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

Benjamin Field is serving a minimum of 36 years for the murder of Peter Farquhar, 69, in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, in October 2015.

At his trial in 2019, the prosecution argued that Field had spiked Mr Farquhar’s whisky with drugs to make him think he was losing his mind.

It was alleged that Field hoped to inherit Mr Farquhar’s house and money after making his death look like suicide or an accident.

The case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission last year, with Field’s lawyers telling a hearing in March that there was “no evidence” that Mr Farquhar was “forced or deceived” into taking the whisky or medication.

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, said that they would allow the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to take the “unusual case” to the Supreme Court before any retrial takes place.

The judge added that Field will remain in prison “for so long as the appeal (to the Supreme Court) is pending”.

Benjamin Field was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years. Credit: Thames Valley Police

Reading a summary of their ruling, Lord Justice Edis said the jurors at trial had “not been properly directed”, and the directions given to them on how to reach a verdict were “defective”.

He said: “The fact that the appellant secretly intended that Mr Farquhar should die did not change the act or, in law, mean that Mr Farquhar’s decision to drink whisky was not free, deliberate and informed.

“There was no evidence that the appellant had ‘administered’ the alcohol.”

He continued: “The directions effectively withdrew from the jury the question of whether Mr Farquhar’s decision to drink the whisky had been voluntary.”

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