A murderer who manipulated pensioners into changing their wills to make him the legal benefactor has finally paid the thousands of pounds he owes to the families of his victims.

Ben Field, 29, murdered Peter Farquhar, 69, after manipulating him into changing his will to make him the legal benefactor, in the village of Maids Moreton in Buckingham in October 2015.

He went on to take advantage of Ann Moore-Martin, 83, another resident of Maids Moreton, with whom he had a sexual relationship before inciting her to change her will and hand him over £30,000 outright.

Field has now paid the £124,665 he owes to the families of the two pensioners, following a criminal trial at Oxford Crown Court in 2019.

The 29-year-old reportedly suffocated Mr Farquhar with the intention of making his death look like alcohol consumption and a jury heard that he had drugged the pensioner to "torment" him prior to his death. 

Ms Moore-Martin died in May 2017 from natural causes after altering her will to benefit her family instead of Field. Before her death, the 83-year-old told her niece about her relationship with Field, leading the police to establish a connection between the three individuals.

Bucks Free Press:

Ben Field admitted his fraudulent relationships with the two pensioners during his murder trial in 2019 and was initially ordered by Oxford Crown Court to pay a total of £146,562 to the families of his victims alongside life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 36 years.

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A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police told the BBC that the order had since been "varied down" to £124,665, which was paid in full in August 2023 with funds from the sale of a flat purchased by Field with his fraudulent gains.

The shocking case was the subject of the TV drama series 'The Sixth Commandment' which starred Timothy Spall, Anne Reid and Eanna Hardwicke and aired on the BBC between July 17 and July 25.

Despite receiving rave reviews from critics, the series sparked a backlash from the community of Maids Moreton, with the local parish council branding it "premature and in poor taste".

Former Thames Valley Police detective Mark Glover, who was part of the unit that investigated Field over the death of Mr Farquhar, described the murderer as "controlling and dominating".

He added: "You are always relieved to get the conviction and that the jury has agreed with you, (but) there aren't any winners, really.

"Ben Field has gone to prison for 36 years but there are two families who are devastated. Two deceased people, one of whom he was found guilty of murdering."