Bendall killed Terri Harris, 35, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, 11. Bendall also admitted raping Lacey during the attack, which occurred in September last year at the Killamarsh, Derbyshire, home he shared with Ms Harris. On Wednesday, the 32-year-old was sentenced to life in prison. Bendall was on probation for arson, robbery, attempted robbery, and grievous bodily harm, and was serving a 24-month suspended sentence at the time of the murders. The probation officer who assessed Bendall for sentencing in the arson case was sacked for gross misconduct after classifying him as “medium risk” rather than “high risk,” according to the Daily Telegraph. After assigning the case to a trainee, another probation officer was found guilty of misconduct. “These were appalling crimes,” a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said, “and our thoughts remain with the victims’ families.” The deputy prime minister has requested that the chief inspector of probation conduct an investigation into this case, and we will respond further once the report is published.” The review will most likely be published in the new year. “I think we have to acknowledge that such an error is just an appalling failure,” said former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland, who left the post just three days before the Killamarsh killings. The ministry must be as open and transparent as possible about what happened, and most importantly, the risk of it happening again must be reduced, if not eliminated. “Frankly, there should be processes in place that ensure various thresholds and tests are met before that type of fundamental error can occur.”