Hammer attack prisoner given further life sentence
Derbyshire PoliceA former cage fighter serving a whole-life sentence for murdering his pregnant partner and three children has been jailed further for a hammer attack on a fellow inmate.
Damien Bendall, 36, struck Michael Mullaney four times in the head with a claw hammer at HMP Frankland in Durham in May 2024, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The weapon was similar to the one Bendall used to kill the family in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, in 2021.
Bendall was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 15 years for the attempted murder of Mullaney, but judge Francis Laird KC said the killer would never be released.
Bendall struck Mullaney without warning over the back of the head while they were in a prison workshop, the court heard.
Mullaney fell to the floor unconscious before he was struck another three times, with the attack so severe a prison officer believed the victim could be dead, prosecutor Jolyon Perks said.
'Wanted prison move'
When the prison officer drew his baton, Bendall immediately threw his hammer away and put his arms out to show he had stopped the assault, the court heard.
After he was arrested, Bendall was asked why he had attacked his friend, who he sometimes played dominoes with.
"The defendant responded 'I don't know'," Mr Perks said.
The victim spent four nights in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and was treated for depressed skull fractures and bleeding on the brain.
In a witness statement, Mullaney said the attack had left him anxious, struggling to sleep and reluctant to leave his cell.
In mitigation, Vanessa Marshall KC said Bendall carried out the attack in the hopes of being moved to a segregation unit because he feared his mental health was deteriorating.
She said Bendall "held no contempt for Mr Mullaney" and wanted to apologise.
Judge Laird said the attempted murder was aggravated by his previous offences and because the attack happened in prison.
Bendall murdered his pregnant girlfriend Terri Harris and her children, 13-year-old John Paul and 11-year-old Lacey, along with Lacey's friend Connie Gent, 11, at their home in September 2011.
He also admitted to raping Lacey as she was dying.