There can be few crimes more horrifying than the murder of a child.
But ‘sleepover killer’ Damien Bendall took the lives of two girls, a boy, his partner and her unborn child in one of the most disturbing cases in recent memory.
In December, Bendall pleaded guilty to the murder of 35-year-old Terri Harris and her children 11-year-old Lacey Bennett and 13-year-old John Paul Bennett, as well as Lacey’s 11-year-old friend Connie Gent, last year. A court heard how the 32-year-old raped Lacey as she lay dying from head wounds he inflicted with a hammer at the house in Killamarsh near Sheffield.
Ms Harris’ mother Angela Smith branded the killer a ‘monster’ in a victim impact statement, asking how he could commit such acts of violence against a woman and three defenceless children.
But Bendall is far from the UK’s only child killer. While the 1986 Babes in the Woods killings by Russell Bishop and the 1960s Moors murders by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are among the UK’s most notorious, below we look at some of the most tragic cases of more recent years.
Savannah Brockhill and Frankie Smith
Savannah Brockhill, 28, was sentenced to a minimum term of 25 years for the murder of 16-month old Star Hobson after she suffered “utterly catastrophic” injuries in her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire in September 2020.
Star’s mother and Brockhill’s former girlfriend, Frankie Smith, 20, was convicted of causing or allowing the toddler’s death and will serve eight years in prison.
Brockhill, a bouncer and security guard, was branded “pure evil” by Star’s family, who said she “ascended from the bowels of hell.”
Prosecutors described how the injuries that caused Star’s death involved extensive damage to her abdominal cavity “caused by a severe and forceful blow or blows, either in the form of punching, stamping or kicking to the abdomen”.
The jury was shown a series of clips from a CCTV camera which prosecutors said showed Brockhill deliver a total of 21 blows to Star in a car over a period of nearly three hours, some as the toddler sat in a car seat.
Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes
“Wicked” and “evil” stepmother Emma Tustin was sentenced to at least 29 years in prison after abusing, poisoning and eventually beating six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes to death.
Arthur’s father, Thomas Hughes was given 21 years for manslaughter after encouraging the killing – including sending a text message to his partner less than 24 hours before the fatal attack, instructing her to “end” his son.
The court heard in the 2021 trial how Tustin, 32, repeatedly banged Arthur’s head on a hard surface in the hours leading up to his death, after she and 29-year-old Thomas Hughes carried out a campaign of abuse, including starvation and then force-feeding him food covered in salt.
Prosecutors described the couple as “utterly ruthless, unthinking and pitiless” after details emerged about the case, including that Tustin photographed Arthur as he lay dying in the hallway of her home on Cranmore Road, Solihull.
Arthur eventually died during lockdown on 16 June 2021 from an “unsurvivable” brain injury, Coventry Crown Court was told.
Martina Madarova
Martina Madarova, 41, was jailed for the manslaughter of her five-year-old daughter Aliyah Thomas.
The court heard how the toddler begged “mummy don’t kill me,” before she was strangled to death by her mother, who was said to be struggling with ill mental health and turned to alcohol during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC told the court that Madarova had consumed two bottles of wine and told the family friend present: “She’s not there anymore, I’ve done it, I’ve failed my daughter.”
Aliyah’s last moments were then revealed after Madarova told paramedics that her daughter had said: “Mummy, don't kill me.”
She had responded: “I don’t want to kill you, I just want to help you, no baby you’re safe”, to which Alijah had replied: “No mummy, you’re killing me.”
Damien Bendall
Bendall, dubbed the “sleepover killer” told police he had committed five murders - not four - as his unborn baby was a further victim of the attacks that have sent him to prison for life.
After killing the children and his former partner, he took a taxi to Sheffield and was captured on CCTV carrying a bag, which contained 13-year-old John’s Xbox. He later traded the game console for drugs, a court heard.
He told the taxi driver that his night had been “not too bad, a bit mad”. When the driver asked what he had been doing, Bendall replied: “Just chilling with family really.”
Bendall was given a whole life order for the rape and murders at Derby Crown Court in December, meaning he will die in jail.
In an emotional victim impact statement, Lacey and John’s father Jason Bennett said: “It’s like my life has been shattered into a billion pieces, never to be repaired. I no longer have a future. Life is empty.
“All I have is sadness. The love I crave is from my beautiful kids.”
Nicola Priest and Callum Redfern
Nicola Priest, 23, subjected her three-year-old daughter Kaylee-Jayde Priest to a “severe beating” alongside her boyfriend Callum Redfern that killed the toddler.
Priest was jailed for 15-years after being found guilty of manslaughter while Redfern, 22, was jailed for 14 years.
Mr Justice Foxton QC said Kaylee-Jayde had been put to bed at about 7pm while the couple then went to have sex in Priest's bedroom. The court heard Kaylee didn’t want to go to bed prompting the pair to “lose their tempers” and beat the toddler.
Experts likened her wounds to those of a child hit by a car at 40mph, or from falling three floors onto a concrete floor. The youngster, whose body was discovered on 9 August 2020, died from serious chest and abdominal injuries.
In a text message exchange on 24 July 2020, days before the youngster's death, Priest told Redfern: “I'm gonna kill her... because she keeps leaving the living room or going in the kitchen, so I've paled [hit] her one and smacked her for [dirtying] her nappy.”
Tracey Connelly and Steven Barker
Peter Connelly, known widely as Baby P, was one of the most high-profile child abuse cases when the 17-month old was killed in his home in Tottenham, found with more than 50 injuries in August 2007.
Baby’s P’s mother Tracey Connelly, admitted causing her child’s death and prosecutors said she “sacrificed” him for her boyfriend, Steven Barker.
Barker was jailed for life with a minimum term of 10 years for raping a two-year-old girl and given a 12-year term to run concurrently over his role in Baby Peter's death. Connelly received a minimum five-year sentence.
Connelly was released from prison in July 2022 after the Parole Board rejected an appeal by the justice secretary to keep her behind bars for longer.
Mr Raab condemned the decision and said it was proof the Parole Board needed a “fundamental overhaul”. He said Connelly’s actions were “pure evil” and she should not be set free.
