Five jay slater inquest shocks including cause of death and 'missing' witnesses

AN INQUEST INTO THE TRAGIC TEEN'S DEATH AT PRESTON CORONER'S COURT WAS ADJOURNED ON WEDNESDAY AFTER THE CORONER AND AN OFFICIAL PATHOLOGIST CONFIRMED A FLURRY OF NEW DETAILS.

09:48, 22 May 2025Updated 10:37, 26 May 2025 An inquiry into the death of Jay Slater has revealed shocking new details about his tragic disappearance and the sad discovery of his body from a

ravine a month later. The 19-year-old from Lancashire went missing while in Tenerife for a music festival after leaving an Airbnb in the village of Masca in Teno in June 2024, prompting a

huge manhunt that dominated international headlines for more than a month. When his lifeless body was recovered from the bottom of the Juan Lopez ravine on July 15, authorities concluded he

had died from massive trauma, including a serious brain injury. The now-adjourned inquest at Preston Coroner's Court has clarified many facts, including his cause of death and the

teen's harrowing final moments, reports the Mirror. JOIN THE DAILY RECORD WHATSAPP COMMUNITY! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.

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Article continues below JAY'S HAUNTING LAST MESSAGE The court heard that Jay sent his last text message at 2.39am on the morning he disappeared, when he would have just returned from

the NRG music festival. The message to a friend was received with concern, with his friend telling him to "come home" and that he was "off your barnet". He wrote:

"They've got a marker on me." And the friend replied: "You need to get home lad, you're off your barnet." KEY WITNESSES 'CAN'T BE FOUND' Lucy Law

and Brad Hargreaves, two people who were with the trainee bricklayer in Tenerife and had featured prominently in coverage of Jay's disappearance, did not attend the inquest. Coroner Dr

James Adeley said the two key witnesses had "denied who they are" ahead of the hearing earlier today. The coroner told the court they "cannot be located", saying:

"We can't find them. They have denied who they are and we have had police looking for them but we can't find them." It's since emerged that Lucy Law is currently on

holiday in Tenerife and is unaware police have been trying to track her down. Her stepfather Andy Davis said last night: "The police have only just been round today to say that she was

due to give evidence. But it's the first time we knew of it... We had no idea Jay's inquest was even being held today." TEEN'S OFFICIAL CAUSE OF DEATH Home Office

pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said Jay may have died "in an instant" after falling into the ravine, stating the fall would have had an "immediate and devastating effect on

Jay's consciousness". He added that the teen had sustained "severe" injuries before concluding the official cause of death was a head injury, agreeing with an earlier

consensus offered by Spanish pathologists. He said: "The injuries were so severe I have not 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. Jay would undoubtedly be unconscious and unaware. It's most likely death would have occurred instantly or extremely soon

afterwards." THE KNIVES PHOTO One witness, Josh Forshaw, told the inquest he had met Jay and his friends as they queued to board their plane from Manchester to Tenerife, and that the

two had traded contact details. Josh said the group "seemed dead happy", adding Jay had later sent him a photo with "knives down his trousers". He said the photo was

captioned: “In case it kicks off". While Josh didn't inform Spanish police of the photo, he said he informed Lancashire Police when he returned home to the UK.

'RESTRAINED' INVESTIGATION Dr Shepherd told the inquest that he had considered whether Jay was restrained or assaulted before his death, and that this was "something I would

always look to identify". He ultimately concluded that there was "nothing to suggest" the teen had been assaulted or restrained. The pathologist 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 are very different from the type of

injuries and pattern I found with Jay." Article continues below When questioned whether there was anything "to suggest that was the case" the pathologist added: "Nothing

to suggest an assault, gripping, holding, nothing of that sort."