Jay Slater detective slams Spanish police in bombshell revelation over new evidence
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas claims Spanish police ignored crucial evidence in the mysterious death of Brit teen Jay Slater.
A former detective who supported Jay Slater's family in the early days of his disappearance has made a bombshell claim — accusing Spanish police of ignoring key evidence that could have helped crack the case.
Mark Williams-Thomas, a former cop turned investigative journalist, claims Spanish authorities failed to act when he offered them a crucial audio recording linked to the 19-year-old's disappearance i n Tenerife.
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, vanished in July 2024 after a ttending the NRG music festiva l. A huge search effort unfolded across the island, lasting nearly a month, before his body was tragically discovered in a rugged national park — hours from where he was last seen with two men he had met at the festival.
Now, as an inquest into Jay's death opened at Preston Crown Court, Mr Williams-Thomas has shared his frustration in a seven-minute video, revealing the difficulties he faced dealing with Spanish authorities.
'I sent the information I had in an email,' he said. 'I told them I couldn't share the audio straight away because of how it was obtained — and because it was highly sensitive. But they never came back to me.'
He added that in some countries, police are reluctant to cooperate with members of the public, saying: 'They think they always know the answers.'
Jay's disappearance gripped headlines across the UK, and his death remains shrouded in questions. The Spanish Civil Guard previously ruled that he died from multiple injuries consistent with a fall in a remote, rocky area near Masca, reports the Mirror.
A Home Office pathologist told the inquest that Jay's body was already decomposing when it was examined. The court also heard the teen had a cocktail of drugs in his system at the time of his death.
But proceedings were dramatically halted this week after Jay's devastated mum, Debbie, asked for the inquest to be paused until several key witnesses — including Jay's friend Lucy Law, reportedly still in Tenerife — could be located and give evidence.
Adding to the ongoing intrigue, the Tenerife Airbnb where Jay spent his final hours has now changed its name in an apparent bid to distance itself from the case. Previously called Casa Abuela Tina, the two-bed property is now listed as Casa El Turrón.
In the weeks following Jay's disappearance, the remote location became a hotspot for so-called 'dark tourists' keen to visit the site where the teen was last seen alive.
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