A 'cruel, calculating and evil' church warden is facing life behind bars after being convicted of murdering a former Manchester Grammar School teacher in order to inherit his house and money.
Novelist and English teacher Peter Farquhar, who was described as a 'father figure' to boys at the top independent secondary, died in 2015 aged 69.
Benjamin Field, 28, was found guilty at Oxford Crown Court of his murder, which the court heard followed a campaign of physical and mental torture.
Detectives later said Field fitted the profile of a psychopath and claimed he would have 'posed an ongoing danger to society' had he not been caught.
Mr Farquhar- a close friend of Channel 4 news political correspondent Michael Crick - was last employed as an English lecturer at the University of Buckingham, where he is remembered as a 'charming, erudite and deeply thoughtful man'.
He also taught at the public school, Stowe.
Field secretly gave Mr Farquhar drugs and spiked his whisky, hoping that his eventual death at his hands would look like suicide or an accident, the court heard.
It was only when the Baptist minister's son and church warden began targeting Mr Farquhar's neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, that his wicked scheme began to unravel.
The sexually promiscuous Field targeted Miss Moore-Martin, a deeply religious retired headteacher, by writing messages on her mirrors purporting to be from God.
He had admitted fraudulently being in relationships with the pensioners as part of his plan to get them to change their wills.
Field accepted he had 'psychologically manipulated' both retired teachers, but denied any involvement in their deaths.
Mr Farquhar, who the court heard was torn about his sexuality because of his religion, died in October, 2015, while Miss Moore-Martin passed away in May 2017 from natural causes.
Field had undergone a 'betrothal' ceremony with Mr Farquhar while also having a string of girlfriends, and was in a sexual relationship with Miss Moore-Martin, who was 57 years his senior.
Prosecutors said Field had a 'profound fascination in controlling and manipulating and humiliating and killing'.
The University of Buckingham PhD student was a prolific writer and documented his thoughts and activities in diaries and journals.
He had also drawn up a '100 clients' list, which included his parents, grandparents and brother, which the prosecution said were future targets.
Field denied murdering Mr Farquhar and maintained he could have died from taking his usual dose of flurazepam and drinking whisky.
"This murder never happened. No-one killed anyone," he told jurors.
Field told the jury he had created fake relationships with Mr Farquhar and Ms Moore-Martin in order to benefit financially from their deaths, but had not wished them dead.
"The mirror writing was all fake, the relationship was all fake and done with gain in mind," he said.
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"I have deceived absolutely everybody that I have any kind of relationship with."
He was found guilty, however, on Friday.
Field, of Wellingborough Road, Olney, Buckinghamshire, had previously pleaded guilty to defrauding Ms Moore-Martin.
He also admitted two burglaries and the two fraudulent relationships.
The jury found him not guilty of conspiracy to murder Miss Moore-Martin and the alternative charge of attempted murder.
He was also found not guilty of possession of an article for the use in fraud.
He showed no emotion as the jury forewoman returned the verdicts.
Trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney remanded him into custody to be sentenced at a later date following the preparation of a psychiatric report.
Mr Farquhar's brother, Ian, said afterwards: "Listening to the trial and hearing Ben Field give his evidence about what he did to Peter has been extremely difficult.
"His actions have been unbelievably callous, and he has told lie after lie after lie in order to achieve his goals, deceiving everyone he met.
"Ben Field is an arrogant man who has an extremely high opinion of himself. He used my brother as some kind of object to get his ends.
"All the things that were precious to Peter, Ben robbed him of. He did it all just to get some money, which we find absolutely astonishing."
Senior investigating officer Mark Glover, a retired detective chief inspector, 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.
Mr Glover said Field had taken pleasure in tormenting his victim and torturing him physically and mentally, adding: "Everything is about Ben Field and Ben Field's gain.
"Ben has never shown any remorse for what he has done, and I am convinced he is unable to show human empathy.
"Ben's arrogance led him to believe that he would literally get away with murder.
"I am convinced that had he not been stopped, he would have posed an ongoing danger to society."
It's undertood Mr Farquhar taught at Manchester Grammar School for more than 30 years until around 1982.
