Jay Slater case from post-mortem to funeral rip-off as household to say closing farewell

Jay Slater’s family and friends will say their final goodbyes at the 19-year-old’s funeral today.

Hundreds of mourners are expected to turn up to pay their respects to the Lancashire teenager who went on holiday to Tenerife and never came home. The case sparked worldwide interest and a slew of vile conspiracy theories that flooded social media.

The apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle vanished after a night partying at the NRG music festival at Papagayo nightclub on the Spanish Island and was reported missing on June 16.

READ MORE: Jay Slater’s funeral date revealed as new fundraiser launched after Tenerife death

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During one of his last calls with friends, he said his phone had 1% battery, he was lost in the “middle of nowhere” in need of a drink and had cut himself on a cactus.

It later emerged that Jay had left the rave with two men and stayed at an Airbnb in the remote Masca region.

The next morning, he left early to head back to his Playa de las Americas resort, attempting to make the 11-hour trek on foot in the scorching heat.

Despite a huge search operation, it wasn’t until five weeks later on July 15 that the youngster’s decomposing body was discovered in an “inaccessible” ravine, close to where his phone last pinged a signal.

An autopsy revealed he had suffered severe head injuries consistent with a fall from a height.

A GoFundMe page was set up to help support the family, raking in over £70,000 – some of which was used to repatriate his body home.

Today (August 10), Jay’s devastated family are hoping to “give him the send off he deserves” during his funeral which takes place at Accrington Cemetery Chapel at 10.30am.

In recent days, well wishers have been warned about evil scammers offering access to a fake live stream of the event in exchange for money, likes and follows.

Matthew Searle, chief executive of LBT Global, a charity supporting the families of British nationals who go missing abroad, said: “It is so typical of the vile trolling this family have received for them to target something so special as a funeral.”

The funeral – which will not be live streamed – will be a “celebration of Jay’s life” with mourners urged to wear blue in his memory.

Donations are asked to be made in lieu of flowers to LBT Global.

The family has also shared a touching tribute to the late teen, remembering him as a “loving son” and “loyal friend”.

They said: “A loving son of Debbie and Warren, a cherished brother of Zak and brother-in-law of Jessica, a treasured grandson of Dawn, June and the late Dougie, a much-loved nephew of Glen and Katie, a dear cousin of Maddie and Tillie and a loyal friend to many. Jay will be very sadly missed by all those who knew him.

“After Jay left Rhyddings High School he went on to become an apprentice bricklayer with the PH Build group, a job he greatly enjoyed. At the young age of five Jay started playing football for Huncoat United FC until the age of 17 and also did a few seasons with the Sunday team at St Joesph’s too.

“He also loved spending time chilling out with his friends. Jay’s love of music and dance started at a very young age. He loved attending music festivals and events across the country and also loved to socialise and meet new people.”

Flowers will come from the family but “if anyone would like to bring a single rose to place with Jay, they are more than welcome”, his relatives said in a statement issued through LBT Global.

Yesterday, Jay’s pal Lucy Mae Law shared a haunting new video of him partying in a pool.

He can be seen basking in the sun and dancing amongst a crowd of revellers with a beaming smile across his face.

The clip, uploaded to Instagram was captioned “always dancing” by Lucy, who was in Tenerife with Jay when he went missing and was one of the last people he spoke to.

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