Jay Slater’s body was found ‘mummified’ after dying of ‘severe, traumatic brain injury’, inquest finds
An inquest into Jay Slater's death has found that his body had been 'mummified' after he died of a 'severe, traumatic brain injury'.
The coroner said that as his body had been out in the sun for an extended period of time it had undergone 'extensive mummification' and was identified by fingerprints.
Slater went missing in Tenerife last summer, prompting significant search efforts which ultimately found the 19-year-old's body after several days.
He had visited the island with friends to attend the NRG music festival but had left the event with others on the night of 16 June last year, with Slater being reported missing two days later.
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His body was found by a mountain rescue team the following month on 15 July near the village of Masca.
An inquest into Jay Slater's death has heard from coroner Dr James Adeley that the 19-year-old fell a significant distance, saying that the 19-year-old's death was 'accidental'.
He said to Preston Coroner's Court: "Jay Dean Slater died on 17 June, 2024 in the Juan Lopez ravine in a remote area of Tenerife.
"Whilst attempting to descend the ravine Jay fell in a difficult area.
"Jay Slater fell approximately 20 to 25 metres resulting in skull fracture and brain trauma from which he would have died instantly.
"There was no third party involved. Jay Dean Slater died an accidental death."
Slater's body had been found by a dry river bed, with a bag containing his phone, passport and nitrous oxide canisters discovered around 20 metres away.
The coroner said that toxicology tests found Slater had consumed MDMA, cocaine and alcohol before his death, and that tests from Spanish authorities had found he'd used ketamine before his death as well.
With Slater having left his friends at the music festival he went to an Airbnb with two men named Ayub Qassim and Steven Roccas and stayed there overnight.
He then attempted to walk back from the property to his hotel, a journey that would have taken him 14 hours on foot.
The inquest heard that Bradley Geoghegan, a friend of Jay Slater, got a video call from him walking along a road and still 'under the influence'.
Geoghegan said he told Slater to call a taxi while another friend of Slater's, Lucy Law, said she had told him to turn back and stop trying to walk through Tenerife.
Slater told her he was 'in the middle of the mountains' and that he needed a drink, asking Law whether a cactus was poisonous.
He also said his phone was running low on battery, Slater's body was found around a 20 minute walk away from where his phone last pinged.
Spanish authorities said they couldn't explain why Slater left the road he had been walking on and decided to try and climb down a ravine.
Topics: Jay Slater, UK News
Joe Harker