Jay Slater’s mother has been told her 19-year-old son is likely to have died instantly after suffering a catastrophic head injury when he fell into a ravine in Tenerife. Debbie Duncan said she had been haunted by the question of whether Jay had suffered after he disappeared on the Spanish island in June 2024. His body was discovered 29 days later in the rugged Rural de Teno area following an extensive search. Pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd has now examined the findings from both the Spanish and Home Office post-mortem examinations and concluded that Jay’s head injury would probably have killed him immediately.

‘There was no pain and suffering’

Dr Shepherd said the evidence indicated Jay had not been left seriously injured and slowly dying on the mountainside. “He wasn’t injured on the hillside dying slowly,” he said. “There was no pain and suffering.” The findings provide an answer to one of the most distressing questions Debbie said she had faced since her son’s death.

Investigators examined possibility of strangulation

A new Channel 5 documentary examining Jay’s disappearance and death also reveals that Spanish investigators initially considered whether the teenager may have been strangled. Further examinations and testing, however, found no evidence that Jay had been strangled or deliberately harmed. The findings support the conclusion that his death followed a fall in the difficult terrain where his body was eventually discovered.

Mother returns to Tenerife

Debbie has since returned to Tenerife to retrace her son’s final movements and visit the area where he disappeared. She said seeing the landscape for herself helped her better understand how Jay could have become lost and been unable to find his way back. Jay’s disappearance prompted a major search operation and attracted widespread international attention before his body was discovered almost a month later. For his mother, the latest medical assessment has provided some clarity about his final moments and reassurance that her son is unlikely to have suffered before his death.

Originally published by UKNIP.