Overview

• The Criminal Cases Review Commission said on Tuesday it is sending the case back to appeal judges to examine the legal question of consent and deception related to whisky drunk by Peter Farquhar.
• Benjamin Field was convicted at Oxford Crown Court in 2019 and is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 36 years for Farquhar’s murder.
• Prosecutors at trial argued Field covertly gave Farquhar tranquilizers and spiked his whisky to make the death appear accidental or suicidal.
• Field’s previous appeal was rejected in 2021 and a bid to reopen it was refused in March 2022 before he applied to the CCRC in September 2022.
• The case exposed Field’s manipulation of Farquhar and neighbor Ann Moore-Martin, including admitted fraudulent relationships aimed at getting them to change their wills; Moore-Martin later died of natural causes.