Jay Slater's mum gives heartbreaking update 15 months after his death

The heartbroken mum of teenager Jay Slater - who died after going missing following a night out on holiday in Tenerife - is asking Mirror readers to back her call for ‘Jay’s Law.’

Debbie Duncan, whose son Jay died on June 17, 2024, claims conspiracy theories surrounding his death hampered the police search. And misleading videos about him continue to be posted online - despite a coroner’s ruling of “accidental death” at his July inquest.

Backed by her Labour MP, Sarah Smith, she is calling for tighter regulations to stop “armchair detectives” from spreading misinformation online about missing people and, as in Jay’s case, their subsequent deaths.

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Debbie, 57, tells The Mirror: “It would be amazing if a new law was introduced and they called it ‘Jay’s Law’ to stop people spreading misinformation online.

“If it is too difficult to have a new law, then the existing rules need tightening. But I want to see it debated in Parliament.

“Content creators are still out there talking about Jay (online). They go back to the beginning and go over the same things – it’s shocking they are doing this.

“I am all for freedom of speech, but not when you are constantly misinforming and speaking badly about a family who are grieving.

“I need to fight for Jay’s name after everything we have been through. To continue making videos (and posting them online) more than 12 months on, going through every bit of detail over and over again is shocking. When will it stop?

“Social media is good for spreading awareness, but can also be the work of the devil.

“If I can save another family from going through the trauma we have had to endure, it will be worth it. ”

Debbie is speaking out ahead of a Candour Productions documentary for Channel 4 - The Disappearance of Jay Slater - which airs on Sunday September 28 at 9pm.

Together with Jay’s father, Warren, 59, and older brother, Zak, 25, she gave TV producers unprecedented access to Jay’s story. The family shared highly personal home footage, as well as coverage from inside Jay’s funeral. Cameras were also allowed into his post-mortem.

And Warren shares his hopes that, by showing the T-shirt and trainers Jay wore the night he died, he will put an end to the conspiracy theories that their son is still alive.

Debbie says: “I wanted this documentary to be made because I want to show Jay is a real person and not just the face of a story.

“I want to show everyone we are a normal family. Jay was a popular guy with a lot of friends and it’s been hard to watch it. I cried all the way through, but I hope it will finally shut down the armchair detectives. It’s been very well put together.”

Apprentice bricklayer Jay, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was on holiday in Tenerife with his friends Lucy Law and Bradley Geoghegan when he died.

His first holiday without his parents, the night he disappeared, he had been at the NRG music festival and Papagayo nightclub in Playa de Las Americas when he got into a car with two men he’d met on the holiday and drove to an Airbnb in the village of Masca, about 20 miles away.

He later phoned Lucy saying he was lost in the mountainous area and Bradley saying he was trekking home after missing a bus.

At his inquest in July, it was revealed he had taken drugs and alcohol on the night out and faced a 14 hour walk back to his accommodation in Los Cristianos.

Coroner Dr James Adeley ruled that Jay “died an accidental death” in a remote ravine in the Rural de Teno national park, after falling in a “particularly dangerous area,” resulting in skull fractures and brain trauma. He died instantly. His body was found by a mountain rescue team on July 15, 2024, 29 days after he went missing.

But from the moment his disappearance was reported, conspiracy theories about Jay’s whereabouts were posted online.

Some said he had been kidnapped by drug dealers and murdered in the mountains after losing a bag of drugs, others that he had staged his own death.

According to Debbie, after his funeral, some conspiracy theorists even asked whether the right body had been buried.

Debbie says, tearfully: “What we have had to endure has really opened my eyes.

“It is not just us who are horrified by what has gone on - professional people are horrified too.”

Last week, she met MP for Hyndburn, Sarah Smith, in the House of Commons, who is hoping to harness Parliamentary support for Jay’s Law.

Ms Smith tells The Mirror: “ Debbie has shown extraordinary strength and dignity through something no parent should ever have to endure.

"Since becoming her MP, I have been determined to confront the worst of the online abuse - raising concerns in Parliament, pressing platforms and tech companies to act, working with authorities at home and overseas, whilst doing everything possible to help protect the family’s privacy.

“What happens online does not stay online it spills into daily life and, in this case, denies a traumatised family the space to mourn.

"Jay’s family and friends deserve compassion, privacy and protection. I will keep using every avenue available to ensure that no grieving family is left to face this kind of abuse alone".

Today, more than 15 months since Jay’s death, Debbie says conspiracy videos are still being posted, despite a plea for her son to be allowed to rest in peace following the inquest.

The slew of results which are returned on major video platforms by a search for ‘Jay Slater theories’ gives some indication of what Debbie and her family have been through.

While she has never counted the number of videos, she says: “If I did try to count them, it would take a long time.”

She also says she reported some of the content creators to major platforms like Facebook and YouTube for misinformation, but she claims none of the posts were taken down.

“You just get an email to acknowledge the report,” she says.

She compares speculation about Jay to the disappearance of mum-of-two Nicola Bulley, 45, on January 27, 2023 when conspiracy theories abounded even after her body was found in the River Wyre on February 19. An inquest concluded she died from accidental drowning.

“It’s a similar thing,” Debbie says. “The armchair detectives think they are professionals. They think they are forensic scientists and didn’t believe it when Jay was found.

“They never went to Tenerife; they never saw the landscape and they interfered with the investigation by spreading misinformation.

“We brought his belongings back but we shouldn’t have to prove these things to people now.”

Still struggling to come to terms with her loss, Debbie has left her job as a finance assistant at a local school and has received private counselling sessions.

“I just need time to process everything and build myself back up,” she admits. “I have been struggling with my mental health.

“Some days, like this morning, I don’t want to get up.”

Wiping away tears, she continues: “I haven’t unpacked Jay’s case (from Tenerife), I can’t. It’s horrible. I know I will have to at some point because it’s been over a year now and I don’t want his clothes to go musty. I often just open it up, have a smell of his clothes and then close it back up again.

“I don’t think I have had time for it all to sink in and grieve with everything going on. But now I do have more time and when we look at his pictures, it really hits you.

“I have got a good network of friends and I am still in touch with a lot of Jay’s friends, which is nice.”

Despite splitting up with Warren when Jay, born after IVF treatment, was seven, they have pulled together over their loss

“We will never get over this,” adds Debbie, who says of Jay’s Tenerife trip: “I thought it was a chance for him to spread his wings.

“Before he left, I told him to have his wits about him and to be careful.

“I will always have questions as to why he went to the Airbnb. But there is only one person who can explain it and that’s Jay. I must accept this. He made some wrong decisions and there could have been so many different outcomes.”

Debbie is a mother who is still grieving deeply for her son.

She says: “Jay and I were very close. We were like two peas in a pod and I miss him like mad. He was fun, funny and affectionate and we would often sit together in the evenings during the week after he came home from work watching TV and chatting.

“I remember speaking to him the night before (he disappeared) and I torture myself now that I didn’t call him that morning. I have just got to live with that and remember him for who he was.

“I am going to decorate his room eventually. I made that promise to him. I do go into his room regularly and talk to him.

“I know what Jay would have said to me. He would have said ‘mum, I am so sorry for what you are going through.’ That’s why I have to fight for his name.

“I hope this documentary will make everyone realise we do need to change the laws around misinformation on social media.

‘It would be amazing to have a new law named after Jay.”

Social media companies' policies on misinformation

Meta - owner of Facebook - TikTok and YouTube all have publicly available misinformation policies.

Meta says it will remove misinformation likely to contribute to the risk of imminent physical harm or interference with the functioning of political processes.

It states: “For all other misinformation, we focus on reducing its prevalence or creating an environment that fosters a productive dialogue.”

They partner with third party fact checking organisations - as does TikTok - to check the accuracy of most viral content and say their “Community Standards prohibit fake accounts, fraud and coordinated inauthentic behaviour.”

YouTube has similar policies and states that “certain types of misleading or deceptive content with serious risk of egregious harm are not allowed on YouTube.” Content reported as inappropriate is also reviewed in accordance with its community guidelines.

Meanwhile, TikTok states: “We don't allow misinformation that could cause significant harm to individuals or society, no matter the intent of the person posting it. ”

The Mirror approached Meta - owner of Facebook - TikTok and YouTube for comment.

The Disappearance of Jay Slater airs on Channel 4 on Sunday September 28 at 9pm.