Child killer Damien Bendall is facing a new attempted murder charge after allegedly launching a brutal attack on another inmate using a claw hammer inside one of the UK’s toughest prisons.
The quadruple murderer, who is already serving a whole life sentence for killing his partner, her two children and one of their friends, is accused of ambushing a fellow prisoner at HMP Frankland in Durham.
Savage Workshop Ambush
The alleged attack took place in May last year inside a prison workshop. Bendall is said to have bludgeoned the inmate three or four times with a claw hammer, leaving him with serious head injuries and fighting for his life.
Paramedics rushed the victim to hospital, where he remained in a critical condition for days. He has since recovered, but the full extent of his injuries has not been made public.
Durham Police confirmed the charge this week and said Bendall will appear at Teesside Crown Court on May 21.
The Man Who Should Never Walk Free
Bendall, 35, was handed a rare whole life order in December 2022 for the murders of 35-year-old Terri Harris, her children Lacey, 11, and John, 13, and Lacey’s best friend Connie Gent, also 11.
The slaughter happened during a sleepover at the family’s home in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, in September 2021. Bendall used a claw hammer in that attack too — and raped Lacey as she lay dying.
Judge Mr Justice Sweeney said Bendall had committed “truly horrific” crimes that justified him dying in jail.
No Sympathy Inside or Out
Since being jailed, Bendall has become one of Britain’s most reviled inmates. A source previously said he’s been targeted behind bars and is “despised even by other killers”.
It’s not clear what sparked the latest attack, but prison insiders say Bendall has shown “no remorse” for what he did on the outside.
Lacey and John’s father Jason Bennett said: “It’s like my life has been shattered into a billion pieces. I no longer have a future. Life is empty. All I have is sadness.”
