UK court quashes conviction of church warden for murder, orders retrial

The Court of Appeal in the United Kingdom has quashed the conviction of Benjamin Field, a former church warden, who was jailed for life for the 2015 murder of university lecturer Peter Farquhar.

The court ordered a retrial in the case.

Field was originally sentenced in 2019 to a minimum of 36 years in prison after being found guilty of drugging Farquhar with tranquillisers and spiking his whisky to make his death appear accidental or a suicide.

The motive was reportedly to inherit Farquhar's estate in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case to the Court of Appeal under exceptional circumstances, allowing a new appeal despite no new evidence being presented.

In March, Field's lawyers argued there was no evidence that Farquhar was forced or deceived into consuming the whisky or medication.

Three senior judges-Lord Justice Edis, Mr Justice Goose, and Mr Justice Butcher-ruled that the jury had been given defective directions during the original trial.

They stated the jury was not properly directed on whether Farquhar's decision to drink the whisky was voluntary, effectively removing this question from their consideration.

The Court of Appeal's ruling emphasized that the jury should have been allowed to consider whether Farquhar's consumption was voluntary.

Consequently, the conviction was quashed and a retrial ordered.

The judges also permitted the Crown Prosecution Service to seek permission to take the case to the Supreme Court before the retrial proceeds, describing it as an "unusual case." Field will remain in custody while this process is ongoing.

During the original trial, Field was also acquitted of conspiracy to murder and attempted murder charges related to Farquhar's neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, an 83-year-old retired headteacher.

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