Man to face court charged with murders of mother and three children

A 31-year-old man is due to appear in court charged with four counts of murder after a mother and three children were found dead in a house near Sheffield.

The bodies of John Paul Bennett, 13, Lacey Bennett, 11, their mother Terri Harris, 35, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, 11, were discovered at a property in Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh, on Sunday morning.

Damien Bendall, who appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court in Derby on Wednesday, is set to face a hearing at the city’s crown court.

Derbyshire Constabulary said the bodies of the four victims were found after police responded to a call about concerns for the safety of a man at the address at 7.26am.

The charges against Bendall allege that he murdered all four victims on a day between Friday September 17 and Monday September 20.

The defendant, of Chandos Crescent, is due to appear via video-link on Friday morning.