Jay Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan became emotional as she remembered her late son, who died after going missing on holiday in Tenerife, and detailed the horrific accusations she faced

Jay Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan has opened up about her teenage son’s tragic death, fighting back tears as she spoke about being accused of murder by trolls.

The 19-year-old went missing while on holiday in Tenerife in June last year before his body was found in a remote area near Masca four weeks later. An inquest into his death found that he died while trying to make his way home on difficult terrain, with his injuries consistent “with a heavy fall from height”.

Channel 4 documentary, The Disappearance of Jay Slater, is set to look into Jay’s disappearance, following his family as they try to find the truth behind is death. While it was found that there was no third party involvement in Jay’s accidental death, Debbie revealed that their family have faced horrified accusations from trolls.

Jay Slater tragically died after going missing in Tenerife on holiday and attempting to walk 45 km back to his accommodation ( 
Image:
Men Media)

Speaking on BBC Breakfast today, she said: “They just kind of sensationalised it all online. I even got accused of murdering my own child at some point – we were all accused of different things,” she said.

“Jay’s friends, other family members, dragged into this whole made up story. It was unbelievable really.”

Debbie added that the speculation around Jay’s disappearance actively held up the investigation as they were “desperate” for any lead.

“All this misinformation – we didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t real. When we found Jay, it just blew up even more,” she said. “To this day, it’s still going on.”

She later said that she suffered “a breakdown” after the vile theories comments became overwhelming online. “It was just insane. ‘It’s this, it’s that’ every day,” she said.

“We’d get back after they’d been out searching. It could be this, it could be that.”

Annaliese Edwards, the director of Channel 4’s documentary, added that she was shocked when looking into the conspiracy theories around Jay’s death.

“You’ve got a family who’ve been through the most awful experience, they’ve lost their son and they’re being trolled,” she said.

“It just evolved – you couldn’t keep up with what was happening online. And what is still happening. It’s happening right now – it’s just horrendous.

“It’s not ok at all, the things that the family have been accused of – murdering Jay, being part of a huge conspiracy for money, his friends have been accused of killing was difficult to even select a few to include in the film.”