Man jailed for 37 years for murdering university lecturer has conviction quashed

Benjamin Field (left) was jailed for life in 2019 for the murder of university lecturer Peter Farquhar (right) (Picture: PA)

A church warden who was jailed for life for murdering a university lecturer has had his conviction quashed at the Court of Appeal.

Benjamin Field, 28, was found guilty in August 2019 of the murder of Peter Farquhar, 69, in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire

The prosecution in Field’s trial said he had secretly given the pensioner tranquiliser drugs and spiked his whisky as part of a plot to kill him and inherit his house and money.

However, Field’s lawyers told a Court of Appeal hearing in March that there was ‘no evidence’ Mr Farquhar was ‘forced or deceived’ into taking the whisky or medication.

Benjamin Field (right) was accused of secretly giving Peter Farquhar (left) tranquiliser drugs and spiking his whisky (Picture: PA)

In a ruling on Thursday, three senior judges quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial.

Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Butcher, also said that they would allow the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to take the ‘unusual case’ to the Supreme Court before any retrial takes place.

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