Jay Slater’s mum reveals disturbing aftermath of son’s tragic vacation dying

On Apr 2, 2026

When Jay Slater disappeared in Tenerife, a malicious campaign of online abuse began for his distraught mother, Debbie Duncan, who now campaigns for an end to ‘tragedy trolling’

17:34, 02 Apr 2026Updated 17:36, 02 Apr 2026

Tragedy trolls drove the mother of Jay Slater to a nervous breakdown after more than 300 million videos were made relating to her son, following his disappearance in Tenerife. Debbie Duncan was distraught when Jay, 19, went missing on 17 June, 2024, during a trip to the Canary Island with friends to attend the NRG music festival – his first holiday without his parents.

Now the mum, who has launched a petition calling for Jay’s Law, to stamp out malicious online content, following the vile trolling she and her family have been exposed to, is backing the Mirror’s Missed campaign and Missing People’s call to end tragedy trolling. After Jay went missing, an extensive 29 day search took place, before his body was discovered on 15 July, 2024. He’d suffered a catastrophic fall on the way back to his accommodation after a night out.

Debbie, 57, of Oswaldtwistle, who has another son, Zak, 26, says of the relentless abuse she and her family have suffered: “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. 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’.”

When tragedy trolls discovered that one of Jay’s friends on the holiday had a conviction for drug dealing, the abuse became stratospheric. Debbie continues: “People began to make videos with voiceovers about Jay being in a drug-fuelled underworld. It was mad, a snowball, out of control. They were sending photographs of photoshopped images of Jay, making out he’d been tortured.”

After Jay’s body was discovered, the trolls changed tack. Debbie says: “Trolls said it wasn’t him in the coffin and the only way to be sure was to dig him up.” When a friend set up a GoFundMe to cover search costs, accommodation for the family in Tenerife and repatriation costs, Debbie says: “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 make up 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.”

Unable to properly grieve, Debbie’s mental health crashed. She says: “I wasn’t allowed to grieve when they found his body, because the white hot spotlight of social media pointed right at us. I had a full on mental breakdown.” A finance officer at a high school, she lost her job as a result of poor mental health, adding: “Whatever I did or said was ripped to pieces.”

Now Debbie, whose Jay’s Law petition is demanding that social media platforms be legally required to immediately remove organised misinformation and speculative malicious content aimed at grieving families, is backing the Missing People charity’s campaign to end tragedy trolling. This is cyberbullying, in which perpetrators post abusive, mocking, or sensationalised content; spreading misinformation, accusations and theories about missing people on social media – to stop.

Ross Miller, CEO of Missing People – which also backs The Mirror’s Missed campaign – highlighting forgotten, unsolved, or underreported cases of lost loved ones, says: “Some of the content we’re seeing is truly vile. This has got to stop – right now.” While Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who has backed the campaign – says: “Families whose loved ones are missing are living through unimaginable pain, and the vile online abuse some of them face is completely unacceptable.”

Already supported by her local MP Sarah Smith, in the last week, Debbie has gained official government recognition for her Jay’s Law petition, after visiting the House of Commons and speaking to Kanishka Narayan, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for AI and Online Safety). She says: “He really listened. I had a meltdown, I was emotional, and I thought ‘this is what you need to see – you need to see what is actually happening to families.’”

Debbie, who needs 100,000 signatures by May 4 for the petition to be debated in Parliament, received an official response, saying: “The government recognises the devastating impact abuse and misinformation can have on an individual, especially during the loss of a loved one. The Government will continue to engage with platforms on this issue, discussing their actions to combat illegal content.”

Debbie, who continues to be trolled daily, says: “There’s still a guy on YouTube who makes a video about Jay for clicks every single day. And it’s monetised, so these people are making money from Jay’s death. It just appalls me.” She thinks the Missing People’s campaign comes not a moment too soon, adding: “To trolls I say, ‘your words can’t hurt me now. I’ve lost my son and there’s nothing worse than losing a child. I’m thick skinned now, you can say what you want.’

“But I don’t want this to happen again. We’re real people and we’ve lost our children. I’m going to keep going, keep fighting. My mental health is shot. But if it saves one family from going through what ours has, then it’ll be worth it.”

*Sign Debbie’s petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/742843

*The Mirror contacted YouTube, Meta and Tiktok for comment. In response, YouTube said: “Harassment and hate speech are strictly prohibited on YouTube and when we find content that violates our policies, we take action”. And according to TikTok: “Per our Community Guidelines, we do not allow misinformation that could cause significant harm to individuals or society, no matter the intent of the person posting it. This includes hoaxes, misleading AIGC, and harmful conspiracy theories. We also encourage our community to treat everyone with kindness and respect”

Missing People’s Demands

Missing People represents the 170,000 people who go missing in the UK every year.

The charity is calling on content creators to sign a pledge on their website, which says: “I pledge to support Missing People & Responsible Narratives in treating real stories with real respect.”

They are demanding people:

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Avoid speculation or sharing unverified claims
Treat real stories with respect and remember there is a real person at the centre
Reject AI‑generated or misleading images and audio
Think about the family who may read your words
Choose empathy over entertainment
Once a person is found, respect their privacy by removing any content you might have shared

*Sign the pledge at https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/based-on-a-true-story