Jay Slater’s mum has revealed what the tragic teenager’s dad said to her after being told their son’s body had been found. Debbie Duncan recalled visiting Playa de las Americas police station last year, where she and Jay‘s father, Warren Slater, were told by detectives that human remains believed to be Jay’s were discovered above a dry river bed in Tenerife.
Ms Duncan said she and Mr Slater hugged each other and cried, before he said: “At least we’ve found him”. She added that by the time they had returned to their accommodation, the discovery was “all over the news”. Nineteen-year-old Jay, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, went missing on June 17 last year after attending the NRG music festival.
After an extensive search and rescue mission, his body was found over a month later on July 15.
Jay had consumed drugs and alcohol on the eve of his disappearance. He was a 14-hour walk away from his accommodation after travelling from the festival to a remote village.
An inquest at Preston Coroner’s Court into his death concluded Jay died an “accidental death”. Lancashire and Blackburn senior coroner, Dr James Adeley, concluded Jay fell while trying to get down a ravine and suffered a fatal skull injury.
The coroner’s conclusion came after a slew of armchair conspiracy theorists spewed out bizarre and outlandish claims about what had happened to Jay, including that he had been kidnapped by drug dealers.
Ms Duncan defended her son, who she said had been “completely dehumanised”. Ahead of the airing of a Channel 4 documentary, The Disappearance of Jay Slater, she told The Sunday Times Jay was just a young lad enjoying life who went to Tenerife to have a good time.
She described a popular youngster with lots of friends who loved being around people and enjoyed playing for his local football team and listening to dance music.
It was Jay’s friend Lucy Law who first alerted Ms Duncan to her son going missing in a call to the school where she works on June 17.
Ms Duncan said her legs turned to jelly. She called the British consulate in Santa Cruz and filed a missing persons report with Lancashire Police.
She and Jay’s brother, Zak, then flew to the island where, before Ms Duncan had even left the airport, an anonymous WhatsApp message appeared on her phone, reading: “I’ll give you one warning. Your son won’t be coming back. He owes me enough f**ng G money”.
