Police could not locate the teen’s friends
Friends and witnesses ‘could not be located’ by police to take part in the inquest into Jay Slater‘s death, despite months-long efforts of finding them.
An inquest into the 19-year-old’s death has begun at Preston Coroner’s Court, after he was found in a ravine in a national park on the island of Tenerife.
Slater went missing on 17 June 2024 after going missing after attending a music festival in Playa de las Americas.
He is known to have got into a car with two men and travelled 22 miles to an AirBnb in the remote village of Masca.
Slater’s final message was to his friend Lucy Law, whom he told that he was lost and had 1 per cent battery on his phone before the call cut out, she told BBC.
His body was discovered nearly a month later on 15 July 2024, with his cause of death being likely a severe head injury.
“The patterns of the injuries are consistent with a heavy fall from a height, landing particularly onto his head and other contacts causing the fracture to the pelvis,” Dr Richard Shepherd, a consultant forensic pathologist, told the court.
“It would be entirely consistent with the possibility of a fall down a steep slope or off a height. I think it is more likely it all occurred at or about the same time.”
Toxicology reports and Slater’s own messages say that he was under the influence of drugs, with cocaine, ketamine and MDMA all being in his system before his death.
The inquest into Slater’s death tried to summon witnesses, but not all of them could be located.
Senior coroner Dr James Adeley said a number of witnesses, including some friends who travelled with him, could not be found and were still being sought by police.
The Metropolitan Police tried to summon Ayub Qassim, who had rented the AirBnB Slater was known to have travelled to.
Qassim is understood to have not been found at the address they had on file for him.
