Court quashes Benjamin Field murder conviction in Peter Farquhar case

Benjamin Field's murder conviction in the Peter Farquhar case has been quashed, reopening one of England's most unsettling prosecutions, built on claims of manipulation, financial motive and a death that was first treated as something else. The Court of Appeal ruled on 16 April 2026 that the jury at Oxford Crown Court had not been properly directed, and that the directions it received were defective.

Field had been serving a minimum term of 36 years after his August 2019 conviction for murdering Peter Farquhar, 69, who died in October 2015 at his home in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire. At trial, prosecutors said Field pretended to be in a relationship with Farquhar so he could inherit his estate, and alleged that he secretly gave him tranquiliser drugs and spiked his whisky so the death would appear to be suicide or an accident.

The appeal court's ruling turned on the legal framework that jurors must follow before reaching a murder verdict. If the directions they receive on how to assess the evidence are flawed, an appellate court can decide the conviction cannot safely stand. That is what happened here, with judges finding that the jury instructions were not adequate.

The case also centred on Ann Moore-Martin, a vulnerable neighbour aged 83 whom prosecutors said Field had also targeted. Field was convicted of fraud and burglary relating to both victims, but he was acquitted of the attempted murder of Moore-Martin, who died of natural causes in 2017. The combination of alleged psychological control, financial exploitation and disputed medical evidence made the case unusually complex from the start.

Prosecutors may still seek permission to take the case to the Supreme Court, and Field is expected to remain in prison while that option is considered. The quashing of the murder conviction does not end the legal battle, but it does reset the most serious charge in a case that drew major public attention and later inspired the BBC drama The Sixth Commandment, with Timothy Spall as Farquhar and Éanna Hardwicke as Field.