Debbie Duncan said retracing Jay Slater's steps in Tenerife was "very tough and emotional" but gave her "more closure" before a Channel Five documentary on the case airs. The first episode of Cause of Death is scheduled for Wednesday at 21:00 BST.
Jay Slater in Tenerife
Slater was 19 and from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire when he went missing on 17 June 2024 after attending a music festival in Playa de las Americas on the Spanish island of Tenerife. A 29-day search ended with him being found dead.
Duncan said the route back over the ground helped her and the family because "we could look at the terrain in more detail". She added: "It was the timeline for me, from his location... to him saying 'I don't know where I am, I am lost'. So that was important to me, to time it."
Cause of Death on Channel Five
The episode retraces Slater's steps alongside forensic pathologist Richard Shepherd, who carried out his postmortem when his body was returned to the UK. Duncan said: "Having Dr Shepherd there to talk more about his injuries was just really good" and helped "to explain it in more simple terms".
She also said she hoped viewers "may well believe the facts" after watching the programme. The documentary follows a case that drew social media theories after Slater's disappearance, even though an inquest ruled his death a tragic accident and entirely without third party influence.
Debbie Duncan and Jay's Law
Duncan said the family were coping in different ways since Slater's death and that she was keeping busy while staying in touch with other bereaved families. She said she called for Jay's Law last year to prevent the online trolling of grieving families, after a wave of speculation spread online.
For families following the case, the documentary adds a recorded account of the route, the injuries and the timeline that Duncan says mattered most to her. The airing on Wednesday will put those details back into public view as the family keeps pushing for the facts to carry more weight than the theories.
