Five points from jay slater inquest as coroner looks for answers for family

AN INQUEST INTO THE 19-YEAR-OLD'S DEATH GOT UNDERWAY AT PRESTON CROWN COURT TODAY, ALMOST A YEAR ON 21:20, 21 May 2025 It has nearly been one year since the disappearance and death of

Lancashire teen Jay Slater. An inquest got underway at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday (May 21) in the hopes of determining what cause of and led up to the apprentice bricklayer's

passing. Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, had attended the NRG music festival in the southern part of the island of Tenerife last June. In the early hours of June 17, he travelled north to an Airbnb

in the Rural Parc de Teno - separate from his friends who were staying in Los Cristianos. After left the property on foot, Jay went missing for four weeks before his body was found at a

section of the Juan Lopez ravine on July 15. The inquest was brought about in an effort to establish the details surrounding the tragedy, but was adjourned just four hours after it had

begun. Here are the five key points from today's hearing, as reported by LancsLive reporter Amy Fenton and the MEN's Stephen Topping: 'IMMEDIATELY UNCONSCIOUS' The court

heard how the head injury suffered by Jay after his fall from a height along the Juan López ravine would have rendered him unconscious almost instantly. Home Office pathologist Dr Richard

Shepherd told the coroner that Jay suffered several injuries but 'that to the head is by far the most important one in understanding why Jay died'. Article continues below SEARCH

FOR 'JOHNNY VEGAS' Coroner's officer Alice Swarbrick was asked to describe the extensive attempts she went to in order to track down a key witness named Ayub Qassim -

nicknamed Johnny Vegas. Mr Qassim had rented the Airbnb Jay went back to after the NRG music festival. The court heard how the coroner's office had gone to significant lengths to locate

Mr Qassim - including asking the Metropolitan Police to serve witness summons on him - but their efforts have so far been unsuccessful. Pleas made by Debbie Duncan - Jay's Mum - to

have Mr Qassim present in court led to the coroner, Dr James Adeley, adjourning proceedings. _Don’t miss a court report by signing up__ __to our crime newsletter here_ WATCH STRAP A witness

named Josh Forshaw made claims to the court that Jay had stolen a Rolex watch worth £12,000 before his disappearance. Jay reportedly sent a message to Josh's phone, which read:

"Ended up getting thrown out with two Mali kids, just took an AP [expensive watch strap] off somebody and was on the way to sell it." Josh added that Jay told him he would sell the

watch strap for '10 quid' - which he claims is slang for £10,000, not £10. Josh also told the inquest that Jay sent him a picture showing 'knives down his trousers' -

which he claims was captioned 'in case it kicks off'. CONFLICTING TOXICOLOGY REPORTS The inquest heard the results of both the UK and Spanish toxicology reports. British

toxicologist Dr Stephanie Martin determined that Jay had ecstasy (MDMA) in his system at the time of his death. Also present was a cocaine metabolite, which is present when cocaine is taken

at the same time as the consumption of alcohol. She explained that it is impossible to say exactly when Jay took the drugs but it is 'likely within a day or so of his death'. Dr

Martin also revealed that the Spanish authorities carried out their own tests, which revealed traces of ketamine in Jay's system. She suggested that "the time between the two post

mortem investigations" might have contributed to the different findings. FRIENDS CAN'T BE LOCATED Dr Adeley explained at the start of proceedings that Jay's friends who were

with him in Tenerife - Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves - "cannot be located". The coroner said: "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." Police attempted to serve a witness summons on Lucy Law, but believe that she is currently in Tenerife. The inquest heard how Bradley

Hargreaves is also currently on a holiday which was booked last October. At around 7.30am on the day he disappeared, Jay video called Hargreaves. The court heard how Jay told Brad Hargreaves

he didn't have the money for a taxi, to which Bradley said: "Just get a taxi here and then jump out and don't pay for it or we'll pay." The inquest was adjourned by

Dr Adeley at around 3:30pm on Wednesday. It is expected to resume at a date yet to be confirmed. Article continues below Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news