A HEARTBROKEN dad whose pregnant partner and children were heinously murdered by a vile thug has said “Christmas died with them”.
Sicko Damien Bendall butchered Lacey, 11, her brother John, 13, their pregnant mum Terri Harris, 35, and their pal Connie Gent, 11, in Jason Bennett’s home.
Bendall murdered Jason’s beloved family at his Killamarsh property by striking them over their heads with a claw hammer.
But killing them was not enough.
Bendall raped little girl Lacey as she lay dying.
The monster then raped her body a second time before fleeing the scene to exchange “brave” John’s Xbox for drugs in Sheffield.
Now when Jason walks down his stairs, the banister cool on his palm with a Christmas Eve chill.
For the fifth year in a row, he does not call for his children, nor does he look for their wrapped presents lying under the Christmas tree.
Instead, Jason crosses to his mantelpiece. In place of carrots and milk lies a photo of his daughter, Lacey, and son, John.
He kisses it gently, in a specific pattern – the same way he has kissed the same photo every single day since their horrific and brutal murders.
Since the callous attack, the distraught Jason says “his “life is shattered in a billion pieces” and “Christmas died” for him.
He said the holidays often spark painful memories of the appalling attacks on the evening of September 18, 2021, causing him to replay his last call to his children – the night before their deaths – over and over in his head.
“I was on holiday down in Devon,” he said.
“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 remembers waking up the morning after their murder to find a photo of the property where Terri was staying on social media.
She wouldn’t pick up his calls, and the children would not answer.
At 7pm, after being unable to tear himself away from a pixelated image of a white tent shielding the house, Jason received a call from the police that shattered his world.
The revelation brought Jason “crumpling” to his knees, screaming and sobbing for his beautiful “angels”.
Now, spending his fifth winter without his beloved family, Jason explained that in some ways, Christmas “died” with his children that day.
Jason said: “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 look forward to all the minutiae of the special day, especially cooking Christmas Dinner.
“Oh, how I loved to cook for them”, said Jason. “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.”
Since their deaths, Jason hasn’t done many things – including cooking for his family.
Jason said: “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.”
Yet, surrounded by “amazing people,” Jason forced himself to carry on the best he could in memory of his “wonderful” son and daughter.
Jason said: “Of course it’s difficult – especially when I am not talking about them of my own accord.
“Around Christmas time – because it would have been John’s birthday – we lay flowers where they had their funeral.”
Eventually, Jason was able to return to work, supported by a “wonderful” group of his closest friends and family.
In memory of their last conversation, Jason has spent the last few years raising money for the Youth Cancer Trust in Dorset – the same charity his children had been selling sweets for all those months ago.
Recently surpassing £78,000, Jason’s efforts have included three charity football matches – the latest of which was played on the grounds of Sheffield Wednesday’s pitch earlier this year.
As time passes, Jason hopes that one day, December 25 will feel like Christmas again.
Jason remembers fondly “how lucky” he was to have spent “so many Christmases” with them: “I was – and still am – truly the luckiest father on earth to have had them.”
Monster Damien Bendall was handed a whole-life order meaning he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
He admitted to the murders of Terri Harris, her children John Paul Bennett, Lacey Bennett and her friend Connie Gent, who was staying for a sleepover.
He also admitted raping Lacey.
