The BBC drama charts his wicked scheme.
“I don’t think evil is too strong a word for him,” said Thames Valley Police detective Mark Glover of murderer and master manipulator Ben Field. “I do not believe he has ever shown an ounce of remorse or contrition.
“If he is sorry for anything, it is that he got caught.”
BBC true crime drama The Sixth Commandment charts the extensive abuse Field inflicted on Peter Farquhar and Anne Moore-Martin in the sleepy Buckinghamshire village of Maids Moreton.
The Baptist minister’s son, who was considering becoming a vicar, convinced both individuals to make him the main benefactor of their wills by exploiting their desire for companionship – although Moore-Martin removed his name from her will when she discovered his wicked scheme.
Both Farquhar and Moore-Martin had family and friends around them, but they were lacking the intimate connection gained from a romantic relationship. Field instantly picked up on that, using their religious faith – Farquhar was evangelical Christian, Moore-Martin was Catholic – and romantic poetry to worm his way into their lives and hearts.
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Field slowly poisoned Farquhar while living with him, encouraging him to drink alcohol regularly while sneaking drugs into his food and cups of tea. As a result, he experienced hallucinations and night terrors, which caused him to believe he was losing his mind, an especially cruel fate given he had dedicated his life to eduction – he taught English at Manchester Grammar School and the Stowe School before becoming a guest lecturer at the University of Buckingham, where he met the PhD student.
The potent cocktail of alcohol and drugs also caused him to fall over on multiple occasions, which left him with physical injuries.
There was no evidence that former headmistress and model Moore-Martin had been drugged, but she alleged that he had given her some “white powder”.
Field also subjected Farquhar and Moore-Martin to extensive gaslighting. He would hide their belongings, erase Farquhar’s phone contacts and write messages on the mirrors in Moore-Martin’s home which were addressed from God and encouraged her to give Field money.
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In 2015, a cleaner found Farquhar dead at home on his sofa. He had been suffocated by Field, but it was initially ruled as alcohol-related and, as such, accidental.
Following Farquhar’s death, Field moved in with Moore-Martin and continued with his campaign of manipulation. But after she was taken to hospital following a seizure in 2017, her niece Anne-Marie Blake contacted the police following a concerning exchange with Field.
He arrived at Moore-Martin’s home to collect some belongings and she asked him a number of questions, including (via The Bucks Herald): “Have you been taking things from my aunt’s house? Have you been accepting money from my aunt? Have you been trying to change my aunt’s will?”
Blake told the court that he answered “yes” across the board.
What happened to Ben Field?
In 2019, the 28-year-old was found guilty of murdering Farquhar, but he was cleared of conspiring to kill Moore-Martin and of her attempted murder. He had admitted to poisoning Farquhar and “psychologically manipulating” them both, but he refuted that he had been involved in their deaths.
He was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum sentence of 36 years.
It was also reported that Field had a list of 100 “clients” who, like Farquhar and Moore-Martin, he considered “useful” to him. His own parents and grandparents were on that list.
What happened to Ben Field’s friend, Martyn Smith?
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Field’s friend Martyn Smith, a magician from Cornwall, was also accused of working with him to murder Farquhar and conspiring to murder Moore-Martin. The jury were told that he was “enthralled” by Field (via BBC) and was keen to gain financially from the situation. But Smith said that he had no idea Field was in a relationship with Farquhar and was unaware that he was attempting to defraud him.
He did, however, know that Field and Moore-Martin were in relationship, describing it as “unusual but perfectly consensual”.
Smith was found not guilty of all charges.
The 32-year-old said he spoke to a counsellor for “maybe a couple of weeks” after Farquhar’s death “to process” what had happened.
“I felt I needed to talk to somebody,” he added.
During the trial he was also asked about a bottle of alcohol that he had left at Farquhar’s house when the retired teacher wasn’t drinking. Smith said he felt guilty for leaving it after being unable to fit it in his rucksack and that he blamed himself.
Field’s 24-year-old brother Tom was also cleared of one count of fraud relating to a ploy in which Field swindled £27,000 out of Moore-Martin apparently to purchase a dialysis machine for his sibling, who he claimed was seriously ill.
The Sixth Commandment will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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