Suspect in village death riddle was written into £500k will of ‘victim’
A MAN suspected of poisoning an elderly bachelor was one of the main beneficiaries of his will, it emerged last night.
Ben Field, 27, was given the right to live in 69-year-old Peter Farquhar’s £300,000 home in a Buckinghamshire village for as long as he wished.
He was also handed cash, jewellery and a valuable book collection as well as being given responsibility for tending his friend’s grave.
Details of the contents of the will emerged days after Mr Field and a second man were arrested on suspicion of murdering the pensioner and his 83year-old neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin.
Mr Field – a charismatic church preacher who describes himself as a lecturer in Companies House records – was appointed as one of three executors of Mr Farquhar’s will controlling his £500,000 estate weeks before his sudden death.
He was also made ‘literary executor’ and given powers over the retired English teacher’s collecand tion of unpublished manuscripts. Cambridge- educated Mr Farquhar spent three decades teaching at £ 12,000 a year Manchester Grammar School before moving to Stowe public school in Buckinghamshire and settling in the village of Maids Moreton.
He also lectured in English literature at the University of Buckingham and published several novels including A Bitter Heart.
The will sets out how Mr Field – the son of a Baptist minister – should be allowed to remain in the three-bedroom detached property in Maids Moreton after Mr Farquhar’s death.
The only condition was that he maintained it in good condition, paid the bills and ensured the contents were adequately insured.
However, it appears that Mr Field, who spoke at Mr Farquhar’s funeral, gave up his lodgings within a year before paying cash for a £97,500 flat in Towcester, Northamptonshire.
As a result, Mr Farquhar’s two young nephews appear to have benefited from the bulk of the sale of their uncle’s property. A new
‘Appointed as an executor’
unconnected family now occupy the house, which public records show they bought for £290,000 in December 2016.
The will, signed at a local solicitor’s firm on September 11, 2015, gives a fascinating insight into Mr Farquhar’s lifestyle.
Among its provisions, Mr Farquhar directed that Mr Field and others should share his extensive literary library, preferably over a meal ‘paid for by my estate’. He added: ‘Any remaining books can be offered to Stowe school library or Buckingham University library.’ The will also sets out how Mr Farquhar kept an extensive journal throughout his life which he gave to his brother and nephews.
The retired scholar insisted it should not be ‘broken up’ and that Mr Field should be appointed literary agent should it be considered for publication.
Mr Field was also bequeathed a silver wine bottle holder, gold signet ring and a vintage edition of the complete works of Charles Dickens, worth up to £700.
Detectives from Thames Valley Police continued to question Mr Field and a second man last night on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, fraud and burglary after being given another 36 hours to do so.
They are at the centre of an investigation into the deaths of Mr Farquhar and Miss Moore-Martin. It has shocked the village, where both residents were described as pillars of the community.
Mr Farquhar, a devout Christian, died unexpectedly on October 26, 2015, from ‘acute alcohol intoxication’, while Miss Moore-Martin, a retired headmistress, who lived three doors down from Mr Farquhar, died in May last year.
Police launched a fraud inquiry as she became seriously ill. They have been unable to determine what led to her death.
It is understood police were first alerted by friends at her church who suspected she was being groomed to change her will.
Mr Field and the second suspect, Martyn Smith, 31, an amateur magician, lived with Mr Farquhar, and his neighbour, rent-free after meeting him at the University of Buckingham, where both were students. Solicitor Paula Myers, a partner at Irwin Mitchell, confirmed that Mr Farquhar’s will gave Mr Field a life interest in his property.
But she said anyone convicted of killing an individual cannot benefit because it will be forfeited by the courts.
The expert on wills and probate added: ‘In that case, the gift will then pass to the other beneficiaries named in the will.’
Miss Moore-Martin, a devout Roman Catholic, made a new will just three months before her unexplained death.
In it, she appointed her sister-inlaw as executor of her £380,000 estate and asked for her body to be buried with her mother in Buckingham Cemetery.