Ben Field (murderer)

Benjamin Luke Field (born 27 October 1990) is a British man who murdered retired teacher and author Peter Farquhar.[1][2][3][4]

Murder and conviction

Field was unemployed and was a voluntary and unpaid churchwarden at Stowe Parish Church. He was undergoing the discernment process preparatory to the Bishops Advisory Panel (BAP), hoping to undertake training to be a priest.[5][6]

Field was arrested in January 2018.[7] Following his arrest, psychiatrists diagnosed Field as having either narcissistic personality disorder or psychopathic personality disorder.[8][9]

On 9 August 2019, Field was convicted of the 2015 murder of author Peter Farquhar, but acquitted of the attempted murder of Farquhar's neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, who died of natural causes on 12 May 2017. As part of the same trial Field had pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and burglary against the same two victims.[10]

In October 2019, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 36 years.[11]

Appeals

Field first appealed against his conviction in March 2021. It was argued at the Court of Appeal that the trial judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, misdirected the jury over the 'chain of causation' involved in Mr Farquhar's death – specifically, whether the victim was 'tricked' by Field into drinking whisky, or had done so out of choice. The appeal was rejected.[6][12]

In January 2022 he appealed a second time against his conviction, but this was also rejected.[13][14]

In July 2023, it was reported that Field had applied for the Criminal Cases Review Commission to investigate whether to refer his case to the Court of Appeal.[6]

Restitution of funds

In August 2023, Field paid more than £124,000 to the families of Farquhar and Moore-Martin, after he was ordered to sell his flat in Towcester following a court confiscation order.[15]

The Channel 4 documentary series Catching a Killer recounted the acts of Field in the fifth instalment of the first series. The 90-minute episode, titled 'A Diary from the Grave', aired on 12 January 2020.[16]

In 2023, the circumstances surrounding Field's crimes were adapted into a BBC TV miniseries called The Sixth Commandment, with the actor Éanna Hardwicke playing Field. Timothy Spall plays Farquhar, Anne Reid plays neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, with Sheila Hancock playing another neighbour Liz Zettl.[17][18]

References

  1. ^ Black, Jo; Farncombe, Vicky (18 October 2019). "Maids Moreton: How murderer Ben Field fooled a church". BBC.
  2. ^ Black, Jo (9 August 2019). "Maids Moreton: Ben Field thought he would 'get away with it'". BBC – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ Lewis, Katy (19 July 2023). "The Sixth Commandment: The killer who duped victims into rewriting wills". BBC – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ Harrison, Ellie (18 July 2023). "What happened to Ben Field, the killer at the centre of The Sixth Commandment?". The Independent.
  5. ^ Smith, David James; Bellotti, Alex (21 July 2021). "'Killer church warden was no ordinary psychopath - as his chilling diaries show'". mirror.
  6. ^ a b c Seaward, Tom (21 July 2023). "Sixth Commandment killer Ben Field could launch fresh court appeal". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Murder inquiry: 'Church warden and magician' arrested". Sky News. 17 January 2018.
  8. ^ Seaward, Tom (14 June 2023). "Latest BBC murder drama Sixth Commandment: Who was killer Ben Field?". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  9. ^ Smith, David James; Bellotti, Alex (21 July 2021). "'Killer church warden was no ordinary psychopath - as his chilling diaries show'". mirror.
  10. ^ "Maids Moreton: Ben Field murdered author Peter Farquhar". BBC. 9 August 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Maids Moreton: Ben Field jailed for author's murder". BBC. 18 October 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ^ "Maids Moreton: Benjamin Field loses murder conviction appeal". BBC. 18 March 2021 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ^ "Maids Moreton: Benjamin Field in second bid to overturn murder conviction". BBC. 28 January 2022 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ^ Blackmore, Claire (26 July 2023). "Is Ben Field still in prison? What happened to the killer portrayed in The Sixth Commandment?". heart.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  15. ^ Lewis, Katy (21 August 2023). "Maids Moreton murderer made to sell flat to pay £124k to victims' families". BBC News. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  16. ^ Craig, David. "Catching A Killer: Viewers react to 'truly frightening' C4 documentary on Peter Farquhar's murder". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  17. ^ Biggs, Jade (17 January 2023). "Where is Ben Field – of new true crime series The Sixth Commandment – now?". Cosmopolitan.
  18. ^ Seaward, Tom (14 June 2023). "First look at BBC murder drama Sixth Commandment: Who was killer Ben Field?". Oxford Mail.