Jason Bennett’s son John-Paul, 13, and daughter Lacey, 11, were murdered along with Lacey’s friend Connie Gent at a house in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, in 2021
Emma O’Neill Content Editor and Lyra Auld
21:33, 22 Dec 2025
Jason Bennett’s children – Lacey and John – were tragically murdered in Killamarsh(Image: Derbyshire Live)
Jason Bennett descends his staircase, the handrail cool to the touch with a Christmas Eve chill. For the fifth consecutive year, he doesn’t summon his children, nor does he search for their gift-wrapped presents nestled under the Christmas tree.
Instead, Jason moves towards his mantelpiece. Where once there would have been carrots and milk, now rests a photograph of his daughter, Lacey, and son, John.
He tenderly kisses it in a specific pattern – the same way he has kissed this very photo every day since their tragic and savage murders.
On the night of 18 September 2021, Damien Bendall brutally murdered his pregnant partner, Terri Harris, and three children at a house in Killamarsh, by bludgeoning them with a claw hammer. Terri, her daughter Lacey Bennett, aged 11, son John-Paul Bennett, aged 13, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, aged 11, were all declared dead at the scene.
But the killing wasn’t enough for Bendall. He sexually assaulted Lacey as she lay dying, and then violated her body again before fleeing the scene to trade “brave” John’s Xbox for drugs in Sheffield, reports Yorkshire Live.
Since their heartless murder, Jason has had to endure the “unthinkable”. He shared that the holiday season often triggers painful memories, causing him to replay his last phone call with his children – the night before their deaths – repeatedly in his mind.
“I was – and still am – truly the luckiest father on earth to have had them”(Image: Jason Bennett)
“I was on holiday down in Devon,” he recalled. “The evening before, I missed my daughter’s video call, but I rang her back, and I am so glad I did. The kids wanted to show me what they had spent their pocket money on.
“Lacey showed me that she and Connie had set up a stall, selling sweets to raise money for charity, and John had looked so proud of what they had done.”
Jason vividly remembers the morning after their murder, waking up to see a photo of Terri’s residence on social media. His calls went unanswered by both Terri and the children.
At 7pm, unable to pull himself away from the grainy image of a white tent concealing the house, Jason received a devastating call from the police. The news sent Jason “crumpling” to his knees, wailing and weeping for his beautiful “angels”.
Now, enduring his fifth winter without his cherished family, Jason shared that in many ways, Christmas “died” with his children that day. Jason confessed: “The first Christmas without them – because of all the pain and investigations – meant nothing to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about them; What I would have gotten them as presents or what games we would have played. I just wanted to die.”
Jason used to relish all the small details of the festive day, particularly preparing the Christmas Dinner. “Oh, how I loved to cook for them”, Jason reminisced.
“Christmas was everything. From just waking up and hearing them in the next room, to opening gifts. I cooked every Christmas Dinner, and I would make sure to buy presents that we could all join in with – whether it was games or bits for the TV.”
Following their tragic passing, Jason has refrained from doing many things – including cooking for his family. Jason confessed: “Those first two years were horrendous. I didn’t leave the house, I didn’t go to work, and I didn’t even want to live. I didn’t care about anything. I just wanted to be with them.”
Jason Bennett’s son John and daughter Lacey were tragically murdered in Killamarsh (Image: Jason Bennett)
However, bolstered by “amazing people,” Jason pushed himself to continue as best he could in honour of his “wonderful” son and daughter. Jason admitted: “Of course it’s difficult – especially when I am not talking about them of my own accord. Sometimes someone will bring them up, and the grief catches me off guard. But I have promised myself that each week, I will do a bit more and a bit more.
“I have my rituals, too. Like kissing their photo; it’s in tatters, but I don’t care. Around Christmas time – because it would have been John’s birthday – we lay flowers where they had their funeral.”
For Jason, recalling his children brings feelings not dissimilar to winter itself: stark and sorrowful, yet also strangely peaceful and treasured. Jason reflected: “To sweet Lacey, butter wouldn’t have melted. She was so polite and kind – they both were. She reminds me so much of myself. We would always play-fight and occasionally tease John, but we all got on so well.
“John would pretend to be this fiery lad, but deep down, he was loving and sensitive. He was funny – they both were. We had so many laughs together.”
In time, Jason managed to return to his job, buoyed by a “wonderful” circle of his dearest friends and relatives. Jason explained: “It’s difficult to fit in when you are feeling so fragile, and getting back to whatever ‘reality’ is, is tricky. But you can’t walk around looking miserable, and you really end up meeting lovely people eventually. Life takes on a new normal – not better, just different.”
Honouring their final chat together, Jason has dedicated recent years to fundraising for the Youth Cancer Trust in Dorset – the very same organisation his children had been raising funds for by selling sweets before their lives were tragically cut short.
Having recently exceeded £78,000, Jason’s endeavours have featured three charity football matches – the most recent taking place on Sheffield Wednesday’s ground earlier this year. As the years roll by, Jason clings to the hope that Christmas Day might one day feel festive once more.
For now, Jason confided to YorkshireLive with raw emotion that he would carry on tenderly kissing the worn photograph of his cherished children whilst reflecting warmly on “how lucky” he had been to celebrate “so many Christmases” alongside them: “I was – and still am – truly the luckiest father on earth to have had them.”
Evil Damien Bendall received a whole-life tariff, condemning him to die behind bars, after pleading guilty to murdering Terri Harris, her children John Paul Bennett, Lacey Bennett and her pal Connie Gent, who had been staying for a sleepover. He also confessed to raping Lacey.