Jay Slater’s mum solutions 8 questions from final telephone name to £72k GoFundMe hate
The distraught mother of Jay Slater has finally spoken out to dispel the myths about her teenage son’s disappearance — and defy sick online trolls who continue to haunt her family.
Debbie Duncan has given her first interview since the 19-year-old’s body was discovered in Masca, Tenerife. A month-long search was carried out but online sleuths were quick to offer their own theories.
An autopsy has since revealed the apprentice bricklayer suffered extensive injuries consistent with a fall from height. But vile cyber bullies have refused to let the matter rest.
READ MORE: Jay Slater’s mum reveals sickening fake kidnap pics of him chained up and beaten
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From the pair’s gut-wrenching final phone call to bogus rumours Jay was involved with a Moroccan drugs cartel, here we round up everything the heartbroken mother said during an emotional interview.
Sick trolls targeted her
The Lancashire teenager’s body was found in a mountainous ravine after he vanished following a rave. His remains were discovered on July 15 and he was laid to rest earlier this month.
But even in recent days, amateur online detectives are continuing to post videos. Some have pored over Jay’s social media accounts convinced there is more to the story.
![Jay Slater's heartbroken mother Debbie Duncan](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33491325.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_JH_MEN_190624_JAYMUMJPG.jpg)
(Image: ITV)
The high profile nature of the case means Debbie has been bombarded with thousands of sick messages, some of which continue to this day. Disgusting pictures and videos include mock-ups of her son being tortured.
One cruel person sent a handwritten letter to her home address. She told The Sun she will now campaign for tougher laws on trolling.
“I don’t even have the words to describe how sick these individuals are,” she said. “I have been terrorised by trolls.”
GoFundMe ‘stolen cash’ lies
But among the worst abuse the family has received are false allegations they “stole” money donated by the public. Questions were asked after a GoFundMe page was set up to help with the search and later funeral costs.
The truth is it was set up by Jay’s friend Lucy. Debbie told The Sun she did not know anything about it until the fund was already established.
![Debbie Duncan and Jay Slater](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33491326.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_THP_015023JPG.jpg)
(Image: Facebook)
“I did not know anything about GoFundMe and did not know what it was,” she said. “We have had all these people slagging me off about a GoFundMe that I didn’t ask for.”
Debbie added she had been in regular contact with a liaison officer at the fundraising platform.
Heartbreaking final phone call
The 56-year-old mother explained her “special bond” with her son and explained they had spoken on the phone just before he vanished off the canary island.
Debbie said Jay called her from his hotel room hours before going missing on June 16 – with his final words to her being “I love you mother”. Recalling the exchange, she told how she felt grateful for the brief chat.
![Jay Slater](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33491329.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_THP_015016JPG.jpg)
(Image: Instagram)
She added: “He used to call me mother and said ‘I love you mother’. I used to say ‘I love you my boy’.
“That was the last thing that we said to each other, thank God. I’m just glad that we spoke to each other that night.”
The world at his feet
Debbie and brother Zak, 24, also shed light on the real Jay Slater. The pair praised well-wishers and revealed they had taken comfort in the hundreds who attended his funeral this month.
Sadly, they were forced to do so after trolls claimed Jay was caught up with bad people and suggested he might have stolen an expensive Rolex watch.
![Debbie Duncan with her sons Jay and Zak](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33491330.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_THP_5295JPG.jpg)
(Image: Facebook)
But there is no evidence to support those claims and, to the contrary, Jay appeared to have a normal upbringing. The mother showed The Sun trophies, pictures and mementos of Jay – including a photo and handprint of his first day at West End Primary School in 2009.
He was also a talented left winger who and once bagged a Players’ Player of the Year award from football team Huncoat United in Accrington.
His mother insisted the award-winning bricklayer had “the world at his feet”. She explained he was coming back from Tenerife to a “good job” and about to take his driving test.
“Jay was just a lovely boy with a massive personality,” Debbie said. “Everybody just loved Jay being in his company, family, friends and work.”
Zak, 24, added: “Jay was the best little brother anyone could ever wish for. Always smiling, always happy, just laughing. The life and soul of the party.”
Reaction to body discovery
Debbie disclosed how she “just screamed” when police told her a body had been found in Tenerife. They received the heartbroken message through a translator after remains were discovered.
The mum said did not remember what the Spanish officials were saying. She explained it took time for the news to sink in.
![Jay Slater](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33491331.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Jay-Slater-funeral.jpg)
(Image: Family Handout/LBT Global/PA)
“I was just in a state, they hadn’t formally identified him then,” she told The Sun.
“I had to see [the remains] to be 100% sure it was him. I couldn’t process it and was in denial.”
Debbie added she, Zak and Jay’s father Warren made the sombre journey to the mortuary together. When they arrived they were advised not to see Jay’s body, which had been found in a ravine after almost a month.
Rolex and drugs gang claims
Debbie said online stories suggesting her son had snatched a £12,000 watch from a gangster or fallen foul of a drug cartel were nothing more than bogus rumours.
“He had only been in Tenerife three days and was at a festival with friends which had wristbands, security and an itinerary,” she declared.
“I’ve no idea where these drug stories have come from and the stuff about him stealing a watch is nonsense. The people saying stuff about him didn’t know Jay and they don’t know us.”
She insisted Jay “would never have been involved in anything like that” and blasted trolls spreading horrible stories when he could not defend himself.
Vile snaps and ‘we have your son’ claims
As if her nightmare could not have been worst, Debbie was sent stomach-churning fake images of Jay. While search efforts continued, vile trolls sent her one picture which appeared to show her teenage son.
The bogus photograph was made to show Jay with a gash under his eye and a chain around his neck. A message attached is understood to have said: “We have your son.”
![Mourners at Jay Slater's funeral, including his mother Debbie Duncan](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33491410.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_Jay-Slater-funeral.jpg)
(Image: PA)
The horrific doctored portrayals show a young man who looks like Jay with no top on and blood on his face. The mother is is understood to have been left in floods of tears and told The Sun she wanted to believe he had been captured.
“At least that way I knew that he would still be breathing somewhere,” she went on. “I wanted to believe he’d been kidnapped and he was being held because I thought, well, that would mean he’s alive somewhere.”
Machete attack ‘guilty by association’
One aspect of the story that seems to have given rise to false rumours is Jay’s previous conviction. Keyboard warriors circulated online stories after an attack on Tom Hilton in 2021.
When Jay was missing, Tom urged trolls to leave the family alone and allow them to focus on the search. The victim was left with a head wound after he was set upon by youths with weapons during an incident in 2021.
Debbie told The Sun her child was “guilty by association” and claimed there were “probably hundreds” of people present that night. She said he had taken him to Blackburn Greenbank Police Station herself before he was charged with violent disorder via post.
![Mourners gathered at Jay Slater's funeral](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33491438.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_MEN_Jay-Funeral-There-is-a-big-screen-outside-the-chapel-2.jpg)
(Image: Men Media)
“Jay was kind of found guilty by association,” the mother said. “I don’t think he struck a blow or harmed Tom.
“I would just say that loads of kids get into trouble when they’re younger… because Jay’s in the limelight they just want to say every bad thing that they can say about him.
“They don’t know his background and his upbringing with a loving family. He was a lovely boy and wasn’t a bad person.”
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