Jay Slater’s mum sleeps in his mattress as household face heartbreaking World Cup anniversary

Debbie Duncan, the heartbroken mum of Jay Slater, will mark the second anniversary of her son’s death as England kick off their World Cup 2026 campaign

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When England kick off their World Cup campaign on June 17, it will be a poignant moment for mum Debbie Duncan. The date marks the second anniversary of her son Jay Slater’s tragic death during a trip to Tenerife.

The last time they spoke, on June 16, 2024, he told her he was planning to watch England take on Serbia at the Euro 2024 tournament – a match they won 1-0.

Debbie, 57, said: “I don’t know how I’m going to feel really. It will be strange. He told me, ‘I’m not going mad today, mum’. England were playing. He said, ‘I am going to go and watch football, we are going for food.’

“Obviously, things just got carried away in the moment he had a drink. I sit and question ‘what were you thinking?’ But you can’t change anything. Jay is not coming back.”

On the first anniversary of 19-year-old Jay’s death, Debbie and her family made a pilgrimage back to Tenerife. This year will be more subdued, with a visit to the cemetery to lay flowers and spend time with loved ones, reports the Mirror.

She said: “This year it feels more real. Some of his mates will join us at the cemetery. There’s a pub across the road that serves food and we’ll grab some tea.”

Jay was enjoying his first holiday without his parents, attending a music festival, when he disappeared on June 17. However, it took a heartbreaking 29 days for his body to be discovered on July 15.

He’d suffered a devastating fall on his return to his accommodation after a night out, and was found in the Juan Lopez ravine in the Masca area.

Speaking from the family home in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, Debbie, who has another son, Zak, 26, said: “I can’t believe it’s two years. It seems to get harder.”

Curled up at Debbie’s feet is Buster, Jay’s French bulldog. She said: “I’d be lost without him. Jay went mad for this puppy and we gave it to him. He’s a nuisance, but he is also sometimes the reason I get out of bed in the morning.”

In Jay’s bedroom, Buster settles on the bed. Debbie said: “I drive past the cemetery and down where he used to play football. His primary school is just across there, across that field.

“All across town there are still the blue ribbons we tied up in his memory. They’re a little faded, and one day they’ll be gone. But they bring me comfort.”

Gazing around Jay’s room, tears well up in Debbie’s throat. She said: “I sit in his room and smell his things, spray his aftershave and lie on his bed. I slept in here with Buster at the weekend. You want his smell to last forever, but it’s not going to, is it?”

Debbie refurbished Jay’s room in the three bed semi following his death – something she did particularly for him – and has preserved all his belongings. She said: “I promised I’d redecorate his room, and planned to make a start while he was in Tenerife.”

“I’ve got Jay’s phone too. I try to make sure it’s always charged. I sit with it and his memories will come up on his social media. I laugh at his daft little videos, then cry at what a good looking boy he was. I think, ‘What a waste’.”

“Jay would have turned 21 a few weeks back and that was really hard. I try to keep busy. I’ve got Zak to think of. Spending time with him keeps my mind off Jay being gone.”

Consumed by what ifs, Debbie said: “I’ve been through every emotion. I get angry with myself. Why did I not ring him that morning?”

However, the most effective remedy for Debbie’s anguish is time spent with Jay’s mates. One is Lucy Law, the final person to have contact with Jay before he vanished. She had been in Tenerife alongside him and their friend Brad Hargreaves.

Lucy took a last phone call from Jay in which he said he was lost, dehydrated, had sustained an injury to his leg and his mobile battery was running flat. Initially, Debbie harboured resentment towards Lucy, but eventually recognised she had been a devoted friend to Jay.

Tormented by online abuse since Jay’s disappearance, as conspiracy theorists let rip, Debbie said: “We [she and Lucy] kind of stayed away from each other. But after a bit of time, we got back in touch and she told me things that I didn’t know.”

“The conspiracy theorists ask why she reported Jay missing as soon as she did. They thought it was suspicious. But she did the right thing. She said, ‘my friend’s gone missing, I want you to go and look for him. I’ve just had this phone call, it’s cut off, he’s hurt himself, he has no signal, he is lost, he doesn’t know where he is.'”

Lucy informed emergency services that Jay required immediate rescue. Debbie said: “I listened to the calls to the emergency services. Listening to how distressed she was, it was horrible. She was a kid at the end of the day. I wouldn’t have known what to do at 18. We’re seeing each other in a few days. I think Jay would approve that we’re friends.”

Taking time away from her role, Debbie was forced to leave her position as a secondary school finance officer after vicious abuse from trolls caused her to suffer a mental health crisis.

She’s now dedicating herself to pushing for Jay’s Law, in an effort to eliminate tragedy trolling. Her goal is for social media companies to face legal obligations to instantly delete coordinated false information and harmful speculative material targeting bereaved families.

She said: “Whatever I did or said was ripped to pieces. Trolls said Jay must have had a really bad upbringing. We’ve met with the Government, we’ve met with Ofcom. They’re making the right noises. But things need to change – and fast.”

Debbie notes that with every reported tragedy, the same trolls descend, flooding families with hatred across social media platforms. She added: “It’s incredibly hurtful to be on the receiving end of that.”

One conspiracy theory does keep Debbie awake at night. It involves a video posted of Jay boasting about stealing a £12,000 watch off someone in the hours before his death.

The inquest found that while he took ecstasy and cocaine before he went missing, Jay did not steal a Rolex watch. Debbie said: “Why did he say those things in the video? I don’t have an answer. One day, when my life is over and I see Jay again, I’ll ask him. Until then, knowing won’t bring him back. I’ve let it go.”

Jay was a 14-hour walk away from his accommodation, when he set off on foot. The coroner concluded his death was accidental after he fell down a ravine.

Debbie said: “I don’t think he realised just how far away he was. He must’ve been petrified in his final moments. I can’t bring myself to think about it.”

A government spokesperson told The Mirror that, under the Online Safety Act, anyone making violent threats online could face up to five years in prison.

They added: “The vile harassment some people face online is completely unacceptable, and we pay tribute to Debbie Duncan and other parents campaigning to bring this to an end.”