Featured Image Credit: Family Handout
Topics: Jay Slater, Social Media, GoFundMe, UK News
Joshua Nair
Jay Slater's mum has responded to rumours that her late son stole a luxury watch hours before his disappearance in Tenerife.
The 19-year-old vanished on 17 June while on holiday on the Spanish island, with his body being found 29 days later, on 15 July.
In the time that he went missing, the Brit has been trolled non-stop on social media, who have targeted his family and was said to have 'destroyed' Jay's mum, Debbie Duncan.
She has had to hit back at claims recently that Jay was a victim of a drug cartel's dealings on the island recently, as she has opened up on the heart-wrenching situation.
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After it was revealed in an autopsy that Jay had died as a result of an accidental fall into a ravine in the north of the island, Debbie posted an update on the teenager's GoFundMe, thanking everyone for their support and donations and asking for more money to help fund his funeral.
Jay attended a festival with friends in the south of the island on 16 June, after heading to the Airbnb of some people he had met that night in the early hours of the morning.
He was last heard from that morning when he called a friend and told her that his phone was almost dead and that he 'needed a drink' after setting off on the 11-hour trek.
Now, more than a month on from the autopsy, Debbie has told The Sun in an exclusive interview that the trolling started as soon as the family had arrived in Tenerife after Jay went missing in June.
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One of these wild claims were that Jay had stolen a £12,000 watch from a gangster during his night out, while further theories claimed that he had been taken on a yacht to Morocco by a drug cartel.
However, Debbie revealed: “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."
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Debbie has also hit out at trolls who have continued to disturb her and the family, spreading false information across numerous social media platforms.
The 56-year-old 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."
Hundreds of people gathered to attend Jay's Funeral at Accrington Crematorium on 10 August, with Funeral Director Sarah Barton, who officiated the service, saying that 'Jay touched the lives of so many people'.
Barton further read out eulogies from three of the teen's closest friends, one of which was schoolmate James Curry, who said that the social Jay was 'like a brother' to him.