Who was Peter Farquhar and what happened to him? – The Sun | The Sun
PETER Farquhar was tragically found dead at his home in October 2015.
The novelist's death wasn't initially treated as suspicious, but it later transpired that his passing was the end goal of an elaborate plan conceived by evil church warden Ben Field.
Who was Peter Farquhar?
Peter Anthony Scott Farquhar was born in Edinburgh on January 3, 1946, and was the son of a physician.
Farquhar, who used to be a lay preacher at Stowe Parish Church, was educated at Latymer Upper School in London and then Churchill College, Cambridge, where he achieved a first-class degree in English.
He went on to teach English for 34 years, firstly at Manchester Grammar School and then at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.
From 2007, Farquhar was also an occasional lecturer at Buckingham University.
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Away from his teaching career, Farquhar published three novels through Amazon, and a character in the 2013 film Believe was partly based on him during his time teaching in Manchester.
How did the novelist die?
On October 26, 2015, Farquhar died in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire.
Friends and family of the novelist said that they believed he had died in his sleep after a short illness and his death was not initially treated as suspicious.
But when his neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, 83, died in similar circumstances two years later, it sparked a double murder investigation.
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It took four years, 880 statements and an exhumation for police to discover Ben Field's awful deed.
Evil church warden Field had killed Farquhar, in order to inherit his house and money after making him believe he was going insane.
Field had also later duped Ann — who lived three doors along from Peter — into a fake relationship.
He had embarked on a “gaslighting” campaign of drugging, deceiving and defrauding Peter to get him to change his will.
In November 2014, Farquhar had changed his will, leaving his half of his house and £15,000 to Field, and appointing him his literary agent.
The court heard that evil Field "suffocated him'' and then left a half-empty bottle of whisky in his room to make it seem as though he had drunk himself to death.
During his trial, Field admitted to drugging Farquhar with benzodiazepines and hallucinogens simply to "torment" him, telling the jury that he did it "for no other reason other than it was cruel, to upset and torment Peter – purely out of meanness".
What novels did Peter Farquhar publish?
Peter published three books before he died.
The first was titled Between Boy And Man and was published in 2010.
Two years later in 2012, Farquhar published his second novel A Bitter Heart, before his final novel A Wide Wide Sea was produced in 2015.
His first novel, A Wide Wide Sea was written in 1997, but not published until 2015.
It was only published after Buckingham University students, Field and Martyn Smith, discovered the manuscript and persuaded Farquhar to publish it.
How did he know Ben Field?
Field met Peter while he was a guest lecturer at the University of Buckingham.
It later transpired that Field, who was more than four decades his junior, was Peter's toyboy lover.
As their relationship developed, they even had a church betrothal ceremony, in which they exchanged crucifix necklaces.
Officer from Thames Valley Police, Mark Glover, said: "Peter and Ben first met when, in about April 2011, when Ben was a student and Peter was a guest lecturer at Buckingham University.
"Ben's motives for befriending Peter were all about Ben Field.
"Ben saw Peter as somebody who could advance his own literary writings and ultimately it was financially driven in that Ben would get Peter to change his will to Ben's benefit."
Ben's relationship with Peter grew until he was eventually living with him full time.
Officer Glover said: "Over the course of time there was a betrothal ceremony in a church, where they kind of committed to each other, and Ben carried on living with Peter in what Peter thought was a loving relationship".
Peter's brother, Ian, said Field "callously and greedily seduced his way into my brother's life".
Where is Ben Field now?
At his trial in April 2019, Field admitted to duping both Peter and Ann into fake relationships as part of a plot to get their wills changed, but denied any involvement in their deaths.
On August 9, 2019, four years after the death of Peter, a jury found Field guilty of murder at Oxford Crown Court.
That same year, on October 18, Field was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years.
He was found not guilty of plotting to kill Ann.
While sentencing Field, Mr Justice Sweeney told him that he "lived by deception and deceit and had been a well-practised and able liar".
He added: "You further admitted how you could manipulate and manoeuvre people, however sceptical they may have been, to achieve your ends without ever asking them to do so directly."
Since then, Field has filed two appeals against his conviction, with the first being dismissed by the court of appeal.
As of 2023, Field remains behind bars.
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