The Sixth Commandment: The killer who duped victims into rewriting wills

An writer was murdered successful a Buckinghamshire colony successful 2015 by a churchwarden who went connected to defraud the victim's aged neighbour. The shocking lawsuit is present being re-told successful the BBC TV play The Sixth Commandment. How was the slayer caught?

But nether the aboveground lurked a sinister crippled to dupe the susceptible by manipulating them into fake relationships and past getting them to alteration their wills.

Field is presently serving a beingness sentence for the execution of Peter Farquhar successful Maids Moreton. He was recovered not blameworthy of plotting to termination Mr Farquhar's neighbour Ann Moore-Martin but admitted defrauding her.

Both Peter Farquar and Ann Moore-Martin were religious, azygous and without children.

Peter Farquar retired arsenic Stowe School's caput of English successful 2004 and was invited to beryllium a impermanent lecturer astatine the University of Buckingham, wherever helium met pupil Field.

During the tribunal case, the assemblage heard however Mr Farquar had a wide ellipse of friends but helium was lonely and, arsenic a cheery man, helium struggled with his sexuality, regarding it arsenic incompatible with his Anglican faith.

In Field, helium thought helium had recovered idiosyncratic to emotion and turn aged with and the brace had undergone a "betrothal" ceremonial successful 2014.

Retired caput teacher, Ann Moore-Martin, lived a fewer doors distant from him.

A regular churchgoer, she was Catholic and besides had friends aplenty but was precise private. She was adjacent to her niece, truthful overmuch so, they regarded each different arsenic parent and daughter.

Miss Moore-Martin's sister-in-law said she seemed hypnotised by Field, similar "a love-struck teenager".

Field seduced some Mr Farquar and Miss Moore-Martin.

They were besotted with him and helium utilized their devotion to get them to alteration their wills.

At Field's proceedings successful 2019, it was revealed that helium had carried retired a sustained "gaslighting" crippled aimed astatine making Mr Farquhar question his sanity.

He moved things astir the location making his unfortunate irritated and confused and besides drugged his drinks and food.

Mr Farquhar was tormented by this "mystery illness" and saw a fig of doctors, but Field told wellness workers the retired lecturer was "a predominant faller" who astir apt had dementia.

Mr Farquhar changed his will, naming Field arsenic the main beneficiary and giving him a beingness involvement successful his house.

Mr Farquhar died successful 2015. He was discovered successful his surviving country by his cleaner, a fractional bare vessel of whisky beside him.

His friends thought helium had drunk himself to decease - arsenic did the coroner, who certified the origin of decease arsenic acute intoxicant intoxication.

Field, who had been introduced to Miss Moore-Martin by Mr Farquhar, past took vantage of her loneliness and they developed a intersexual relationship.

He gave her a fig of items truthful she would consciousness person to him, including a framed representation of him with the words "I americium ever with you" written successful capitals beneath his image.

She gave him £4,400 erstwhile helium lied to her astir needing a caller car and handed implicit £27,000 for a dialysis instrumentality erstwhile helium told her his younger member was earnestly sick with a kidney condition.

Field besides wrote messages connected her mirror, immoderate of which told her to permission her location to him, successful the anticipation she would judge they were messages from God.

In February 2017, Miss Moore-Martin became sick and suffered a seizure. She died successful May 2017 of earthy causes.

In February 2017, Miss Moore-Martin became sick and suffered a seizure.

It was during her infirmary enactment she confided successful her niece astir her narration with Field and the penning connected the mirrors. The constabulary became progressive and an probe started.

She reversed her volition and changed it backmost to payment her household earlier she died successful a attraction home.

The constabulary established the nexus betwixt Field, Miss Moore-Martin and Mr Farquhar and 19 months aft the latter's decease a determination was taken to exhume his body.

A 2nd post-mortem introspection established helium had consumed little intoxicant than had been thought and determination were sedatives successful his system.

Field was arrested and admitted duping some Mr Farquhar and Miss Moore-Martin into fake relationships arsenic portion of a crippled to get them to alteration their wills. But Field denied immoderate engagement successful their deaths.

Oxford Crown Court jurors heard however Mr Farquhar's drinks were spiked with bioethanol and poteen, a precocious spot Irish alcohol, portion his nutrient was laced with drugs.

He recorded successful his diary however helium was suffering nighttime terrors and hallucinations.

Prosecutors said that aft Mr Farquhar changed his volition 3 times successful 2 years to payment Field, helium "had to die".

The tribunal heard Field "suffocated him" erstwhile helium was excessively anemic to defy and near the half-empty vessel of whisky successful Mr Farquhar's country to marque it look helium had drunk himself to death.

Jurors besides heard that during Miss Moore-Martin's enactment successful hospital, Field tried to sojourn her but helium was denied entree and complained to the police. He admitted helium had made the calls to spot however overmuch the constabulary knew astir him and whether helium was successful trouble.

Field was convicted of Mr Farguhar's execution connected August 2019 aft a 10-week trial.

He had antecedently pleaded blameworthy to 4 counts of fraud relating to the fake relationships and defrauding Miss Moore-Martin. He besides admitted 2 counts of burglary.

Field was fixed a beingness condemnation with a minimum word of 36 years.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Sweeney said Field was a "well-practiced and capable liar" and a "dangerous offender".

Mark Glover, who led the Thames Valley Police probe into his crimes, summed him up: "Ben Field is each astir Ben Field and cipher else."

He said Field was "unlike immoderate different criminal" helium had encountered.

"The grade of his planning, deception and cruelty towards his victims is frankly staggering, and I bash not judge helium has ever shown an ounce of remorse oregon contrition," helium said.

"If helium is atrocious for thing it is that helium got caught."

In June 2020, a proceeds of transgression proceeding ordered Field to wage much than £146,000 to his victims' families - £123,111.26 to Mr Farquhar's household and £23,449.76 to the household of Miss Moore-Martin.

His barrister, David Jeremy QC, told the Court of Appeal the condemnation was "unsafe" arsenic the proceedings justice misdirected the jury.

The entreaty was dismissed with a written ruling saying that "the attack of the justice was correct".

"The judge's directions captured the essence of the contented successful a wide and admirably succinct manner," the ruling said.

The four-part play written by Sarah Phelps features Timothy Spall arsenic Peter Farquhar and Anne Reid arsenic Ann Moore-Martin.

She added that she "didn't privation Ben Field to beryllium the main character" and alternatively focussed connected telling "Peter and Ann's story".

"I wanted to marque it wide that their lives truly mattered earlier Ben Field came along," she said, and that it was "important that we recognize however these truly intelligent radical were deceived".

The four-part play started connected BBC One astatine 21:00 BST connected 17 July and is disposable to ticker connected BBC iPlayer.