A deputy churchwarden has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years for the murder of an author in a plot to inherit his estate.
Benjamin Field, 28, duped 69-year-old Peter Farquhar into a fake relationship, persuading him to change his will. Mr Farquhar died in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, in October 2015. Field attempted to make the death appear accidental or a suicide, but was convicted of murder at Oxford Crown Court. He was acquitted of a separate charge of conspiring to kill Mr Farquhar's neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, 83, though the court heard he had also targeted her.
The trial heard that Field carried out a sustained "gaslighting" campaign against Mr Farquhar, spiking his drinks with bioethanol and poteen, and lacing his food with drugs. Jurors were told Field eventually suffocated the retired lecturer when he was too weak to resist, leaving a half-empty bottle of whisky in his room to suggest he had drunk himself to death.
Mr Farquhar, who taught part-time at the University of Buckingham, had three novels published. His final book, A Wide Wide Sea, was dedicated to Field, who delivered the eulogy at his funeral. Field also wrote "messages from God" on mirrors in Miss Moore-Martin's home to persuade her to change her will, and later admitted fraud and burglary charges relating to both victims.
Sentencing Field, Mr Justice Sweeney described him as a "well-practiced and able liar" and a "dangerous offender". In a statement, Mr Farquhar's brother Ian called him "a deeply malevolent and thoroughly evil man". Detective Mark Glover of Thames Valley Police said Field was "unlike any other criminal" he had encountered in 31 years, adding that he had never shown "an ounce of remorse or contrition".
