Benjamin Field, once jailed for life over the death of university lecturer Peter Farquhar, has had his murder conviction overturned. The church warden was accused of seducing, defrauding, and pushing 69-year-old Farquhar towards suicide before he died in Buckinghamshire in 2015.
From Locked-Up to Legal Twist
- Field received a minimum 36-year sentence in 2019 for murder.
- An inquest initially ruled Farquhar’s death as alcohol-related; police only treated it as murder two years later.
- Prosecutors said Field drugged Farquhar’s drinks to confuse him and make his death look like a suicide or an accident, all to inherit his wealth.
- Field met Farquhar in 2011 and started a relationship, eventually becoming engaged.
Fraud and Burglaries Exposed
Before the murder trial, Field admitted to burglary and fraud, having conned both Farquhar and neighbour Ann Moore-Martin into changing their wills. Moore-Martin died naturally in 2017. Field cleared of attempting to murder her. After Farquhar’s passing, Field inherited half his home and bought a flat — later sold in 2023 to pay compensation to the victims’ families. 
Conviction Quashed Over Jury Misdirection
The Criminal Cases Review Commission referred Field’s case to the Court of Appeal last year. His lawyer argued there was no proof Farquhar was coerced into taking drugs or whisky. On Thursday, senior judges quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial, ruling the jury was poorly directed. Lord Justice Edis said:
“The fact that the appellant secretly intended that Mr Farquhar should die did not change the act or, in law, mean that Mr Farquhar’s decision to drink whisky was not free, deliberate and informed.” “There was no evidence that the appellant had ‘administered’ the alcohol.” “The directions effectively withdrew from the jury the question of whether Mr Farquhar’s decision to drink the whisky had been voluntary.”
The judge told the Crown Prosecution Service to consider taking the unusual case to the Supreme Court before any retrial. Field will remain behind bars while the appeal is ongoing.
Infamous Case Sparked BBC Drama
Alongside his life sentence for murder, Field was given a 16-year concurrent prison term for fraud and burglary offences. The chilling case inspired the BBC drama The Sixth Commandment, capturing the dark story of greed and deception.
