Supreme Court considers if church warden caused lecturer's death

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 12:02 · Archive

The Supreme Court is considering whether Benjamin Field could have legally caused Peter Farquhar's death by giving him whisky.

Benjamin Field, 35, was convicted in 2019 of murdering 69-year-old university lecturer Peter Farquhar in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire. Mr Farquhar died in 2015. Prosecutors alleged that Field drove Mr Farquhar to think he was losing his mind in order to inherit his house and money, secretly giving the pensioner tranquiliser drugs and spiking his whisky with the intention that his death would look like suicide or accident.

Field's conviction was quashed by appeal judges in April following a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. A retrial was ordered, but the Crown Prosecution Service was permitted to take the case to the Supreme Court first. On Tuesday, five justices considered whether Field could have legally caused Mr Farquhar to cause his own death without Field being legally responsible.

Field's lawyers told an earlier hearing in March that there was 'no evidence' that Mr Farquhar was 'forced or deceived' into taking whisky or medication. The CPS submitted that Field would not be legally responsible only if Mr Farquhar had decided to go along with Field's plan knowing full well it was intended to kill him.

How it is being reported

• Ex-church warden could not murder lecturer by giving whisky, Supreme Court toldA former church warden whose conviction for the murder of a university lecturer at an Oxford trial was overturned could not have legally caused his death by giving whisky with or without a sedative, the Supreme Court has been told.Oxfordshire Guardian · 13 Oct, 11:31
• Ex-church warden could not murder lecturer by giving whisky, Supreme Court toldA former church warden whose conviction for the murder of a university lecturer at an Oxford trial was overturned could not have legally caused his death by giving whisky with or without a sedative, the Supreme Court has been told.Oxford Mail · 13 Oct, 11:31

In this story: Benjamin Field · Peter Farquhar · Supreme Court · Maids Moreton · Buckinghamshire

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