The Catch-up: Shocking story of how ‘cruel, calculating’ church warden murdered lecturer

What happened?

A church warden is facing life in prison for murdering a university lecturer after a cruel campaign of physical and mental torture. Benjamin Field, 28, was found guilty of killing Peter Farquhar, 69, in order to benefit from his will. His co-accused, magician Martyn Smith, 32, was found not guilty. The pair were both cleared of a charge of conspiracy to murder Mr Farquhar’s near-neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, and Field was also acquitted of her attempted murder. Field’s younger brother, Tom, 24, was found not guilty of a £27,000 dialysis machine fraud by pretending to Ms Moore-Martin that he was seriously ill.

‘Cruel, calculating, manipulative, deceitful’

Before Field killed Mr Farquhar, he manipulated his victim and subjected him to a shocking campaign of cruelty. Field began a fraudulent relationship with Mr Farquhar, who struggled with his sexuality because of his religion. Field conducted a “betrothal” ceremony with Mr Farquhar while also having a string of girlfriends, and was in a sexual relationship with Ms Moore-Martin, who was 57 years his senior.

During the deception, Field spiked Mr Farquhar’s food and drink with neat alcohol and hallucinogenic drugs, and wrote messages on Ms Moore-Martin’s mirrors purporting to be from God. Field killed Mr Farquhar by trying to make his death look like an accident or suicide and told the jury his victim could have died from taking his usual dose of flurazepam and drinking whisky. The University of Buckinghamshire graduate had admitted fraudulently being in a relationships with Mr Farquhar and Ms Moore-Martin as part of his plan to get them to change their wills.

Senior investigating officer Mark Glover said Field fitted the profile of a psychopath. “Cruel, calculating, manipulative, deceitful. I don’t think evil is too strong a word for him,” he said. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Read more

Pensioner believed messages written by lover telling her to change her will were from God (The Telegraph)

Britain's oldest court witness gives evidence over church warden and magician's 'gaslight murder plot' (The Telegraph)

Student accused of plot to kill 83-year-old lover and murdering lecturer admits interest in ‘extremes of death’ (The Independent)

Church warden who poisoned elderly lover had list of 100 other targets (The Independent)

A cathedral has constructed a 55ft-tall helterskelter in its nave - to help visitors have a unique view of its decorated roof. Visitors are being charged £2 to climb the funfair ride to get a closer look at the medieval roof and architectural features inside Norwich Cathedral, including carvings depicting biblical stories. The aim is to give people the opportunity to experience the building ‘in an entirely new way’, from the 40ft viewing platform. Some sceptics have accused Norwich Cathedral of treating God ‘like a tourist attraction’. Read the full story (Yahoo News UK) and have your say below:

First picture of hero police officer attacked with machete

A “brave” police officer who was attacked with a machete has been named. Muhammad Rodwan, 56, is charged with the attempted murder of PC Stuart Outten, 28, following the incident in east London, on Thursday. The patrol officer was attacked after he tried to stop a van suspected of having no insurance. He managed to Taser his attacker despite being slashed in the head. His family said they were “incredibly proud of the bravery Stuart showed during the incident”. Read the full story here (Independent)

Warnings of thunderstorms amid heavy downpours

Heavy downpours have swept across much of the UK with more rain to come this weekend as well as thunderstorms and gusts of 60mph. Yellow warnings for rain and wind have come into force as the unseasonable weather caused widespread disruption. Several festivals and events have already been cancelled, and motorists and commuters have also been told to avoid travelling if possible. Read the full story here (Sky News)

A Belgian zoo has welcomed the arrival of newborn giant panda twins. Pairi Daiza, in Brugelette, Belgium, said Hao Hao, a panda loaned to the park by China in 2014, has given birth to “two little ‘pink shrimps’ that are in good health and that she is taking care of with extraordinary maternal love”. The twins were born on Thursday, the eighth day of the eighth month, and the park notes that the number eight is considered lucky in Chinese culture. (PA Media)

0.2%

The pound fell sharply against the dollar and euro on Friday after new data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrunk in the second quarter of the year. The Office for National Statistics said on Friday that its initial estimate suggested UK GDP fell by 0.2% between April and June 2019. It marks the first quarterly contraction in economic activity since 2012. The contraction has fuelled fears the UK could be on the brink of tipping into a recession, which is two consecutive quarters of declining growth. Read the full story here (The Guardian)