The unanswered questions about jay slater's death

HIS FAMILY'S WAIT FOR ANSWERS GOES ON 21:45, 21 May 2025Updated 22:46, 21 May 2025 Jay Slater's family are facing the likelihood that some of their questions about his tragic death

will forever remain unanswered. The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, died after going missing while on holiday in Tenerife. His disappearance sparked global

media interest, similar to that witnessed a year earlier in the case of another Lancashire resident - Nicola Bulley, yet, in the same way, the discovery of his body around four weeks later

failed to dispel the conspiracy theories being bandied about by armchair detectives and social media 'influencers'. An inquest into Jay's death was adjourned today (May 21)

following a desperate plea from his mother. Debbie Duncan raised concerns about the whereabouts of several witnesses who may be able to answer vital questions about her son's tragic

final last moments. Article continues below Proceedings, at Preston Coroner's Court, raised more questions than it answered, including those surrounding the whereabouts of three key

witnesses and some of the strange Snapchat messages Jay sent in the hours before he went missing, Lancs Live reports. Here we take a look at some of the main issues which remain in dispute

about Jay's disappearance and why it's likely they will never be resolved. KNIVES AND A STOLEN 'ROLLY' Between 5.03am and 5.52am on the morning Jay went missing he sent a

message to a friend saying: "Just took a £12k Rolly off some c*** off to get 10 quid for it now." No watch was ever found. While he was on his way to the apartment in Masca, Jay

had sent a Snapchat picture, to a friend, of two knives concealed down his trousers with the caption "in case it kicks off". The inquest heard no explanation has been offered or

uncovered as to why Jay had the knives or believed anything would "kick off". £10 OR £10,000? Josh Forshaw was the only witness who had seen Jay in the hours before he disappeared

to give evidence at the inquest. Josh, who met Jay as they queued to get on the plane to Tenerife at Manchester Airport, was the recipient of the message about the stolen watch. Josh said

that Jay had told him he would get "10 quid" for the watch and added that he understood this to be a slang term used to refer to £10,000. The coroner queried this, saying that he

understood "10 quid" to mean £10 and tasked Josh with scouring social media over the lunch break to find evidence to back up this use of the term. Josh, who gave evidence via video

link, confirmed that he had indeed found examples of 10 quid being used to mean £10,000. Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson, the head of Lancashire Constabulary's digital media

investigation unit, also looked into the use of the term. "It's not something I've heard of prior but I've consulted with colleagues and certainly in the east of the

county, like Blackburn, it is a commonly-known term," she said. SHORTS OR JEANS? The inquest heard statements from three Spanish witnesses who were the last to see Jay alive in the

village of Masca at around 7.50am on the morning of June 17 last year. Ramon Hernandez and his friend Juan Diaz were unloading some sacks of mortar for a construction project when Jay

approached them and asked about bus times. They told Jay the bus would pass through Masca at around 10am and thought nothing more of the encounter until posters about Jay's

disappearance began to appear in the village. Ramon told police that he had "recognised Jay without a doubt" and described the teen as wearing jeans and a light-coloured t-shirt.

He was also carrying a half-litre bottle of Coca-Cola. Juan gave a similar account and described how an "English-speaking guy" had come out of a holiday home before asking them

about bus times. He also described Jay as wearing jeans. Jay's dad Warren then disputed the evidence and told Senior Coroner Dr James Adeley that his son had been wearing shorts - not

jeans. When Warren was asked how he knew this he replied: "Because that's what he was wearing when he was found." However, the coroner explained that there is a "whole

branch of psychology" which could potentially explain the discrepancy. "Witnesses do their best but they're not infallible," he said. Dr Adeley went on to refer to a

study in which people were asked to count the number of times a ball was passed between two teams. While many of those included in the study gave the correct answer they were left flummoxed

when asked "who saw the gorilla?" The point the coroner made was that, when focusing on one element, it can be easy to miss others. WHEREABOUTS OF KEY WITNESSES The inquest into

Jay's death was halted after his parents voiced their concerns about the lack of evidence from two of the last people to see their son alive. After attending the NRG music festival, Jay

had travelled to Masca with two friends; Ayub Qassim and Steven Roccas, who had rented Casa Abuela Tina in Masca. Despite being key witnesses both the men have not been located for the

purposes of assisting the coroner. While on the way to the apartment in Masca, Jay had sent a Snapchat picture, to a friend, of two knives concealed down his trousers with the caption

"in case it kicks off". He had also claimed to have stolen a Rolex watch which he planned to sell for "10 quid". Article continues below The inquest heard that extensive

efforts had been made to find Mr Qassim and Mr Roccas to no avail. Why Jay went with the two men to Masca, and why he left the Airbnb at 7.55am, remains unknown. The inquest into Jay's

death is expected to be concluded within the next two months.