Walter Finch
HARROWING new revelations have emerged about the final hours of British teenager Jay Slater, who died in Tenerife last June.
Witnesses told the podcast Jay Slater The Investigation that the 19-year-old armed himself with kitchen knives after allegedly stealing ketamine from a convicted drug dealer.
The bombshell allegations come from celebrity detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who has spent months investigating the case and managed to track down key witnesses that Spanish police failed to locate for the coroner’s inquest.
The Daily Mail reports that Williams-Thomas’s investigation, which will be released as a two-part podcast this week, found Jay had left an Airbnb in the remote village of Masca carrying two kitchen knives in his waistband after taking a bag of ketamine belonging to Ayub Qassim.
The 31-year-old, who is a convicted drug dealer, was the last person to see the apprentice bricklayer alive.
The shocking claims were made by Qassim himself, who told Williams-Thomas that Jay had ‘walked away because he’s f***ed off with the ket and he went missing’ after taking his ketamine supply.
For the first time since the tragedy, Jay’s friend Lucy Law has also spoken out about their final phone conversation, revealing that Jay told her he was ‘on a mission’ and couldn’t return to his accommodation because he had ‘taken two kitchen knives down his pants in case anything kicks off.’
Law, who had been holidaying with Jay in Tenerife, failed to attend last month’s inquest after police were unable to trace her.
Her parents later told reporters they were unaware she was required to give evidence until officers arrived at their home on the day of the hearing looking for her.
The Lancashire teenager had been on the Spanish island attending the NRG music festival when he vanished on June 17, sparking one of the biggest manhunts in Tenerife’s history.
His body was eventually found a month later at the bottom of a remote ravine with severe head injuries.
Williams-Thomas’s investigation suggests Jay, who was heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol, fled the Airbnb in fear of repercussions after stealing the ketamine.
The detective believes this explains why Jay armed himself with knives and told Lucy he couldn’t return to where he was staying.
Qassim, who served nine years in prison after being convicted in 2015 for his role in flooding Cardiff’s streets with Class A drugs, had been expected to give evidence at Jay’s inquest last month but could not be traced by authorities.
The coroner expressed exasperation that police had been unable to locate key witnesses, leading to the inquest being adjourned.
Williams-Thomas has now shared his findings with Spanish police and Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan, who he describes as ‘heartbroken’ by the revelations.
During the investigation, Williams-Thomas uncovered that Jay had been using a cocktail of drugs that left him behaving erratically on the night he disappeared.
Traces of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine were later found in his body during the post-mortem examination.
The detective also revealed that Jay had sent messages claiming he had stolen an expensive watch and was trying to sell it for £10,000, telling a friend: “Yes cuz ended up getting thrown out of there me with 2 Mali kids just took an AP off some xxxx on way to sell it for 10 quid.”
Jay’s final hours began after he accompanied Qassim and another man back to their Airbnb following the music festival.
He later attempted to walk back to his hotel in Playa de las Americas, a journey that would have taken 10 hours through treacherous mountain terrain under the scorching sun.
His last phone calls were to Lucy Law and friend Bradley Hargreaves, during which he said he was lost, his phone was dying, and he was walking across rough, stony ground.
Williams-Thomas concluded that Jay’s death was ‘a tragic accident with no third party involvement,’ but believes the new evidence provides crucial context about why the teenager left the Airbnb so suddenly and why he felt the need to arm himself.
Jay’s mother Debbie had initially asked Williams-Thomas not to release the information about the ketamine theft, concerned it would bring further shame on the family.
However, the detective decided to make the findings public ahead of the rescheduled inquest to ensure they are properly investigated.
Qassim has since responded on social media, appearing to criticise Williams-Thomas and suggesting people were ‘profiting from their grief.’
He has indicated he will attend the next inquest hearing.
The case attracted massive attention on social media, with numerous conspiracy theories circulating on platforms like TikTok, which Jay’s mother had previously slammed as distressing and outlandish.
The inquest is expected to resume at a later date, with authorities hoping the new witness testimony will finally provide answers about the tragic circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death on the Spanish island.
Click here to read more Tenerife News from The Olive Press.
