Jay Slater inquest is HALTED as his sobbing mother pleads for 'answers' over his death - and coroner launches bid to bring last people to see him alive to court

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

The inquest into the death of Jay Slater was halted today when his mother Debbie hit out after two British men who rented an Airbnb he went back to failed to attend.
The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared in Tenerife last summer sparking a major manhunt before he was found dead about a month later.
Mr Slater was on holiday on the island and had been to the NRG music festival with friends at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas on June 16 last year.
Early the next day, Mr Slater is thought to have gone to an Airbnb with other people he had met while on holiday, then vanished and was reported missing on June 18.
His body was found in a steep and inaccessible area by a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard near the village of Masca on July 15, 2024 – and an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court today heard he was found to have had drugs in his system.
The hearing was also told extensive efforts including summonses had been issued for several witnesses who were in contact with Mr Slater before he disappeared.
But Mr Slater's mother Debbie Duncan, 55, today made an emotional outburst after the two British men who rented the AirBnb - convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, 31, and Steven Roccas, previously known as 'Rocky'– did not attend the hearing.
She told Lancashire senior coroner Dr James Adeley: 'How can we ever get any understanding? We know he died, he had an accident.'
Sobbing, she added: 'There's things that we want to question. We want these people to be sat in front of us. Something went wrong that day, he didn't come back. There's questions we need to ask - please.'
The coroner agreed to pause proceedings so she could compose herself. He later adjourned it altogether so his staff could make further efforts to find Mr Qassim and Mr Roccas, but warned the family he was 'not confident of success'.
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.
Dr Adeley told Mr Slater's family: 'You've heard of our difficulties in finding Ayub Qassim and Steven Roccas. However in view of your distress we will make an effort to find them.'
The coroner said those of Mr Slater's friends who are currently abroad would also be provided with new summonses to attend the resumed hearing.
He asked the family to pass his office any contact details which they had for them – and the hearing would reconvene at a date to be fixed.
Earlier, the inquest was told Mr Slater had traces of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine in his body when he was found dead - and had been 'off his head on drugs'.
The hearing was also told that his friends had failed to attend to give their accounts.
Lucy Law – who received a call from the Mr Slater saying he was lost, had 1 per cent charge on his phone and needed water – is among those who could not be traced to give evidence, the coroner revealed.
As proceedings began, Dr Adeley said police had failed in attempts to contact Ms Law and several of Mr Slater's other British friends.
'We can't find them, they have stopped responding to phone calls,' he said while Mr Slater's parents Ms Duncan and father Warren Slater, 58, listened in silence.
Dr Adeley also told the coroner's court: 'When drugs are involved in a death, the witnesses are less than forthcoming and do not wish to speak to the authorities.'
The inquest also heard his severe skull and pelvis fractures were consistent with a fall from a height - and that traces of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine were in his body.
And a friend said that Mr Slater seemed to be 'off his head on drugs' the night before his death.
The apprentice bricklayer was last seen alive leaving the white-washed house in Masca at around 7.30am on June 17.
He was apparently trying to walk the 10-hour journey back to the apartment where he was staying after missing a bus back.
An immediate focus of the investigation was a post Mr Slater uploaded on Snapchat of him having a cigarette, with the location tagged at the door of the apartment at 7.30am UK time.
Then two phone calls emerged.
Ms Law - who later attended Mr Slater's funeral in August - received a call at 8.30am where he said he was lost, had 1 per cent charge on his phone and needed water.
In a video call to their other friend, Brad Hargreaves, Mr Slater was walking on rough, stony ground, saying he was making the long walk back.
His mother and father joined family and friends to comb the island for sightings.
As the mystery surrounding the teen's disappearance grew, 'vile' and 'distressing' conspiracy theories began to emerge that dogged efforts to find Mr Slater.
Among the rumours circulating included claims Mr Slater had been targeted by a criminal cartel on the island for allegedly stealing a watch from a gang member - something his family vehemently denied happened.
Tragically Mr Slater's body was found a month later in a mountainous area of the island.
He is believed to have lost his footing and fallen while desperately trying to climb through the ravine to try and return to his hotel.
A post-mortem found that he died of traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height. His death would have been instantaneous.
A forensic pathologist who examined Mr Slater's body after its repatriation to the UK said at today's inquest that injuries including severe skull and pelvis fractures were consistent from a fall from a height.
He found no sign of injuries associated with Mr Slater being assaulted prior to his death – but said his post mortem examination could not rule out the possibility that Jay had been pushed.
Dr Richard Shepherd said the injuries seen in assault victims were 'very different from the type of injuries I saw with Jay'.
The pathologist said decomposition of Mr Slater's body during the 28 days it lay at the bottom of the ravine in the hot Tenerife climate meant he could not 'exclude' the possibility of a push 'because a push would not leave a mark'.
'But with that proviso there was nothing to indicate an assault or gripping of any sort,' he added.
Dr Shepherd said the injuries caused by the fall would have caused 'instantaneous' loss of consciousness and Mr Slater would have died soon afterwards.
'Jay would undoubtedly have been unconscious and unaware,' he added.
Even with immediate specialist treatment in a neurosurgical unit, Dr Shepherd said he would be 'extremely surprised' if Mr Slater could have survived his 'severe' injuries.
The inquest also heard traces of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine were found in Mr Slater's body.
Toxicologist Dr Stephanie Martin said the length of time before Mr Slater's body was discovered meant it was impossible to carry out tests on blood or urine.
But examination of a liver sample found metabolites of MDMA and of another recreational drug MDA, as well as of cocaine.
Spanish scientists additionally tested hair and muscle samples, finding a metabolite of ketamine, Dr Martin added.
However due to the length of time between Mr Slater's death and the samples being taken, she was unable to say if he had been under the influence of drugs when he fell to his death, she said.
But he would have taken the ketamine within the previous 12 hours, Dr Martin added.
She said her analysis suggested Mr Slater had taken MDMA within one or two days before his death.
But the Spanish tests indicated that Mr Slater had used ketamine 'over a much longer period'.
The hearing was also told by one friend of Mr Slater who did give evidence about a message in which the teenager mentioned being 'thrown out' of the rave and trying to sell an expensive watch for £10,000.
Joshua Forshaw – who gave evidence by videolink - said he met Mr Slater and his friends for the first time when they flew out for the NRG festival and swapped Snapchat details.
He told the Spanish authorities that when he saw Mr Slater on June 16 – the night before his death – he seemed to be 'off his head on drugs'.
Asked how he seemed by Dr Adeley, Mr Forshaw said: 'He was quite excitable. He seemed to be in a happy mood, joyful, excited to be there.'
He assumed Mr Slater had taken ecstasy because his friend Mr Hargreaves had asked Mr Forshaw to split a tablet with him, he said.
Later that night Mr Forshaw received a Snapchat message from Mr Slater saying he had 'ended up getting thrown out' with two other people and planned to sell a watch for 'ten quid'.
Mr Forshaw said that meant £10,000 but said he never saw the watch and had no involvement in attempts to sell it.
Snapchat messages normally delete automatically, but Mr Forshaw said he saved that one and later handed it to police.
However the court was told police later accidentally deleted the image, the court heard.
The Snapchat message read: 'Yes cuz ended up getting thrown out of there me with 2 Maili kids just took an AP off some **** on way to sell it for 10 quid'.
Mr Forshaw said an AP was an expensive watch brand. The message was sent at 5.58am.
Jay Slater pictured with friend Brad Hargreaves (left), with whom he was on holiday in Tenerife
He said that later in the early morning of June 17, Mr Slater sent him another image with mountains in the background showing his top pulled up and two knives in his waistband.
At the same time through Snapchat he said Mr Slater texted him: 'I'm carrying these in case it kicks off.'
Mr Forshaw said he didn't save the image and did not mention it to the Spanish Guardia Civil before leaving Tenerife.
However he told Lancashire Police about it when he returned to the UK because it was 'the right thing to do'.
Mr Forshaw said he did not ask Mr Slater if he was OK in response to the message.
Later that morning he overheard a Facetime call between Mr Slater and his friend 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 Mr Slater to get a taxi back to where they were staying, but the teenager said he had no money.
Mr Hargreaves told Mr Slater he should either get a taxi and run off when it reached its destination, or alternatively they would pay for it, the hearing was told.
Mr Slater didn't sound 'distressed or angry', he added.
The coroner pressed Mr Forshaw on whether it was true that Mr Slater sent him an image showing knives in his waistband, reminding him that he was under oath.
'I wouldn't lie,' he said. 'I went to police off my own back.'
At the close of his evidence, Dr Adeley instructed him to provide 'proof' that 'ten quid' was 'common parlance' meaning £10,000, warning that there would be 'serious consequences' if he did not comply.
Before closing the videolink, the coroner gave him until 2pm to supply the information.
Attempts to contact the Britons with whom Jay spent his final hours via mobile phone numbers and email addresses which they gave the Spanish authorities were unsuccessful, the court heard.
Police served summonses on Ayub Qassim, who was renting the AirBnB he went back to, and fellow Briton Steven Roccas, known as Rocky, the coroner heard.
But both were unknown at the addresses in London held by police.
Witness summons were also issued for Jay's friends Josh Forshaw, Lucy Law, Brad Hargreaves and Brandon Hodgson.
Mr Forshaw responded to a summons and gave evidence, but Mr Hargreaves replied to say he would be away on holiday when the inquest was heard today, having booked the trip last October.
Ms Law is currently in Tenerife, the coroner was told, while Mr Hodgson is also understood to be abroad.
'We've been looking for them for months and we cannot find them,' Dr Adeley said. 'We really tried, we just can't find them.'
Asking about Mr Qassim and the fellow Briton whose AirBnb the teenager went back to, Mr Slater's father Warren told the coroner: 'The two people who can put some light on whatever happened to Jay aren't in court today.'
Dr Adeley said he understood his concerns.
But he said evidence from Spanish witnesses given to the Tenerife authorities due to be spelt out to the hearing would corroborate the account Mr Qassim gave at the time.
Also today, the inquest heard from two members of a Dutch search team which flew out to the island at the request of Mr Slater's family.
They said it would have taken Mr Slater about three-and-a-half hours to hike from the Airbnb in Masca to the ravine where his body was found.
Poignantly they said that from having retraced his last steps, they could appreciate why he thought he could reach the sea.
'I can imagine he thought he was going to make it,' said Signi Zoekhonden. 'He's a young guy.'
She said it was only the last hour of the route where it became 'difficult to walk', although there was a stream he could have drunk from.
But in the last 50 metres before the ravine it became necessary to use ropes and climbing equipment to proceed safely.
In addition, by 10.30am the temperature would have been rising sharply.
Statements from three locals describing Mr Slater's last known movements in the remote village were also read to the hearing.
One, Luisa Hernandez, recalled Mr Slater asking her at about 7.55am when the next bus would be, to which she responded that it was due around 10am.
Later that morning she was driving to an appointment and briefly caught sight of him walking 'at a brisk pace' along the main road.
This was the last time he was seen alive.
Detective Chief Insp Rachel Higson, head of Lancashire Police's digital media investigation unit, analysed Mr Slater's iPhone after it was returned to his family.
On June 16 it was unsuccessfully used to make payments to unknown recipients in the sums of €320 (£270) and €120 (£110).
At 9.26pm there was a message from 'Hodgey' to Mr Slater reading: 'Get that 2 ton out for me aswell bro.'
Later in the night there were 'repeated efforts' by Ms Law – referred to on his phone as Lucy Mae – to contact Mr Slater, telling him he is 'off your head' and to go back to their apartment.
At around 2.40am on June 17 a message was sent by Hodgey reading: 'You need to get home.'
Mr Slater replied: 'You think I'm going home you must be disabled.'
Then shortly before 6am Mr Slater sent an image to a different Snapchat group captioned: 'Just took a 12k rolly off some **** with this Maili kid off to get 10 quid for it now haha off my undies.'
He also sent a two-second video of himself in the back of a moving car, consistent with driving to Masca.
At 6.09am Mr Slater sent his friend Bradley his location as being in the village, followed by a seven second video an hour later showing a mountainous scene which police geolocated to Masca.
At 8.13am Mr Slater sent a WhatsApp message which could not be recovered which gave his location 1.5km from the Airbnb, approximately a 26 minute walk.
This was his last confirmed location, DCI Higson said.
At 8.35am Ms Law sent him a message telling him to 'get back to wherever the f*** you just came from' which was delivered and read.
The last contact was a Snapchat call with a contact called 'Luce' at 8.55am.
Police analysed the phone's battery health and established that at 8.27am that morning it was on 3 per cent, declining to 2 per cent by 8.33am and 1 per cent at 8.52am.
The phone also showed strenuous activity including ascending 'inclines' between 7.49am and 8.49am but nothing after that – consistent with the phone running out of charge.
DCI Higson said the messages over the night fitted with Jay's friends being 'concerned about his state' due to his being 'incapacitated'.
Analysis of the phone battery, location and activity data were 'consistent' with what witnesses had said and where he was last seen, she added.
'Having read all the messages there's nothing at all to suggest Jay was frightened, that he was under any threat, that he was scared of anybody, that he was forced to do anything against his will.'
The detective said there was no other reference from analysis of his phone to a stolen watch or Jay trying to sell it, or evidence that it ever existed.
She confirmed that 'AP' could refer to the high-end Audemars Piguet watch brand while 'Rolly' was likely to mean a Rolex.
DCI Higson told the coroner that 'ten quid' was widely used in East Lancashire where Mr Slater lived to mean £10,000.
Earlier witness Mr Forshaw told the coroner this was his understanding of the phrase 'ten quid' but he had no way of knowing that this was what Mr Slater meant in his message.
In August, hundreds gathered in Accrington to bid a final farewell at his funeral, as his coffin was laid to rest amid an encore of drum-and-bass music.
During their eulogies, friends recalled Mr Slaters 'buzzing and smiling' demeanour and told their late schoolmate to 'keep partying hard up there'.
His parents led the procession of mourners through the drizzle on August 10 to the service at the packed Accrington Crematorium Chapel, while many more watched on an outdoor screen.
On November 21, a GoFundMe page titled Get Jay Slater Home was closed after it had received £72,821 worth of donations.
In a final post on the page, Mr Slater's family said they had been able to give a 'truly deserved… send-off' at his funeral.
They also explained how the donations were spent, which included hiring a search team from the Dutch non-profit organisation Signi Zoekhonden and paying for their stay in Tenerife while they searched for the teenager's body.
The same coroner also presided over the inquest into the death of mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, who went missing while walking her dog after dropping her children off at school in in St Michael's-on-Wyre, Lancashire, in January 2023.
Her disappearance also provoked a storm of attention on social media with TikTok sleuths sharing outlandish theories.
The 45-year-old's body was found in the River Wyre three weeks later after a huge search effort which sparked global headlines.
Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, later ruled that Ms Bulley's death was accidental and that she did not have 'any desire' to take her own life.
That hearing took place amid tight security at County Hall in Preston, with members of the public who attended subjected to searches and warned against disrupting proceedings.
By contrast, Mr Slater's inquest is being held at Preston Coroner's Court.