‘Psychopath’ church warden imprisoned for 30 years after murdering gay lover

A sadistic church warden who murdered a university lecturer following a campaign of physical and mental torture has been jailed for more than 30 years.

Benjamin Field, 28, who killed Peter Farquhar, 69, in order to inherit his house and money was given a life term with a 36-year minimum by Mr Justice Sweeney at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

Detectives branded Field a psychopath and said he would have posed an “ongoing danger to society” had he not been stopped.

Field secretly gave Mr Farquhar drugs and spiked his whisky, hoping that his eventual death at his hands would look like suicide or an accident.

It was only when the Baptist minister’s son began targeting Mrfarquhar’sneighbour,ann Moore-martin, in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, that his scheme began to unravel.

The sexually promiscuous Field also manipulated Miss Moore-martin, a devout retired headteacher, by writing messages on her mirrors purporting to be from God.

He admitted being in fraudulent relationships with the pensioners were part of his plan to get them to change their wills.

Field accepted he had “psychologically manipulated” them but denied any involvement in their deaths.

Edinburgh-born Mr Farquhar, who was torn about his sexuality because of his religion, died in October 2015 while Miss Moore-martin died in 2017 from natural causes.

Field underwent a “betrothal” ceremony with gay Mr Farquhar while also having a string of girlfriends, and was in a sexual relationship with Miss Moore-martin, who was 57 years his senior.

Prosecutors said Field had a “profound fascination in controlling and manipulating and humiliating and killing” and alleged he plotted his crimes with his friend, failed magician Martyn Smith, 33.

Field, a University of Buckingham PHD student, was a prolific writer, documenting his thoughts and activities in diaries and journals.

He had also drawn up a “100 clients” list, including his parents,which the prosecution said were future targets.

Field denied murdering the author and University of Buckingham lecturer and maintained Mr Farquhar could have died from taking his usual dose of flurazepa0m and drinking whisky.

He told the jury he had created fake relationships with Mr Farquhar and Ms Mooremartin in order to benefit financially from their deaths but had not wished them dead.

Field, of Wellingborough Road, Olney, Buckinghamshire, had pleaded guilty to defrauding Ms Mooremartin of £4,000 to buy a car and £27,000 for a dialysis machine.

He also admitted two burglaries and the two fraudulent relationships.

Field insisted he had acted alone and not recruited his young brother Tom, 24, or Mr Smith to help with the dialysis fraud.

The jury found Field not guilty of conspiracy to murder Miss Moore-martin and the alternative charge of attempted murder.

He was also found not guilty of possession of an article for the use in fraud.

Mr Smith, of Penhalvean, Redruth, Cornwall was acquitted of murder, conspiracy to murder, possession of an article for the use in fraud, two charges of fraud and one of burglary.

Field’s brother Tom, a recent Cambridge University graduate, was found not guilty of a charge of fraud.