The inquest into the death of Jay Slater, the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, is set to resume today after being adjourned in May due to key witnesses failing to attend. The hearing, which began at Preston Coroner's Court, was halted after witnesses who were with Slater on the night he disappeared or at the rental apartment could not be traced or were unavailable.
Slater vanished on June 17 last year after attending an NRG music festival at the Papagayo nightclub in Tenerife. He is believed to have gone to a remote holiday rental apartment in the early hours before attempting to walk back to his own accommodation. His body was found on July 15 in a steep, inaccessible area near the village of Masca by a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard.
At the May hearing, toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin revealed traces of cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, and alcohol in Slater's body. Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd gave the cause of death as head injuries, with no evidence of restraint or assault, consistent with a fall from height. Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson from Lancashire Constabulary said phone data showed Slater received messages telling him to go home as he was 'off his head' and that his phone battery died at 8.51am on the day he disappeared.
Marieke Krans from Dutch rescue charity Signi Zoekhonden described the area where Slater's body was found as 'really steep, really dangerous', and 'easy' to lose footing. The coroner, Dr James Adeley, suggested one explanation could be that Slater 'walked into the middle of nowhere and fallen off a cliff'. The inquest is scheduled to conclude on Friday.
Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, tearfully requested the adjournment in May, stating the family still had questions for the last people to see him alive. The hearing resumes today with efforts to trace the missing witnesses.
