender is given a curfew.

“The Probation Service has also improved information sharing with police and councils, so no family is put at such significant risk again.”