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Jay Slater drug tests 'extremely challenging' after teenager's deathJay's body was found four weeks after he vanishedCommentsNewsMegan Banner Senior Reporter12:01, 21 May 2025Jay

Slater(Image: Instagram) An inquest into the death of Jay Slater has heard how the 19-year-old had drugs in his system. Jay, an apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle, had flown to

Tenerife with friends last June to attend the NRG music festival in Playa de las Americas.

On the evening of June 16, 2024, Jay spent the night partying at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas. He later travelled to the remote village of Masca to an apartment with Ayub

Qassim and his friend ‘Rocky’ afterwards.

‌ Shortly before 9am he left the £40-a-night Airbnb apartment and set out to walk back to his accommodation in the south of the island, believed to be an 11-hour trek after missing the local

bus.

‌ He phoned his friend, Lucy, who he had been staying with, and said he was thirsty, had no clue where he was and his phone was about to run out of battery. This was shortly before his phone

died. Later that day he was reported missing, sparking a huge search.

Spanish police scoured the depths of the unforgiving terrain of Parque Rural de Teno nature reserve in Tenerife and Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan, dad Warren Slater, and older brother Zak all

helped in the search along with mountain research teams and volunteers.

However, the search for the 19-year-old came to a devastating end on July 15, 2024, four weeks after he vanished, when police discovered his 'lifeless body'.

Article continues belowJay Slater was found dead following a month-long search(Image: Family Handout/LBT Global/PA) Jay's body was returned to Lancashire for his funeral and Lancashire's

Senior Coroner Dr James Adeley opened an inquest, reports LancsLive. The inquest, which is taking place today (May 21) heard how Jay had drugs in his system following his death.

LancsLive reported how toxicologist Dr Stephanie Martin told the inquest that, although tests when someone who has been dead for some time are "extremely challenging", she determined that

Jay had ecstasy in his system at the time of his death.

‌ Also present was a cocaine metabolite, which is present when cocaine is taken at the same time as the consumption of alcohol. Dr Martin said that it is impossible to say exactly when Jay

took the drugs but it is "likely within a day or so of his death".

Jay Slater embracing his mum Debbie(Image: Facebook) The Spanish authorities also carried out their own toxicology tests, reports LancsLive. Dr Martin said: "The only difference between our

results and their results is that they found ketamine and its metabolites."

‌ Dr Martin added that one "possible explanation" for why the Spanish authorities found ketamine in Jay's system but toxicology tests carried out in the UK did not is "the time between the

two post mortem investigations".

She also said that while the evidence suggests that ecstasy had been used within "a day or so" before Jay's death, "ketamine had been used over a much longer period".

Witness, Josh Forshaw, who met Jay and his friends as they queued to board the plane from Manchester to Tenerife told the inquest how Jay was "off his head." Josh later shared contact

details with Jay and met the group at the music festival. Josh said that Jay "seemed dead happy" and that he was "off his head on drugs".

‌ Josh, who said he had drunk "10 to 15 vodka shots" that night, said that Jay asked him to break an MDMA pill in half for him and Bradley. MDMA is also known as ecstasy.

We will be bringing you live updates from Preston Coroner's Court, which you can follow here.

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