Mother seeks answers after her son's tragic fall in Tenerife

Debbie Duncan, the grieving mother of Lancashire teenager Jay Slater, is finding it hard to accept his tragic death in Tenerife last month and is struggling to understand his final actions before his demise.

Jay, a 19-year-old bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, disappeared on 17 June 2024. He left a party on the island and attempted to walk back to his accommodation with two new acquaintances who accompanied him for ten hours.

It is believed that Jay underestimated the height and fell to his death. An autopsy revealed that he died of traumatic head injuries consistent with a fall from a great height.

Despite these findings, Debbie questions several aspects of Jay's actions that led to his death in Tenerife, making it difficult for her to understand his decisions.

Debbie was confused by Jay's decision to get into a car with two older men and drive to their remote Airbnb after attending a music festival. She also questioned why he left the apartment the next morning without charging his phone, suggesting he may have felt unsafe.

In an emotional interview, Debbie said: “I don't know what he was thinking, going with those two guys. I really don't know. I can't understand why he didn't just go back to his friends and go with them. We don't think he knew where he was going. And it was dark. I just don't think he even thought about it or knew which direction he was going.”

Debbie reflected on Jay's possible fear as he left the apartment, adding, “This thought crossed my mind. Jay wasn't going to let his phone run out of battery. If he had access to a phone charger, that would be the first thing he would do. So why didn't he want to be there? Why didn't he want to hang around to charge his phone? One of these guys had said he gave him a charger, but why didn't he charge his phone?”

Ayub Quassim, one of the men accompanying Jay, had booked the Airbnb under a false name but stated: “Jay came into the house alive and left alive.” Spanish detectives interviewed both men and concluded that neither was relevant to the investigation.

Debbie is keen to speak to them to understand and gain clarity about her son's final steps in Tenerife. Although she knows it won't change the outcome, she hopes to find answers to the unanswered questions surrounding her son's tragic death.

“I can't change anything and there are so many ifs and buts and I can just drive myself crazy if I think about everything,” she complained.