The mother of teenager Jay Slater who was found dead in Tenerife last summer has broken down in tears at the inquest into her son’s death.
Debbie Duncan said the 19-year-old had gone on holiday and never come home, and told the hearing she still had questions that needed answers.
A number of witnesses have been asked to give evidence at the hearing at Preston Coroner’s Court but have not been traced despite extensive efforts, the court was told.
Mr Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was holidaying on the Spanish island and had been to the NRG music festival with friends at the Papagayo nightclub in the resort of Playa de las Americas on June 16 last year.
It is believed that in the early hours of the next day, a Monday, he went to an apartment with other people he had met while on holiday, then subsequently 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.
Preston Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday that traces of drugs, including cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy was found in Mr Slater’s body and pathologists concluded his death from head injuries was consistent with a fall.
But a number of friends and others who were on holiday with Mr Slater have not given evidence to the inquest.
The hearing, scheduled to last one day, was told extensive efforts including summonses had been issued for several witnesses who were in contact with Mr Slater before he disappeared.
However a number of witnesses had failed to respond and so would not be giving evidence. These included Bradley Geoghegan, Brandon Hodgson and Lucy Law, Mr Slater’s friends, who were out with him at the music festival.
And the two men who were staying at an Airbnb Mr Slater went back to before he disappeared have also not been traced.
Ms Duncan said: “How can we ever get any understanding?
“There’s things we want to question. We want 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 James Adeley, then adjourned proceedings for a short period.
Earlier, toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin told the hearing analysis of Mr Slater’s body showed traces of the presence of MDMA and MDA, commonly known as ecstasy, along with cocaine and alcohol.
Analysis of samples by the Spanish authorities also showed the presence of ketamine which was not found in the UK samples.
Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd detailed the injuries found on Mr Slater from his post-mortem examination findings.
Dr Shepherd said: “The pattern of the injuries were entirely consistent with a heavy fall, a fall from a height, landing on his head.”
Dr Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, asked the witness if, from the injuries, there was any suggestion of an assault or restraint of the teenager.
Dr Shepherd said: “That’s something I considered very carefully, something I would always look to identify.
“The pattern of the injuries when someone is assaulted or restrained is very different from the type of injuries and pattern I found with Jay.”
Dr Adeley continued: “Nothing to suggest that was the case?”
Dr Shephard said he concluded the cause of death as a head injury.
Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson, from Lancashire Police, told the hearing analysis had been done of the communications on Snapchat and location of Mr Slater’s iPhone in the period he disappeared.
She said during the evening out with friends there were messages from them to him advising him to go home as he was “off his head”.
A further message from a friend to Mr Slater read: “You need to get home lad you are off your Barnet.”
Mr Slater replied: “You think I’m going home, you must be disabled.”
Later, he sent a short video clip of him in the back of a moving vehicle.
At 7.08am Mr Slater sent a seven-second video of his surroundings outside the Airbnb holiday let in Masca.
DCI Higson said phone location data suggested Mr Slater left the property at around 7.45am.
At 8.35am his friend Lucy Law sent him a message saying: “Before it gets boiling get back to wherever you have come from,” and at 8.50am there was the last known outgoing communication from Mr Slater’s phone, a 22-second call from him to Ms Law.
Analysis of his phone battery showed he had just 3% power at 8.22am and 1% at 8.52am.
Health data recorded by the phone showed a lot of steps and activity before 8.49am but none after 8.51am, which suggested the phone battery had died.
DCI Higson said Mr Slater made reference in phone messages to being “incapacitated” and there were multiple attempts by friends to get in touch with him.
The officer added: “There is nothing at all that would suggest Jay was frightened, under any threat, scared of anybody or forced to do anything against his will.”
Statements were then read from Spanish locals, Ramon Hernandez and Juan Diaz, who were working near the holiday let Mr Slater had stayed at.
Both statements said at around 7.45am on the day Mr Slater disappeared, an “English speaking guy” carrying a half-litre bottle of Coca-Cola, approached them and asked what time the local bus arrived.
The man, later identified as Mr Slater, was told a bus came around 10am and her was advised there was no local taxi service.
They did not see him leave.
Marieke Krans from Dutch rescue charity Signi Zoekhonden, which uses dogs, said they offered to help Mr Slater’s family with the search and travelled to Tenerife on July 14.
She said on July 15 the search team went to the top of a ravine close to Mr Slater’s last known telephone location and dogs were able to pick up his scent.
She said the first part of the path was “pretty easy” to walk but it became more difficult.
Searches continued in following days, she said, and the route became more difficult as they came closer to where Mr Slater’s body was eventually found.
She said: “It’s really steep, really dangerous. There is more difference in heights, you have to climb up and down to get further. It’s really steep and rocky and the last part you need ropes to get up or down. It’s that steep.”
She said it was “easy” to lose your footing.
The rescuer said they were able to track Mr Slater’s scent all the way to where he was found and there was “no evidence” he was travelling with anyone else.
Ms Krans said by 10.30am or 11am the temperature rose quickly.
“The temperature is the most dangerous (thing) because it increases pretty fast,” she said.
She said it would take three or three and a half hours to walk to Mr Slater’s location from the holiday home where he had been seen earlier that day.
Ms Krans added: “The last hour was difficult to walk but you can get there and we did see some stream of water, so maybe he has drunk some water.”
She also told the coroner it would be “impossible” to carry someone over that terrain.
“He must have walked there himself because you can’t carry somebody down there,” Ms Krans said.
The hearing continues.
