An inquest into the death of Jay Slater whose disappearance in Tenerife sparked a massive search has heard that his friends had failed to attend to give their accounts.
Lucy Law – who received a call last June from the 19-year-old British tourist 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, a coroner revealed today.
As proceedings began, Lancashire senior coroner Dr James 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 Debbie Duncan, 55, and father Warren Slater, 58, listened in silence.
Dr Adeley also told Preston 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.
Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, had attended the NRG Festival at Papagayo, in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife on June 16 last year.
But after becoming separated from his friends following the all-night rave he went back to an AirBnB holiday cottage in the remote village of Masca with the two Britons, convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, 31, and another man.
The apprentice bricklayer was last seen alive leaving the white-washed house at around 7.30am on June 17.
Jay Slater called his friend Lucy Law (pictured together) in June last year saying he was lost
Lucy Law (above) is among those who could not be traced to give evidence, a coroner revealed
Members of Jay Slater’s family including his mother Debbie Duncan (front right) arrive at Preston Coroner’s Court in Lancashire today for the inquest into the death of the 19-year-old
The Airbnb house in Masca, Tenerife, where Jay Slater was staying before his disappearance
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 received a call at 8.30am where Mr Slater 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 Slaterwas 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 vicious rumours circulating included wild 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, she added.
However due to the length of time between Mr Slater’s death and the samples being taken she was unable to say if she 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, she added.
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.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay Slater, 19, pictured with his mother Debbie Duncan (file picture)
Jay Slater’s father Warren Slater (right) and brother Zak (left) at Preston Coroner’s Court today
A police officer overlooks Masca in Tenerife during the search for Jay Slater on June 21, 2024
Jay Slater’s brother Zak Slater arrives at Preston Coroner’s Court in Lancashire this morning
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.
Jay Slater attended the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance
Jay Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan arrives at Preston Coroner’s Court in Lancashire today
The coffin of Jay Slater ahead of his funeral in Accrington, Lancashire, on August 10, 2024, where mourners wore the colour blue in his memory
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.
