THE passing of a lecturer and author in Maids Moreton was not deemed suspicious until a second death only two months later rocked the community.
Police eventually put the puzzle pieces together and discovered the sinister truth about the deaths of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin.
What happened to Ann Moore Martin?
Ann Moore-Martin was 81 years old when she first met Ben Field, who was in his twenties, in November 2014.
Despite the age gap, the pair began a romantic relationship.
When they met, Ann did not know that her new lover had murdered her neighbour months earlier.
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Their relationship grew serious, with Ben often staying in Ann's house.
Ann had been considering moving to be nearer her family, but due to Ben's manipulative behaviour, she began to isolate herself from her relatives.
In August 2016, Ben told Ann that his brother was seriously ill and that for him to continue his studies and living at Cambridge University he needed a dialysis machine.
This was all a lie.
Ann cashed in some bonds to around £27,700 and gave it to Ben for his brother.
By November 2016, Ben's tactics to get her to change her will became more extreme.
He began writing messages from 'God' on her mirrors, eventually telling her to leave her house to Ben instead of her niece.
Sadly, Ann believed the messages were real and changed her will to include Ben as a beneficiary.
Ann became unwell toward the end of 2016 and continued to deteriorate into the new year.
She ended up in the hospital on February 4, 2017, after suffering a seizure.
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Ann's niece contacted Thames Valley Police and informed them that she believed Ben was manipulating her aunt into changing her will.
This prompted officers to begin investigating where they discovered Ben's link to Ann and Peter.
Ann realised she was being conned by Ben and ceased all contact with him and also removed him from her will.
Ann died of natural causes in May 2017, aged 83 years old.
How did Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore Martin meet Ben Field?
Ben met his first victim Peter while Peter was working as a guest lecturer at the University of Buckingham.
The pair even had a betrothal ceremony at their parish church in 2014.
That same year, Peter changed his will to include Ben, leaving his half of his house and a sum of money to Ben.
He also appointed Ben his literary agent.
Ann Moore-Martin was Peter's neighbour, and police who found Ben's list of 100 elderly 'clients' believed he was plotting to kill them all.
The list included Ben's parents, grandparents and brother.
What happened to Peter Farquhar?
Peter and Ben entered into a romantic relationship in 2014.
Over the course of their relationship, Ben manipulated Peter into changing his will to make him a beneficiary.
Their relationship came to a tragic end when Peter was discovered dead in his home on October 26, 2015.
His death was not initially believed to be suspicious, but the passing of his neighbour Ann Moore-Martin a couple of months later launched a homicide inquiry that resulted in the arrest and conviction of Ben.
Ben made Peter believe he was going insane.
According to The Sun, Ben spiked Peter's food with hallucinogenic party drug 2-CB and sedatives.
To add insult to injury, Ben filmed harrowing footage of Peter to convince doctors that Peter had dementia.
Peter also had his drinks spiked with pure alcohol, leading to loved ones believing he was an alcoholic.
Ben's evil actions towards Peter concluded with him suffocating him and then staging it to look like 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".
Where is Ben Field now?
As of July 2023, Ben Field is in prison.
Four years after Peter's death Ben was jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years after being found guilty of Peter's murder at Oxford Crown Court.
Police called Ben a psychopath and said he would have posed an "ongoing danger to society" had he not been stopped.
Ben first appealed his conviction in 2021 which was subsequently dismissed.
His last bid to have his conviction overturned was in January 2022, which was also unsuccessful.
