Benjamin Field, a former church warden serving life for murdering university lecturer Peter Farquhar, had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal on Thursday. The three senior judges—Lord Justice Edis, Mr Justice Goose, and Mr Justice Butcher—ordered a retrial after determining that jurors were not properly directed during Field's 2019 trial.
Key Takeaways
The Court of Appeal quashed Benjamin Field's murder conviction for Peter Farquhar's death and ordered a retrial due to defective jury directions. Prosecutors can appeal to the Supreme Court before a retrial proceeds.
- The Court of Appeal quashed Benjamin Field’s murder conviction after finding jurors were not properly directed during his 2019 trial.
- Field was sentenced to at least 36 years in prison for Farquhar's death, with prosecutors claiming he spiked Farquhar’s whisky and gave him tranquilizers.
- The Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case under exceptional circumstances.
- Lord Justice Edis noted that jurors were not adequately instructed on whether Farquhar’s decision to drink whisky was voluntary.
Field was sentenced to at least 36 years in prison for Farquhar's death in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire. Prosecutors claimed he spiked Farquhar’s whisky and gave him tranquilizers, aiming to inherit his property. The Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case under exceptional circumstances.
Field's legal team argued that there was no evidence proving Farquhar was forced or deceived into consuming alcohol or medication. The judges agreed, stating jurors were not adequately instructed on whether Farquhar’s decision to drink whisky was voluntary. Lord Justice Edis noted that the directions given to the jury were defective.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) can now appeal to the Supreme Court before a retrial proceeds. Field will remain in prison during this process, as he also faces concurrent sentences for fraud and burglary offenses related to his manipulation of elderly victims. The case inspired the BBC drama Sixth Commandment, starring Timothy Spall.
Author Peter Farquhar, 69, died in his home village of Maids Moreton, on the outskirts of Buckingham, in October 2015. He had been found in his living room by his cleaner with a half-empty bottle of whisky next to him. The coroner concluded he died of acute alcohol intoxication.
In 2018, churchwarden Benjamin Field was arrested, accused of murdering the pensioner and trying to make it look like an accident or suicide. Prosecutors said he had seduced the university lecturer and then spiked his drinks in an attempt to make him feel like he was losing his mind.
Before his death, Farquhar had changed his will, giving Field a life interest in his house. When the house was sold, he split the proceeds with Farquhar's brother. Pensioner Ann Moore-Martin lived three doors down from the author. She died of natural causes in a care home in 2017.
Before Farquhar's death, Field had moved in with the 83-year-old. He later told the court this was because 'early on I saw her as someone I could benefit from'. He gave her items, such as a framed picture of his face, and she gave him thousands of pounds when he said he needed to buy a new car.
The churchwarden also wrote messages on her mirror, hoping she would believe they were messages from God. Some messages told her to leave her house to Field. In 2017, while in hospital, Moore-Martin confided in her niece about the relationship and a police investigation started.
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