Jay Slater inquest: 5 bombshells from 'extensive mummification' to beach theory

The coroner at Jay Slater's inquest concluded the tragic teenager from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, died a natural death after going missing on the Spanish island of Tenerife, where he was attending the NRG music festival.

The hearing, which resumed yesterday after being adjourned in May to try and track down vital witnesses who hadn’t attended, heard statements from Jay's friends who were with him on the fatal holiday in June last year. Other professionals also gave evidence regarding how they believed 19-year-old Jay’s life came to an end. After he decided to go to a drug dealer friend’s rented apartment in a remote area of the island, Jay attempted to get back to the resort where he was staying with friends early the next morning.

READ MORE: Inside Jay Slater's erratic behaviour in final hours from confused phone call to 'poison' fear

However, after making contact with pals over the phone and on social media, he vanished. His body was discovered a month later in a deep ravine in the mountains after an extensive search. He had fallen from a height and died instantly from skull fractures and brain trauma. There was no third party involvement, the inquest heard.

Here we take a look at five bombshell discoveries the hearings uncovered - and the unanswered questions that remain...

His body had been 'mummified'

The hearing was told Jay’s body was found by rescuers in the Juan Lopez Ravine in a remote area of the Teno Natural Park in Tenerife and that he died on 17 June - the same morning he set off to make his way back to his apartment.

HM Coroner, Dr James Adeley, said: "Whilst attempting to descend the Ravine, Jay Slater fell at a particularly dangerous area of difficult terrain and loose rock. Jay Slater fell approximately 20-25m resulting in skull fractures, brain trauma and from which he would have died instantly. There was no third party involvement in Jay Slater’s death."

The court also heard the apprentice bricklayer’s body had been 'mummified' by the scorching Spanish sun because it had been at the location for a month. The coroner said Jay’s body was formally identified using his finger and palm prints. The post mortem found his body had undergone "extensive mummification" due to him being out in the hot sun for several weeks.

He was worried about being poisoned

Good friend Lucy Law was the last person to speak to Jay. She had travelled with the teen and their other two friends Brandon Hodgson and Bradley Hargreaves to the party island for the festival.

Brandon, who had already spoken to Jay, had alerted her that he was stranded up in the mountains with little phone charge left. Thinking it was a joke at first, she soon realised it was serious and called Jay several times at around 8.50am. She asked him if he knew where he was. Jay said his mouth was dry and he needed a drink and was frightened. His phone was on 2% at this point.

He also madea frantic call to Lucy saying: "I’m in the middle of nowhere... there is literally nothing but mountains." Lucy told the hearing she "started panicking" after receiving the call. She said Jay asked her if cactuses were poisonous, and she replied: "A cactus is the least of your problems, go back to where you have just come from."

During the call Jay told her "I can’t go back there", but she said she didn’t feel anything bad had happened, saying: "I also feel like, if something had gone on in terms of conflict, I feel like he probably would have said."

Jay may have been trying to reach the beach

After being introduced to convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim and Steven ‘Rocky’ Roccas by Brandon a few days before, Jay asked if he could stay at their rented Airbnb, which was about 40 minutes from the festival, because everyone else had gone home.

Ayub told the hearing he had warned Jay there were no regular buses and the apartment was in the middle of nowhere. Despite this, phone location data showed he left the holiday rental around 7.45am to get a bus. He reportedly told Ayub a local woman had told him there was one due.

As well as hearing from witnesses and friends, a report was read out that summarised the findings of Spanish authorities. The officials said they could not explain why Jay "took a chance" to make his way from the safety of a road to descend down a ravine considering he was unfamiliar with the area and without a working phone.

However, the sea can be seen from the head of the ravine, and they suggested he may have believed he could reach a beach and get help. The report said: "It would be easy to slip on the rocks and fall into the void. The death of the missing person must have occurred as a result of an accidental fall."

'Stolen watch' mystery

While on the drive to the Airbnb, Jay posted a message to friends on social media, saying: "Just took a 12k Rolly (Rolex) off some c*** with this Maili (Somalian) kid. Off to get 10 quid (thousand) for it. Off my undies ha, ha, ha." His friend Brad also said Jay had told him in a Snapchat message that he was going up to Ayub and Rocky’s house "to sell a watch".

The coroner asked Ayub if he was involved in taking a watch. He replied: "No. And neither was he." The coroner then asked him about messages Jay had sent about a watch possibly being stolen. Ayub said while still on the strip before leaving for their apartment he saw what he described as a Romanian "lucky-lucky" man take a watch from another person before trying to sell it to him and Jay. He added: "Jay did not steal no watch. I can say one hundred per cent."

When Lucy was asked at the hearing about her knowledge of a stolen watch she said she wasn’t sure what the truth was. "The word over in Tenerife was that a watch had been stolen but I thought it’s just one of those things," she said. "I honestly don’t know what to believe. There were so many theories being thrown around."

The coroner concluded that the watch was irrelevant to subsequent events.

Two missing witnesses

The inquest was adjourned in May because Jay’s distraught mum Debbie Duncan wanted all of the witnesses and friends to give their evidence after they failed to turn up.

Lucy and Brad were both on holiday on the original date. A relative of Mr Geoghan told the BBC he had only been given the date for the inquest within the past 10 days and had provided the coroner's office with evidence of his pre-booked family holiday overseas. She said he was happy to give evidence on the new date, which the court accepted.

Lucy, who had been mates with Jay for around six or seven years, gave evidence yesterday via video link "because of the condition that she is in". No further details were given about her condition.

Despite exhaustive efforts to locate key witnesses Rocky and Brandon since the May hearing, they could not be traced and failed to show up yesterday. According to Lois Norris, a barrister representing Jay’s family, Brandon appeared "unwilling to give evidence" in a prior message thread.

Brandon, who is understood to be in Tenerife, was repeatedly served a summons at his Lancashire home by police. Multiple calls and voicemails went unanswered. Even after his mother, Natalie Hodgson, received a letter in person, neither she nor Brandon responded further.

Steven ‘Rocky’ Roccas was contacted by Coroner’s officer Alice Swarbrick on April 17 to provide a statement via email, but he soon stopped returning calls. Ms Swarbrick arranged visits by police officers at several London addresses, checked the Police National Computer, and checked voting records, but could not locate him.