Coroner officially confirms Jay Slater's death in Tenerife was accidental
It has been officially confirmed that Jay Slater, the 19-year-old British tourist who went missing in Tenerife in June 2024, died as the result of an accidental fall after consuming a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.
During the judicial investigation held in the UK, coroner Dr James Adeley presented his findings, concluding that Jay's death was due to injuries sustained from falling in a steep and hazardous area of Teno Rural Park, in the northwest of the island. His body was identified through fingerprint analysis and other forensic methods.
Dr Adeley confirmed there were no signs of violence or third-party involvement. The body showed no injuries consistent with assault, but did reveal multiple abrasions and fractures to the skull and pelvis. These injuries, he explained, were in line with a fall from height and were likely sustained in a single impact. "Death was likely instantaneous," he told the court.
Toxicology reports revealed that Jay had consumed several substances, including MDMA, ketamine, cocaine, ecstasy, and alcohol, on the night of his disappearance, 16–17 June.
Jay had travelled to Tenerife to attend a music festival with friends and was last seen heading away from the tourist apartment he went to on the last night of the event. His disappearance sparked widespread media attention and a large-scale search operation on the island.
Speculation surrounding the case had intensified after it emerged that Jay had been seen with two men shortly before he went missing, one of whom was later reported by British media to have links to drug trafficking. Jay also reportedly claimed to have stolen a Rolex watch worth €14,000, and sent a Snapchat photo showing two knives tucked into his trousers with the message: “in case everything goes well.”
However, the coroner dismissed these elements as irrelevant to the cause of death, describing the knife photo as likely “just social media bravado.”
Despite claims from a friend that Jay had phoned saying he was lost, dehydrated, and his phone battery was dying, there was no indication he was under threat at the time.
The official ruling brings a degree of closure to a case that had captivated both British and Spanish media for over a year, though questions remain among members of the public due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding his final hours.
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