A church warden who was jailed for life for the murder of a university lecturer has had his conviction quashed at the Court of Appeal, and a retrial has been ordered. Benjamin Field, 34, was sentenced to at least 36 years in 2019 for killing 69-year-old Peter Farquhar in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire.
The prosecution had alleged that Field manipulated Farquhar into changing his will and then killed him by spiking his whisky with tranquillisers and encouraging him to drink it, making it appear as though he had drunk himself to death. However, on Thursday, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Butcher, quashed the conviction, ruling that the jury had been improperly directed.
Edis said the directions effectively withdrew from the jury the question of whether Farquhar's decision to drink the whisky had been voluntary. He noted there was no evidence that Field administered the whisky, adding: 'There is no evidence in this case that the appellant deceived Mr Farquhar with the result that he drank the whisky.'
The court also found that the jury could have convicted on the basis of smothering without sufficient evidence. Field had previously admitted two counts of burglary and three of fraud for targeting Farquhar and his neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, as part of a plan to benefit from their wills.
The Crown Prosecution Service may take the case to the Supreme Court. Field remains in prison pending any such appeal. The case was the subject of a BBC drama, The Sixth Commandment, in 2023.
