Former churchwarden jailed for murdering his university lecturer lover has his conviction quashed after appeal

A churchwarden who was jailed for life for drugging and murdering his university lecturer 'lover' has had his conviction dramatically quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Benjamin Field was jailed for at least 36 years in 2019 after being found guilty of murdering 69-year-old Peter Farquhar after 'gaslighting' him into thinking they were in a relationship in a bid to inherit his fortune.

The English literature specialist was found dead in his home in the Buckinghamshire village of Maids Moreton in October 2015, with a bottle of 60 proof whisky beside him. The case inspired BBC series Sixth Commandment starring Timothy Spall.

Field was accused of forcing Mr Farquhar to swallow alcohol and tranquilisers so he suffered what appeared to be an 'alcoholic's death', leaving him to benefit from his will after convincing him to change it.

At his trial, Field - the son of a Baptist minister - admitted he was a 'snake talker' who had duped the University of Buckingham lecturer into a fake relationship but denied killing him.

The case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission last year, with Field's lawyers telling a hearing in March that there was 'no evidence' that Mr Farquhar was 'forced or deceived' into taking the whisky or medication.

In a ruling today, three senior judges quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial - but Field will remain in prison pending a potential appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Reading a summary of their ruling, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Butcher, said the jurors at the trial had 'not been properly directed' and the directions given to them on how to reach a verdict were 'defective'.

He said: 'The directions effectively withdrew from the jury the question of whether Mr Farquhar's decision to drink the whisky had been voluntary.'

Lord Justice Edis also said the CPS could take the 'unusual case' to the Supreme Court before any retrial.

The judge added that Field will remain in prison 'for so long as the appeal (to the Supreme Court) is pending'.

During their appeal Field's lawyers argued trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney misdirected jurors on how they should consider whether Field was guilty.

David Jeremy KC said his client would have needed to force Mr Farquhar to ingest the whisky or medication to kill him but there was 'no evidence' of this.

He continued: 'Mr Farquhar knew what he was being given and knew who he was being given it by.'

Mr Jeremy argued that there was a difference between giving Mr Farquhar the drink and forcing him to ingest it, saying it would be like 'causing him to drive his car by handing him his car keys'.

He added: 'In March 2021, this court allowed its moral disapproval of what Field had done to deflect it from its duty to apply the law and upheld Field's conviction for doing something that on the evidence of that night he did not do, that is cause the death of Peter Farquhar.'

During the original trial, the court heard Mr Farquhar had been duped into a fake relationship and even gone through a 'betrothal' ceremony with Field.

The court heard Field carried out a sustained 'gaslighting' plot aimed at making Mr Farquhar question his sanity, while giving him sleeping tablets and alcohol, when Mr Farquhar was trying to abstain.

Mr Farquhar's lifeless body was discovered at his home in October 2015. An initial post-mortem put his death down to alcohol, but a later one also found the sleeping medication, which should not be taken with alcohol, in his bloodstream.

Prior to his death, the University of Buckingham lecturer had published three novels and even dedicated the final book to Field, who went on to deliver the eulogy at his funeral.

A post-mortem later put his death down to 'acute alcohol toxicity'.

Field later he turned his attention to Mr Farquhar's neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, in the village of Maids Moreton.

He gaslighted Ms Moore-Martin, a deeply religious retired headteacher, by writing messages on her mirrors purporting to be from God.

Field had admitted to fraudulently being in relationships with the pensioners as part of his plan to get them to change their wills.

He accepted he had 'psychologically manipulated' the retired teachers but denied any involvement in their deaths.

He swindled Ms Moore-Martin out of £4,000 to buy a car and £27,000 for a dialysis machine, but was acquitted of her attempted murder.

He has also paid out £124,665.03 'distributed as part of the agreed order to the victims in this case' from selling a flat which he bought with his victims' savings.

Prosecutors said Field had a 'profound fascination in controlling and manipulating and humiliating and killing' and alleged he had plotted his crimes with his friend, failed magician Martyn Smith, 33.

Field first appealed his conviction in 2021 and failed, before a bid to reopen the challenge was refused by the Court of Appeal in 2022.

Applications to the Supreme Court followed, before the CCRC became involved, referring the case back to appeal judges.

The CPS opposed the appeal, with KC David Perry claiming Field was 'not a mere bystander or a mere spectator of Mr Farquhar's death at his own hands'.

'He was, at all times, playing his part in causing the death both as a matter of common sense and as a matter of law,' the barrister said.