Jay Slater hasn’t been here to defend himself against all these horrible stories circulating online world wide
The mum of tragic Lancashire teen Jay Slater has spoken out for the first time since his death responding to trolls who claimed he was involved in a drug cartel and had stolen a £12,000 Rolex watch.
Debbie Duncan has revealed she "just screamed" when police in Tenerife told her they had found human remains on day 29 of the search for her son.
But in her first interview since the ‘forever 19’ apprentice bricklayer was laid to rest in a moving service at Accrington Cremetery, Mrs Duncan hit out at the online trolls who tarnished her son’s reputation as he lay undiscovered in a ravine.
Online conspiracy theories included accusations Jay had stolen a £12,000 watch from a gangster, he had taken on a drugs cartel and had been kidnapped and he was in hiding waiting for the GoFundMe account to reach its top level so he could pay off drug debts.
But Debbie insists such claims are nothing more than callous rumours.
Speaking to The Sun, Debbie said: “He would never have been involved in anything like that.
“He had only been in Tenerife three days – and was at a festival with friends which had wristbands, security and an itinerary.
“I’ve no idea where these drug stories have come from and the stuff about him stealing a watch is nonsense.”
Debbie slammed trolls who have been hounding her family and spreading nasty comments and baseless claims on platforms such as TikTok and Facebook.
She added: "The people saying stuff about him didn’t know Jay and they don’t know us.
"He hasn’t been here to defend himself against all these horrible stories that were going on around the world about him."
The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle travelled to Tenerife to attend the NRG Festival with friends Lucy Mae Law and Bradley Hargreaves.
He went missing on Monday, June 17 after leaving an Airbnb apartment he had attended with friends after the festival at around 8am.
He called Lucy, 18, at 8.50 am saying he had cut his leg, was lost and dehydrated - and had just 1% battery on his phone.
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His mobile last pinged in the Rural de Teno Park – after Jay walked the wrong way from the Airbnb in Masca, 25 miles north of his apartment in Los Cristianos.
A 29-day search ensued which drew worldwide attention. On July 15, Debbie got a call from police asking her, Jay's dad Warren and brother Zak to go to the station.
And when they got there they were told – via a translator – that police had found human remains.
Speaking about receiving the news, Jay had been found, Debbie said: “We were all sat in a little room and I just screamed. I don't really remember what they were saying. I wanted to see him but it wasn’t possible.
“I was just in a state. They hadn't formally identified him, then. They just said human remains, and we believe it could be Jay. They said they had his bag, his trainers, his shorts, T-shirt. He had been taken to the mortuary up at Santa Cruz."
The family then made the devastating journey an hour's drive away to the mortuary. But despite pleas to do so they were urged not to see Jay's body, which had been found in a ravine in the Rural de Teno National Park.
Debbie said: "We went there and we just got taken into a room and it was just a casket.
“Just a casket with a single rose. And the rose was on top, what they had put there.
"And I just broke down again and screamed and cried.”