Police officers praised for supporting family of murdered Ambergate student Neil Dalton

Detective Constables Sarah Adams and Sarah Fraser were praised for showing “the highest degree of sympathy and understanding” to the family of Neil Dalton in the wake of his death in 2014.

The specially-trained officers, who were appointed as family liaison officers, were presented with chief constable commendations during a ceremony at Derbyshire Constabulary’s headquarters last week.

Neil, a former Belper School pupil, was stabbed to death on the island of Borneo along with fellow Newcastle University student Aidan Brunger, from Kent. The pair, aged 22, were working at a hospital in Kuching and were just three days away from completing their six-week placement when they were attacked on August 6.

An inquest into their deaths was opened, with Detective Constables Adams and Fraser conducting a full investigation for the coroner.

Derbyshire chief constable Mick Creedon said: “Both officers have shown the highest degree of sympathy and understanding for the families, providing them with support and information they so needed.

“Not only have they performed the role of family liaison officer to the highest standard, they have carried out a thorough investigation, assisting the families in piecing together the events of that fateful night.”

Zulkipli Abdullah, a 24-year-old fishmonger, was found guilty of murdering the students by a court in Malaysia earlier this year and sentenced to death.