Maids Moreton murder case to be filmed for BBC drama

Benjamin Field (right) was convicted last year of the murder of Peter Farquhar

A crime drama exploring the murder of an author by a churchwarden who planned to inherit his estate has been commissioned by the BBC.

Benjamin Field, 28, duped 69-year-old Peter Farquhar into a fake relationship to get him to change his will.

He was jailed for the murder of the former lecturer in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, but cleared of killing an elderly female neighbour.

The drama has been provisionally titled The Sixth Commandment.

Mr Farquhar died in the Buckinghamshire village in October 2015, while Ann Moore-Martin, 83, who lived three doors away, died in May 2017 from natural causes.

Field, a Baptist minister's son, admitted duping both Mr Farquhar and Miss Moore-Martin into fake relationships with him as part of a plot to get them to change their wills, but denied any involvement in their deaths.

During his trial at Oxford Crown Court last year, the jury heard Field had undergone a "betrothal" ceremony with Mr Farquhar and was in a sexual relationship with Miss Moore-Martin.

Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin were both lonely and vulnerable

Field carried out a sustained "gaslighting" plot aimed at making Mr Farquhar question his sanity, topping up his drinks with bioethanol and poteen, a high strength Irish alcohol, and lacing his food with drugs.

A year after he was jailed for 36 years for Mr Farquhar's murder, the BBC has announced a new drama about the death of the university lecturer and dedicated churchgoer, and his neighbour.

Field said he drugged Mr Farquhar "purely out of meanness"

Writer Sarah Phelps, who also penned the BBC adaptation of And Then There Were None, said: "This is such a shocking and brutal case - how a murderer hid his manipulation and malevolence in plain sight of a small community, how he insinuated his way into the lives of his victims."

She said it was a story of "desperate longing and loneliness" but with moments of "astonishing blazing love and courage", and that she was "honoured" to have been "trusted with the memories and experiences of Peter and Ann's families".

Executive producer Brian Woods said: "The families of both Peter and Ann agreed to support this powerful story being serialised."

The cast and filming date have not yet been announced, but he said hoped the mini-series would "raise awareness of how vulnerable those living alone can sometimes become".

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]