BREAKING NEWS Jay Slater inquest begins as coroner investigates death of British teenager who went missing in Tenerife last year
An inquest into the death of British teenager Jay Slater who died while on holiday on Tenerife was opened today.
The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, died in June last year from traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height, according to a post-mortem.
The apprentice bricklayer attended the NRG music festival on the Spanish holiday island with two friends before his disappearance.
His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island, which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
He had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca after a night out but the two men said to have rented the property were later ruled not relevant to the case.
The disappearance of Mr Slater had prompted a search effort which spanned weeks and involved family members, police and volunteers.
Then on July 15, charity LBT Global revealed the body of Mr Slater had been found with his clothes and possessions near his last known location.
Members of a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard discovered the body near the village of Masca.
The force said Mr Slater could have fallen in the steep and inaccessible area where he was discovered.
His family endured conspiracy theories and 'awful comments' being posted online during the search for the apprentice bricklayer, but supporters had raised £50,000 to help fund the hunt for the teenager.
Spanish police had called off the search for the apprentice bricklayer at the end of June after helicopters, drones and search dogs were deployed to find him.
More to follow
Timeline: The search for missing teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife
Here are the key events leading up to the discovery of Jay Slater's body after the British teenager vanished in Tenerife in June 2024:
– Sunday June 16
Mr Slater attends the NRG music festival with friends at Papagayo nightclub in the tourist resort of Playa de las Americas in the south of Tenerife.
– Monday June 17
In the early hours of Monday he goes to stay in an apartment in the north of the island with people he had met over the course of the night.
– 7.30am Mr Slater posts a picture on Snapchat from the doorway of the property he stayed at overnight, tagged as being in Rural de Teno park.
– 8.30am He calls his friend, Lucy Law, telling her he had attempted to walk back to his accommodation after missing his bus – a journey that would take more than 10 hours. In the frantic last phone call, Mr Slater says he had 'cut his leg' on a cactus and had 'no idea where he was'.
Ms Law says her friend told her he was 'lost in the mountains, he wasn't aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%'. Mr Slater's phone runs out of battery shortly after with his last known location being in Rural de Teno park.
– 9.04am
He is reported missing.
– Tuesday June 18
After friends spend the previous day searching to no avail, local police and mountain rescue teams scour Rural de Teno park for Mr Slater. His family fly out to Tenerife to join the search.
– Wednesday June 19
The search is temporarily moved to the Los Cristianos area in the south of the island because of a potential lead, but this is quickly discounted and the search returns north. Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, says she feared her son had 'been taken against his will'.
– Thursday June 20
The search returns to Rural de Teno park, around the village of Masca. Emergency workers meet in various locations throughout the day, combing bushes, overgrown terrain, hillsides and rivers, but fail to find the missing teenager.
– Friday June 21
Spanish police reject an offer of support from Lancashire Constabulary as the hunt continues. Police, firefighters and search and rescue personnel comb a vast area of land in and around the village of Masca.
Search and rescue personnel carefully look through dead palm trees covering a river at the bottom of the hillside near to an Airbnb property Mr Slater had reportedly been driven to. The owner of the property tells reporters she saw Mr Slater walk up the road past her property but did not see him again after that – describing the situation as worrying.
– Saturday June 22
Mr Slater's mother issues a direct plea to her missing son on the sixth day of the hunt, saying: 'We just need you home.'
Firefighters appear to conduct the majority of the searches as they wear helmets to tackle dangerous hillside terrain in Tenerife. The search parties seem noticeably smaller compared with other days – with only a handful of emergency workers visible in the village of Masca and the surrounding areas.
– Sunday June 23
Search teams narrow their efforts on small buildings close to where Mr Slater's phone last pinged. Officers from the Guardia Civil in the Canary Island can be seen circling two structures at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park. Efforts appear to be solely focused on the one area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.
– Thursday June 27
Mr Slater's mother says she will use donations from the GoFundMe appeal set up by Ms Law, to fund her stay on Tenerife. Ms Duncan says the £36,000 raised by more than 3,200 individual donations will be used to support mountain rescue teams, and to cover her own accommodation and food costs during her extended stay on the island.
– Friday June 28
The Guardia Civil appeal for volunteer associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers who are experts in rugged terrain to assist in a 'busqueda masiva', or massive search, to take place on Saturday.
– Saturday June 29
A renewed search for Mr Slater gets under way in the village of Masca, near to his last-known location, co-ordinated to take in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.
– Sunday June 30
Spanish police call off the search for the missing teenager. A Guardia Civil spokesperson reportedly says: 'The search operation has now finished, although the case remains open.'
It is understood that Mr Slater's family and friends will stay in Tenerife to continue to look for him.
– Tuesday July 2
Ms Duncan says 'words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing' after searches fail to trace her missing son. In a statement issued through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, she says the land search for her son has been called off, but thanks the Guardia Civil who she says 'worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay's last phone call was traced'.
– Wednesday July 3
In a statement on the GoFundMe appeal Get Jay Slater Home, which had raised almost £50,000 as of this date, Ms Duncan thanks the 'vast' generosity of donors, saying her family are 'grateful for all of your support and kindness during this unimaginable time'. She writes that part of the funds will be used to support volunteers hunting for Mr Slater in the mountains near to where his last phone call was traced.
– Sunday July 14
The missing teenager's mother speaks of her 'heartache' and criticises 'awful comments and conspiracy theories' as it approaches a month since Mr Slater disappeared. In a statement released through LBT Global, Ms Duncan says: 'As we approach four weeks of our beautiful Jay's disappearance, we cannot put into words the heartache we are suffering as a family.'
Ms Duncan says the family wish to thank the public for 'their continued support and well wishes' and praises the British Embassy and police for 'doing all they can to support us'. But she also criticises 'awful comments and conspiracy theories' posted on social media, which she brands 'vile' and says were 'hindering' people trying to help locate the teenager.
– Monday July 15
A body is found in the search for Mr Slater. Charity LBT Global says that, while formal identification has not yet taken place, the remains were found with the 19-year-old's clothes and possessions near his last known location.
Members of a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard discovered the body near the village of Masca. The force says Mr Slater could have fallen in the steep and inaccessible area where the body was discovered.
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Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE On the trail of Jay Slater's 'missing mates': The five key witnesses who could hold the secrets to his death after inquest was halted... and where they are now
Jay Slater's distraught family have demanded that fellow British tourists who saw him during his final hours in Tenerife reveal what they know. The 19-year-old's body was found a month after he went missing down a ravine on a remote mountainside - and it was long hoped that an inquest would finally answer lingering questions about his death. But instead last month's long-awaited hearing into the apprentice bricklayer's death was dramatically halted after it emerged that key witnesses had not been found. The coroner told the court - including Jay's parents and other family members - that police had been unable to find the people who spent time with Jay in the hours before his death. Jay's despairing mother Debbie Duncan has said she needs answers from key witnesses. Now MailOnline has attempted to piece together where the missing witnesses might be. The missing key witnesses include Jay's friends from his hometown of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire: best mate Lucy Law, 19, as well as Bradley Hargreaves and Brandon Hodgson, both 20. While the other two of the five missing witnesses met Jay for the first time in Tenerife - Ayub Qassim, 31, and Steven 'Rocky' Roccas, who drove him back to the remote AirBnb from which he died attempting to walk back. Dr James Adeley told the hearing: 'We can't find them, they have stopped responding to phone calls.' Among those he said police had tried and failed to find was Ms Law. However Ms Law's family insisted that she was simply on holiday - on the very island where Jay had died - and was unaware that they wanted her to give evidence. Speaking at the family home in Burnley, Lucy's stepfather Andy Davis said: 'We had no idea Jay's inquest was even being held. 'The police have only just been round today to say that she was due to give evidence. But it's the first time we knew of it. 'They asked if Lucy was home and I said she was abroad and they asked me if I was aware that she should have been in court, and I said I wasn't. 'The police said they had sent Lucy paperwork with the dates on it, but the first I knew about it was when the police turned up earlier today.' The sense of farce deepened this week when MailOnline revealed that celebrity investigator Mark Williams-Thomas had managed to reach both Lucy and Ayub Qassim by telephone to interview them for his podcast. Sources within the Slater family have said they too were aware where other supposedly missing witnesses were and how to contact them - and had been able to find out easily. The family source said: 'Lucy was in Tenerife. Another supposedly untraceable witness was on holiday in Greece. If we can find this out so quickly why can't the police?' The inquest at Preston Coroner's Court also heard a suggestion that witnesses may have been reluctant to appear because drugs may have been involved - as Jay was found to have traces of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine in his body when found dead. Dr Adeley said: 'When drugs are involved in a death, the witnesses are less than forthcoming and do not wish to speak to the authorities.' A pathologist said Jay suffered severe skull and pelvis fractures consistent with falling from height. Police analysis of his iPhone found no evidence that he was 'frightened' or 'under any threat' when he travelled from the all-night rave he had attended with friends to a remote village. But mystery remains over why he set out on the fateful ten-mile walk back to the apartment where he was staying, with recreational drugs in his system and a tiny amount of charge on his phone. The five missing Britons all hold the key to finally determining what happened to Jay, his family believe. Frustrated by the Lancashire coroner's office failing to find them, Jay's mum Debbie said after the inquest: 'It's just been a really emotional day and we just want answers. 'The only people who can help are Ayub, Lucy and this Rocky guy who was there with Jay but none of them can be found.' Debbie added: 'We know Lucy is in Tenerife but that's about it. 'She goes there a lot, someone from her family has a flat there. 'It would help if she did get in touch. We just want answers. 'As for the other two we know nothing about them or where they are. 'If anyone can help please get in touch.' This is the quintet who failed to attend Jay's inquest – and how they could shed key light on the remaining unanswered questions when the hearing resumes at a date to be fixed: LUCY LAW Jay Slater had been on holiday in Tenerife with Lancashire friends Lucy Law, now 19, and Bradley Hargreaves. Ms Law - who later attended Mr Slater's funeral in August - received a call at 8.30am where Jay said he was lost, had 1 per cent charge on his phone and needed water. After the friends became separated on the last night of the NRG festival, Jay's inquest heard there were 'repeated efforts' by Ms Law – referred to on his phone as Lucy Mae – to contact him. She messaged him saying he was 'off your head' and to go back to their apartment. At 8.35am Ms Law sent him a message telling him to 'get back to wherever the f*** you just came from'. Ms Law spoke to reporters from the island as efforts to launch a search got underway. After the tragic discovery of his body she posted a heartbreaking Instagram tribute, writing: 'Always the happiest and most smiley person in the room, you was one of a kind Jay and you'll be missed more than you know. 'I'm sure you'll 'have your dancing shoes polished and ready' waiting for us all. 'We all love you buddy. Fly high.' The inquest was told that while a witness summons was issued for Ms Law, it was not served as she is currently in Tenerife. But afterwards Ms Law's family told MailOnline that she was simply on holiday and was unaware that they wanted her to give evidence. Speaking at the family home in Burnley, stepfather Andy Davis said: 'We had no idea Jay's inquest was even being held today. 'The police have only just been round today to say that she was due to give evidence. But it's the first time we knew of it. 'They asked if Lucy was home and I said she was abroad and they asked me if I was aware that she should have been in court, and I said I wasn't. 'The police said they had sent Lucy paperwork with the dates on it, but the first I knew about it was when the police turned up earlier today.' Jay's family were aware she was in Tenerife, with a source saying: 'If we can find this out so quickly why can't the police?' BRADLEY HARGREAVES Another of the teenager's friends from East Lancashire, Bradley Hargreaves was swapping messages with Jay as he attempted to walk from the remote village of Masca back to their apartment. At 6.09am on the morning of June 17, the inquest heard Jay sent his friend – also known as Bradley Geoghegan - his location as being in the village. That was followed by a seven second video an hour later showing a mountainous scene. Later that morning Josh Forshaw – the only friend who gave evidence yesterday - overheard a Facetime call between Jay and Mr Hargreaves after going to their apartment. 'He was slurring his words but he wasn't begging for help or anything,' he told the court. 'He didn't sound like he was in danger.' Mr Forshaw said Mr Hargreaves urged Jay to get a taxi back to where they were staying, but the teenager said he had no money. Jay didn't sound 'distressed or angry', he added. Speaking about the video call – believed to be one of the last times anyone spoke to Jay – Mr Hargreaves later told ITV's This Morning that his friend was walking along a gravel path. Speaking of the events that night, he said: 'What's happened is that we have split up, but he has been with people that he already knew. 'He's ended up back with them and I don't know how or what has gone on there but he's gone off and rang me halfway to their house saying I'm staying here and I'll be back the next day. 'He's rang me walking down the mountain and he just says he's walking home. 'At the time I didn't think anything of it I just thought he was going to get a bus home or a taxi home because that's what he says he is going to do.' Mr Hargreaves stayed on in Tenerife assisting the search for Jay along with his mother Rachel. After the tragic discovery of his body he posted an online tribute reading: 'Nothing be the same without you. Rest easy brother. Love you always.' The inquest heard that Mr Hargreaves – now aged 20 - had informed the coroner's office that he would be abroad this week on a holiday booked last October. BRANDON HODGSON Brandon 'Hodgey' Hodgson, 20, was pictured at a pool party at a resort on the Spanish holiday island during the second day of the NRG festival on June 15 last year - just two days before Jay vanished. Dressed in a distinctive orange T-shirt and with a bag across his chest, Mr Hodgson had his arm around the apprentice bricklayer's shoulders. The photograph also features Lucy Law, who also heard from Jay as he attempted to walk back to the resort where they were staying from the remote AirBnb. Like Jay's other friends, he was sending him messages expressing concern over his whereabouts after they became separated at the rave. At around 2.40am on June 17 a message was sent by 'Hodgey' reading: 'You need to get home.' Jay replied: 'You think I'm going home you must be disabled.' As the search intensified, Mr Hodgson's mother told Mail Online he was being subjected to a 'hate campaign'. At the family home in Brierfield, Lancashire last July, Natalie Hodgson said: 'He's liaising with the police, and that's all that matters.' The inquest was told that officers from Lancashire Police attended his address in the run-up to the hearing with a witness summons but there was no answer. It later emerged that like Jay's other friends Mr Hodgson is currently out of the country on holiday. AYUB QASSIM Ayub Qassim, 31, invited Jay back to his rented Airbnb in the mountainous Masca region after the teen had been partying at the final night of the NRG festival at Papagayo, in Playa de las Americas, around 20 miles away. The convicted drug dealer – nicknamed 'Johnny Vegas' - was one of the last people to see Jay alive after driving him back at around 5am with another friend, Steven Roccas, known as 'Rocky', on June 17 last year. The inquest heard that the Metropolitan Police attempted to serve a witness summons on Mr Qassim at his last known address. However officers were informed that he hadn't been living there for more than a year. Mr Qassim, from Barking, east London, was jailed nine years ago for being the mastermind behind a sophisticated operation to flood Wales with Class A drugs. He exchanged several WhatsApp messages with MailOnline in the weeks after Jay's death after we exclusively found him but since then has gone quiet. At the time he said 'The amount of hate I'm getting for something I haven't even done,' adding that he was a 'innocent man'. In later messages he claimed he had been receiving death threats and said:' I can hold my own but I can't fight a bullet'. Spanish detectives questioned both him and Mr Roccas at the time of Jay's disappearance but let them go after deeming them 'irrelevant' to what was then a missing person case. Speaking later on social media after Jay's body had been found Mr Qassim insisted he had no involvement in his death, saying: 'If I'm guilty then arrest me then, what are you on about? 'When you're telling the truth you don't slip up.' Asked about taking Jay back to the Airbnb, Mr Qassim said: 'No one took no-one bro. He invited himself.' Questioned by a follower 'Did you punch him' he replied: 'No, of course not. 'He had a tragic accident, you know what it's like.' During the journey to Masca, Jay sent Snapchat messages to friends saying he had stolen a high-end watch and planned to sell it for £10,000. Asked about the messages in his online chat last July, Mr Qassim said: 'No one took my watch, bro. 'Why the f*** would I invite someone who took my watch back to mine so they can sleep on the sofa, what are you on about?' In a podcast interview earlier this year Mr Qassim said he had given Jay a phone charger, a blanket, a towel and some cigarettes before he went upstairs to bed. But he said when a local awoke him shortly before 8am asking him to move his car which was blocking the road, Jay told him: 'Bro I'm going to get off.' STEVEN 'ROCKY' ROCCAS Previously known only as 'Rocky', Steven Roccas' identity was revealed for the first time at yesterday's inquest. He was renting the remote AirBnb with convicted drug dealer Mr Qassim and accompanied him on the drive back to the village with Jay who had become separated from his friends at the all-night NRG festival in Playa de las Americas. As with Mr Qassim, officers from the Metropolitan Police attempted to serve a witness summons on him in London but were told he was unknown at the address they had. Checks were made with a court at which Mr Roccas had recently appeared over an unrelated matter, and discovered he had given an address on the other side of the capital with the same street name. However officers were told that Mr Roccas had not lived there for some time. Finally the coroner's team linked business premises with Mr Roccas using an email address he had given Spanish police. But when police attended, it was shuttered and they were told it had been closed for about three years. Like Mr Qassim, he was allowed to leave the island after Spanish police ruled him out of the missing person inquiry. Mr Roccas has not spoken publicly about his involvement with Jay during his final hours, although he appeared in a social media video with Mr Qassim after his body was found. In a later podcast interview, Mr Qassim said he, Mr Roccas and Jay went for a kebab on the strip before driving back to the Airbnb where they arrived at around 6.30am-6.45am. He shared a video showing himself and Jay laughing at how Mr Roccas was slumped and asleep in the front passenger seat. 'I ended up waking him up saying 'We're back now',' he said.
The Independent
18 hours ago
- The Independent
Man arrested over shooting murder of two Scots outside Spanish bar
A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of two Scots outside an Irish pub in southern Spain. Eddie Lyons Jr and Ross Monaghan died after a gunman opened fire outside Monaghans Bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol earlier this month. On Friday, officers from Merseyside Police arrested a 44-year-old man on behalf of Spanish authorities on two counts of murder. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday for extradition proceedings and will remain in custody. A spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said a 44-year-old man was arrested on Friday 'in the Liverpool area on behalf of the Spanish authorities for two counts of murder'. 'The operation was supported by officers from the NCA's National Extradition Unit,' the spokesperson said. 'The individual appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, June 14, for the commencement of extradition proceedings. He was remanded in custody.' The attack took place around 11pm when a car pulled up outside the bar and a masked man got out before opening fire as the two men stood outside. The gunman fled in the car, and both men died at the scene. At the time, Police Scotland said the attack did not appear to be linked with a series of criminal acts by rival groups in Scotland, and that any speculation was 'not helpful' to the investigation. The statement read: 'The investigation into the fatal shootings in Fuengirola is being carried out by Spanish police. 'Police Scotland is supporting Spanish police where requested, however, at this time, we have no officers deployed within Spain. 'There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge. 'Any misinformation or speculation linking the events in Spain is not helpful to the ongoing investigations in either country. 'There is also nothing to suggest that the shooting in Fuengirola was planned from within Scotland.' Operation Portaledge is investigating a suspected gang feud linked with a number of shootings, firebombings and assaults in the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas since March. More than 40 people have been arrested in connection with the incidents.
The Independent
18 hours ago
- The Independent
Man arrested over murder of two Scots outside Spanish bar
A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of two Scots in Spain. Eddie Lyons Jr and Ross Monaghan died after a gunman opened fire outside Monaghans Bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol earlier this month. On Friday, officers from Merseyside Police arrested a 44-year-old man on behalf of Spanish authorities on two counts of murder. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday for extradition proceedings and will remain in custody. A spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said: 'On Friday June 13, officers from Merseyside Police arrested a 44-year-old man in the Liverpool area on behalf of the Spanish authorities for two counts of murder. 'The operation was supported by officers from the NCA's National Extradition Unit. 'The individual appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday June 14 for the commencement of extradition proceedings. He was remanded in custody.' The attack took place at around 11pm when a car pulled up outside the bar and a masked man got out before opening fire as the two men stood outside. The gunman fled in the car and both men died at the scene. At the time, Police Scotland said the attack did not appear to be linked with a series of criminal acts by rival groups in Scotland, and that any speculation was 'not helpful' to the investigation. The statement read: 'The investigation into the fatal shootings in Fuengirola is being carried out by Spanish police. 'Police Scotland is supporting Spanish police where requested, however, at this time we have no officers deployed within Spain. 'There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge. 'Any misinformation or speculation linking the events in Spain are not helpful to the ongoing investigations in either country. 'There is also nothing to suggest that the shooting in Fuengirola was planned from within Scotland.' Operation Portaledge is investigating a suspected gang feud linked with a number of shootings, firebombings and assaults in the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas since March. More than 40 people have been arrested in connection with the incidents.
