Jay Slater’s dad, Warren, has revealed that he wished for his son to be buried in the outfit he was found in, as this was when the teen was at his happiest
Jay Slater’s devastated dad has revealed the heartbreaking wish he had for his son before his funeral. Jay was just 19 when he tragically died in Tenerife last year.
The teen had vanished on June 27 after he attended a festival with friends Lucy Law, Brad Hargreaves and Brandon Hodgson. The body of the 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was found in a ravine in Tenerife’s Parque Rural de Teno on July 15, 2024, following a search which lasted a month.
After leaving the RG festival in the Playa de las Americas area, he travelled with two men to an Airbnb in the national park, 22 miles from where he was staying. A friend of Slater’s has since said that the journey back to their accommodation would have been a 15-minute drive or a 14-hour walk.
When Jay went missing, he was wearing a grey T-shirt with a green stripe down the front. He was also wearing trainers for his night out on the Spanish island. In a new Channel 4 documentary, his dad, Warren, revealed his heartbreaking final wish for his son.
While looking around the family garage, which is filled with Jay’s personal items, including his footballs, Warren shared the revelation. “That’s his T-shirt he was found in, there his trainers,” he said, going on to add: “I did personally want for him to be buried in the outfit, that’s when he were having a good time that were his party gear for the night, but no.
“For the doubters, really, to prove he had those trainers on and that T-shirt on.” The documentary also sees his mum Debbie go through the bag that he had on his possession when he was found dead. Sitting in her teenager’s bedroom, Debbie said: “It’s been a year and I still can’t bring myself to unpack his case. I still smell his smell.”
Turning to Jay’s dog, she added: “You know, don’t you? You wonder where he is still when you come in here, don’t you?” Debbie then shows a black zip bag belonging to Jay to the cameras. “This is the bag Jay had with him when he was found. We got handed this from the Guardia Seville, it’s got his things in it,” she says.
The heartbroken mum then carefully unpacks the contents that reveal details about her son’s last night. Going through the last items Jay had in his possession, Debbie says: “His driving licence and then this bottle of aftershave and his lighters.”
She adds: “There were no knives in his bag, there was no drugs in his bag, there were no expensive watches in his bag. No AP watch, no Rolex watch. That’s it.” She also showed the cameras Jay’s suitcase from his final holiday, with his clothes neatly folded and packed. She still hasn’t had the heart to unpack it, a year on.
It’s in the same documentary that Debbie reveals Jay’s toxicology report being leaked was a “kick in the teeth”. The document, which was read to Debbie by Preston Coroner’s officer, Alice Swarbrick, detailed that Jay had traces of MDMA and cocaine in his system in the hours leading up to his death.
However, this did not mean that it formed part of his cause of death. Debbie told the documentary: “He’s a young adult and that’s what they do when they go to festivals, it’s not a shock, it’s just upsetting,” adding that it was “upsetting the way he died.”
The Channel 4 film also reveals previously unheard audio, as well as unsent messages, as well as access to the Slater family as they continue to search for answers about what had happened to him.
The Disappearance of Jay Slater airs on Channel 4 on Sunday, September 28, at 9pm.
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