Maids Moreton killer to appeal conviction

Benjamin Field, 34, was jailed in 2019 for the 2015 murder of Peter Farquhar

The conviction of a former church warden who was jailed for life for killing a university lecturer is to be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Benjamin Field, 34, was sentenced to serve a minimum of 37 years for the murder of Peter Farquhar, 69, in the Buckinghamshire village of Maids Moreton in October 2015.

In 2019, the prosecution argued that Field had spiked the pensioner's whisky to convince him he was losing his mind, hoping to inherit his house and money.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said it would refer the case to the Court of Appeal over a legal argument linked to whether Mr Farquhar had been tricked into drinking the whisky, or had done so willingly.

A previous attempt by Field to appeal against his conviction was rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2021, he was then denied permission to reopen that appeal the following year.

In September 2022, he applied to the CCRC to consider his case.

Field admitted to faking relationships with Peter Farquhar (left) and Ann Moore-Martin (right)

Field's crimes were the subject of a 2023 BBC drama called The Sixth Commandment, starring Timothy Spall as Mr Farquhar.

He had also targeted one of Mr Farquhar's neighbours, Ann Moore-Martin, 83, a retired headteacher who he manipulated by writing messages on her mirrors purporting to be from God.

The court heard that Mr Farquhar's drinks were topped up with bioethanol and poteen, a high strength Irish alcohol, and his food was laced with drugs.

Mr Farquhar, who was conflicted over his sexuality due to his faith, died in October 2015 while Miss Moore-Martin died of natural causes in May 2017.

Oxford Crown Court heard Field left a half-empty bottle of whisky in Mr Farquhar's room to create the misconception he had drunk himself to death, after he had "suffocated him".

Field admitted to faking relationships with both pensioners to manipulate them into altering their wills in his favour, but denied that he played a role in their deaths.