Murderer Ben Field has been described as a “hyper-intelligent, asexual loner”, by his former school friends. However, rather than use his brains for good, the vicar’s son chose the most wicked way to make a living – crime.
BBC One drama The Sixth Commandment is a four-part dramatisation of how Ben preyed on vulnerable teacher and novelist Peter Farquhar.
He manipulated him into believing he loved him, cajoled him into changing his will, gaslit him to fuel his insecurities, and subsequently murdered him. And, according to those who knew him before he turned killer, the signs of his sociopathy were perhaps always there…
Did Ben Field have any friends?
Ben Field appeared charming, and attentive to lonely Peter Farquhar, a retired teacher and novelist. However, he was actually a calculated killer, who planned to murder Peter for his money.
The church warden befriended the elderly and vulnerable for his own gain. It’s unlikely someone like Ben would ever have real friends, or meaningful relationships.
Of course, those who followed the sickening trial, will know that Ben worked alongside failed magician Martyn Smith. Although Martyn was acquitted of murder.
However, at school, Ben did have some acquaintances. But even back then, some of Ben’s behaviour raised alarm bells.
Ben Field was a ‘really dark character’
After Ben was convicted of murdering elderly novelist Peter Farquhar, the MailOnline spoke to some of the former pupils at his old school.
Some of his former school friends described “super brainy” Ben Field as “aloof” and “in love with his own intellect”. Speaking to the news website, they paint a picture of him as a loner who felt intellectually superior to everyone else. So much so, that he even mocked his own teachers during lessons.
One told the MailOnline: “Ben looks popular in the pictures, but it was all an act. He was always a loner, and had no close group of friends and was in no cliques. He had no particular friends at all, not even a best mate.
“We knew his parents were involved with the church but, other than that, nobody ever saw his family at all. He has always been so private.”
The former school pupil continued: “He was a really dark character. What you saw on the surface was completely different to who he really was. He studied maths and politics and was wildly intelligent, to the point where it would come across as arrogant, even to the teachers.
“I never knew him to have a girlfriend or to be interested in girls at all. He never seemed to have a crush on anyone and wasn’t romantically linked to anybody. There was no sign that he was gay either. I would describe him as asexual.”
Maids Moreton murderer admits he’s ‘fundamentally flawed’
During his trial, Ben Field admitted his personality was “fundamentally flawed”. He went on to say that every relationship he’d ever had, even with his own family, had been based on lies and deceit.
He explained: “I have deceived absolutely everybody that I have any kind of relationship with.”
The jury heard that Ben Field had a profound fascination with controlling, humiliating, manipulating and killing vulnerable people. He was deeply interested in suicide and euthanasia.
In an email Ben sent prior to killing Peter Farquhar, he described his victim as “a closeted, Christian, homosexual, English teaching pedant with a seriously problematic attraction to teens”.
He admitted “seeking to exploit both Peter’s vanity and his desire for companionship”. He admitted that his actions were “needlessly cruel”.
Read more: Why did Ben Field kill Peter Farquhar, and where is the Maids Moreton murderer now?
The Sixth Commandment airs from Monday, July 17, 2023 at 9pm on BBC One.
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