Family's anger at 'lack of answers' over Northampton dad's murder in the Philippines EIGHT YEARS after his death

The family of a Northampton man who was murdered in the Philippines say they still "have no answers" eight years on.
James Bolton was murdered in his apartment in the Philippines in July 2010.James Bolton was murdered in his apartment in the Philippines in July 2010.
James Bolton was murdered in his apartment in the Philippines in July 2010.

James Bolton - formerly from Blackthorn - and his partner Melissa Madarang were found dead of gunshot wounds in his apartment in Angeles City in July 2010.

Despite this, a formal inquest into Mr Bolton's death was only held this week (September 5) - eight years after his death.

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His daughter, Jessica, has fought for nearly a decade to find answers surrounding her 50-year-old father's death. But she says she "learned nothing" from Wednesday's inquest.

James' daughter Jessica say they still have had "no answers" almost eight years after his murder.James' daughter Jessica say they still have had "no answers" almost eight years after his murder.
James' daughter Jessica say they still have had "no answers" almost eight years after his murder.

Speaking after the hearing, Jessica said: "We have so many unanswered questions that affect us on a daily basis.

"I was hoping we would finally get some answers. But today was another waste of time."

At the inquest, senior coroner Anne Pember apologised to the family and spoke of the "lack of evidence" from the Philippine foreign office.

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Filipino man Mark Dizon was arrested in 2010 accused of murdering Mr Bolton, his partner and seven other people in a two-week killing spree, but he is still awaiting trial.

Meanwhile, Jessica says her frequent calls to the Foreign Office and struggles with the British Consul in the Philippines have brought her no closure.

She said: "It's been a joke. We have had nothing. We know nothing about how he died. We've had none of his belongings back. HIs bank accounts have gone missing. We have had no help.

"The case has been passed from pillar to post, and every time I call someone new is dealing with it and has no answers.

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"We feel like we've done something wrong, like we're the criminals."

Even after Mr Bolton's death, Jessica and her family had to raise more than £10,000 in expatriation costs to bring her dad home - where they discovered the Filippino coroners had done nothing to preserve or embalm him

Jessica said: "We're still grieving. We grieve all of July, every year. We're sometimes in denial, like he'll just walk through the door someday.

"He wasn't just my father. He was my best friend."

The inquest heard how Mark Dizon was accused of nine murders on July 19 this year.

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