AS I stood in the sweltering, remote mountains of Masca I was told the news Jay Slater’s loved ones dreaded – his body had been found.
But for his devastated family, it didn’t bring the closure they so desperately needed.
Now almost a year on, his grief-stricken mum, dad and brother have been subjected to yet more torment as an – while lacking any actual answers.
Jay’s courageous mum just weeks after his about before he fell to his death.
I was humbled by the bravery she showed in the face of living every parent’s worst nightmare on the world stage – relentlessly .
Spineless witnesses failing to turn up to the hearing to provide crucial information is a kick in the teeth for Debbie and his already suffering family.
The 19-year-old went missing 11 months ago, and his .
So why after all these months has the court failed to bring together vital witnesses – including the two friends he was on holiday with?
After months and months of battling through their grief, the last thing Jay’s family needed was to face a farce of a hearing without the necessary witnesses.
Jay‘s disappearance and death remain largely cloaked in mystery and glaring gaps in his final movements need to be filled.
Was a ? Why did Jay leave the Airbnb? Why did he walk the wrong way? Why didn’t he charge his phone?
In more than a decade of reporting, I have never covered a case with as many twists and turns.
Jay’s disappearance rapidly became a national obsession as cynical, clueless armchair detectives spent every waking minute .
Pathetic arguments from idiotic ghouls that they were just trying to fill the gaps in a mystery was a disgraceful attempt at justifying their .
And their indefensible posting clearly served no purpose as we are still no closer to finding out what really happened to Jay in his final moments.
What is arguably more shocking is the fact the inquest has failed to shed any more light and track down key witnesses.
I watched on in Tenerife as Jay’s dad and brother admirably faced the unforgiving elements of the mountains day after day to hunt for any sign of the teenager.
The agony plaguing them and Debbie was clear on their faces as weeks slipped by with no news.
Their worlds then crumbled when Jay’s body was eventually found in the blistering heat of northern Tenerife.
The very least those who saw Jay in his final hours could have done was try to help bring his family some sort of closure by revealing every last detail they knew.
It baffles me how so-called friends and other witnesses could watch and not feel any sort of moral compass to do the right thing.
When I met with Debbie last summer, she rightfully said she wanted in the remote mountainous village of Masca.
She fought back tears as she told how she “could not get her head around”;; why Jay went with them to the white-washed apartment more than an hour’s drive away.
These two British men – one of them convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim – have steered clear of his inquest and making any contact with Jay’s family.
Cowardly is the word that comes to mind.
Ridiculously, when he recorded a live stream on Instagram while failing to show any himself.
Jay’s distressed mum in court rightfully begged for the pair to be brought into the hearing so they can finally reveal what actually happened at the Airbnb and why the teenager left.
While reporting on Jay’s heartbreaking case, it was a storm to get to the truth as endless theories and pieces of information circluated online.
This failed hearing has reopened those wounds for the family – and has no doubt reignited keyboard-bashing wannabe sleuths rather than bringing Jay’s family closure they deserve.
Qassim and his friend Steven Roccar know exactly what happened at that Airbnb. They know why Jay left.
To my mind, this inquest must surely have served only to cause more pain to Jay’s poor family.
After Jay’s loved ones were dragged through hours of pain today, the coroner decided to adjourn the inquest.
Why they scheduled it in the first place without tracing witnesses will have inflicted needless heartache on Jay’s family, who will now have to return to court in however many months.
If witnesses have any shred of decency, they will be there.
