Church warden, 28, jailed for life over murder of ‘lonely’ lover, 69, after using drugs and sex to get £170k will

A DEPRAVED toyboy who seduced and murdered his “lonely” uni lecturer lover to get his hands on his cash has been caged for life.

Evil Benjamin Field, 28, spiked 69-year-old Peter Farquhar’s food with hallucinogenic drugs – leaving him a “dribbling mess”.

The baptist minister’s son then smothered the University of Buckingham lecturer and tried to make it look like he drank himself to death.

Sadistic Field even left a bottle of whiskey beside Peter’s body in a “calculating” attempt to cover up his grisly crime.

After he was arrested, police found a chilling “100 clients” list – including his parents, grandparents and brother – which the prosecution said were future targets.

Cops branded Field a psychopath and said he would have posed an “ongoing danger to society” had he not been stopped.

He has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years after being found guilty of murder at Oxford Crown Court.

Co-accused Martyn Smith, 32, was cleared of murdering the pensioner, who died in 2015.

Jurors heard how magician Smith had received £10,000 from Peter’s will, while Field took £20,000 and a further £140,000 from selling his lover’s home.

DRUGS HID IN CHOCOLATE AND TOAST

The church warden seduced the former head of English at prestigious Stowe School and “gaslighted” him into believing he was going mad.

Field hid psychoactive party drug 2-CB and sedatives in the pensioner’s chocolate and toast and filmed disturbing footage of Peter to convince doctors he had dementia.

His drinks were also spiked with pure alcohol so friends believed he was an alcoholic and he was later seen “slumped” over at a book signing.

In one harrowing video, the pensioner can be seen mumbling incoherently about being unable to get on a train at Milton Keynes Central while sitting up in bed.

‘BLACK INSECT’ HALLUCINATIONS

He says: “I feel I am so dependent. It’s such a strange world. On the one hand I actually used to be sort of competent.”

Peter suffered powerful hallucinations – including seeing “hideous black insects” and being “attacked by rays of light”.

He became convinced he had a “bad alter ego” who was committing “outrages in the night” like pulling over shelves and urinating in the laundry basket.

In a series of calls to NHS number 111, which were played at trial, Field told an operator his lover kept suffering mysterious falls.

He added: “He falls frequently because of something as yet undiagnosed, but is probably dementia.”

CHILLING MURDER PLOT

In 2014, Peter and Field exchanged knives at a betrothal ceremony, which the lecturer described as “one of the happiest moments of my life”.

The couple shared a bed but at the same time the younger man had flings with female lovers.

Field was cleared of plotting to kill religious Ann Moore-Martin, an ex-headmistress who lived three doors away from Peter.

He was said to have engaged in a sexual relationship with the 83-year-old to persuade her to sign over her will to him but the decision was reversed when her niece grew suspicious and alerted the police.

She died in 2017 from natural causes – two months after a seizure.

Field previously pleaded guilty to defrauding Ann of £4,000 to buy a car and £27,000 for a dialysis machine.

He also admitted two burglaries and the two fraudulent relationships but was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder Ann and possession of an article for the use in fraud.

Senior investigating officer Mark Glover, a retired detective chief inspector, said: “Cruel, calculating, manipulative, deceitful. I don’t think evil is too strong a word for him.

“Everything is about Ben Field and Ben Field’s gain.”