Jay Slater inquest resumes after final effort to trace witnesses - all you need to know

Sky News

4 days ago

An inquest into the death of teenager Jay Slater is due to resume today after being adjourned two months ago.
The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared on the Spanish island of Tenerife after attending the NRG music festival on 16 June 2024.
He was reported missing and, after an extensive search and rescue mission and significant media attention, his body was found a month later on 15 July.
An inquest into the teenager's death began in May at Preston Coroner's Court, but was adjourned the same day, to the disappointment of Mr Slater's mother Debbie Duncan.
Dr James Adeley, a senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, made the decision after a number of witnesses who had been asked to give evidence could not be traced or were unable to attend.
After making a final effort to trace key witnesses, the inquest will now resume on 23 and 24 July. Here is all you need to know.
What happened to Jay Slater?
On 17 June 2024, just days into his first holiday without his family, Mr Slater was reported missing.
The night before, he is believed to have left his friends at the Papagayo nightclub in the resort of Playa de las Americas and made an hour-long drive to a modest Airbnb in the tiny village of Masca, with two people he had met on the holiday.
Phone data reveals Mr Slater's last known location was the Rural de Teno park - a mountainous area popular with hikers.
The 19-year-old's disappearance sparked a huge 29-day search effort - with emergency services, local volunteers and Mr Slater's family combing a large mountainous area of the island searching for any trace of the teenager.
Within days, Facebook groups dedicated to the case had also been set up - with some quickly attracting hundreds of thousands of members.
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The Spanish civil guard released a statement on 15 July to say they had "located the lifeless body of a young man in the Masca area after 29 days of constant search".
What happened during the first inquest hearing?
Mr Slater's mother Debbie Duncan, stepfather and other family members gathered at the inquest in Preston Coroner's Court on 21 May.
Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said Mr Slater's injuries were "entirely consistent" with a fall from a great height and gave an official cause of death as a head injury.
"The injuries were so severe I have no doubt he would have been instantly unconscious from the moment of that blow to the head. Death could well have been instant, the injury was so severe," Dr Shepherd said.
He said there was no suggestion that the teenager had been assaulted or restrained.
Toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin said traces of MDMA and MDA, commonly known as ecstasy, along with cocaine and alcohol, were also found in Mr Slater's body.
Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson, from Lancashire Constabulary, told the court that messages from Mr Slater's friends advising him to go home were found on his phone
DCI Higson said at 8.35am on 17 June, his friend Ms Law sent him a message saying: "Before it gets boiling get back to wherever you have come from."
At 8.50am there was the last known outgoing communication from Mr Slater's phone, a 22-second call from him to Ms Law in which he is believed to have said he had cut his leg on a cactus, he was lost in the mountains and his phone battery was on 1%.
Who are the missing witnesses?
The witnesses that the court tried to trace the first time included Bradley Geoghegan, Brandon Hodgson and Lucy Law, who were all with Mr Slater in Tenerife.
At the time of the first inquest it is believed they were not in the UK and were unable to attend.
The two men who were staying at the Airbnb property Mr Slater travelled to before his disappearance - Ayub Qassim and Steven Roccas - were unable to be traced, despite summonses being issued.
Mr Slater's mother Ms Duncan told the court in May that she wanted "these people to be sat in front of us, because our son went on holiday and didn't come back, so there's questions we need to ask".
Coroner Dr Adeley said he would adjourn the inquest in an effort to find the witnesses and give Ms Duncan the "answers you want", but it remains unknown if the key witnesses will appear at the inquest on Thursday and Friday.