Jay Slater’s mum ‘shocked she’s not in padded cell’ over trolls and ‘on-line sleuths’
Jay Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan has spoken of how her family has been tormented by trolls and “so-called online sleuths’ nearly two years since her son’s tragic death
Jay Slater was tragically found dead after going missing in Tenerife (Image: Family Handout/LBT Global/PA)
Jay Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan has spoken out on the tormenting of trolls nearly two years after the tragic loss of her son.
Jay, 19, disappeared on 17 June, 2024, while on a trip to the Canary Islands with friends to attend the NRG music festival – his first holiday without his parents.
Tragically, his body was found on 15 July, 2024, after he suffered a devastating fall on his way back to his accommodation following a night out. Appearing on This Morning today (April 16), Debbie said she is “surprised she’s not in padded cell” after pranks and abuse from online trolls.
She said “The trolls go around in circles, back to the beginning. All this talk about the mafia and drug dealing but then it gets really personal. They don’t know us or our family but they just judge.
“The conspiracies started almost immediately and the GoFundMe was set up. So many families rely on these donations and we’re eternally grateful for those donations.”
When asked by presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley why she was on the show, she revealed that she had initiated a petition to hold big tech firms accountable for the relentless trolling on their platforms.
The hosts also made it clear that Debbie wasn’t receiving payment for her appearance on the programme, directly countering trolls who have accused her of profiting from her son’s death, reports the Mirror.
She added: “It feels like time has stood still, it’s very raw still. All that goes on online has affected us as a family. There’s no pain like losing a child but this is why I’ve been spurred on to help other families.”
Debbie has started a petition demanding Jay’s Law to eliminate malicious online content.
She said: “I’m surprised I’m not in a padded cell. We’ve been through hell and back at the hands of so-called online sleuths. It dehumanised our son. It’s been like living in a movie – but with no pause button,” she told us.
“I’m a mother who has lost her son, but have been slagged off and treated like I’m subhuman. You name it, we’ve had it, on platforms from Facebook to TikTok to YouTube. Prank calls and social media posts saying, ‘we know where Jay is’ and dragging his friends, and even his brother, into it – ‘Zak is too quiet, he knows more than he’s letting on.'”
She revealed how trolls had claimed the GoFundMe to cover accommodation for the family in Tenerife, search costs and also costs for repatriation was a front for “funds to pay drug debts”.
Debbie said: “People said I was using it to pay drug debts. They said our whole family were drug dealers. It was just soul destroying, because nobody knows us, but yet we were judged in such a bad way. We live in a nice house, we’ve all worked, we all have jobs, there’s no criminals in our family.”
“Trolls makeup their own narrative. And then people comment on the content, slagging me off. I’ve visited the police station so many times, but there’s not much they can do. And I’ve reported so many videos, but they don’t get taken down.” The petition for Jay’s Law is calling for social media platforms to be legally obliged to promptly remove organised misinformation and speculative malicious content targeted at grieving families.
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