The family of Jay Slater has been visibly affected after learning the news about their son’s whereabouts. Although the young man’s parents could not rule out this possibility, they also never imagined it would become a reality. After four weeks, the body of Jay was found at the foot of a ravine in the Masca area, to the north of the island and near the point where he had been sought since his disappearance. He was last seen in the company of two unknown men, with whom he headed to an apartment in the remote village of Masca. One of them, Ayub Qassim, a well-known drug dealer, stated that he offered to take Jay back, but he preferred to take a bus. The other man has broken his silence.
Known only as ‘Rocky’, he and the convicted drug dealer wanted to speak out to discredit conspiracy theories and told ‘Tik Tok detectives’ to “have some respect.”
The police quickly dismissed them, deeming them “not relevant” to the case. But on social media, there has been much speculation about the two men who took Jay back to their holiday rental apartment in Masca, an hour away from where he was partying in Playa de las Américas.
Jay Slater during his last night out before his disappearance / La Provincia
“If I’m guilty, then arrest me, what are you talking about? When you tell the truth, you can’t go wrong”; Rocky told The Sun, insisting that Jay had a “tragic accident.”
Qassim rented the holiday accommodation called Casa Abuela Tina under a different surname. The 31-year-old man was imprisoned for nine years in 2015 as the leader of a London-based gang trafficking heroin and crack in Cardiff.
Referring to a comment about taking Jay back to the holiday home, he claimed that he offered to take him back and that Jay himself “invited himself“.
Final moments before death
Jay had been partying at the nightclub Papagayo in Playa de las Américas before travelling in a rented car to the remote Masca with Rocky and Qassim. The young man shared a final post on Snapchat at 7:30 in the morning on the apartment stairs, holding a cigarette in his hand. Jay left around 8:30 in the morning and made a last phone call to his friend Lucy, saying he was lost, needed water, and had only one percent battery left on his mobile phone.
Another theory suggests that Jay had stolen a £12,000 Rolex watch.
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas also suggested that Jay felt “scared” when he left the apartment on the morning of his death.
British infographic on the details of Jay Slater’s death / La Provincia
When asked how he felt, Qassim stated, “I don’t know why he was scared, and he’s not here to answer that question. I don’t want to say it, people could be going through something in their own heads, who knows, you know what I mean?”
While Rocky admitted, “I got drunk, I was sleeping in the car. Why didn’t he charge his phone? I don’t know, I was asleep.
A Month-long Search for a Tragic Ending
The body of Jay was tragically discovered last Monday, almost a month after he went missing. Dramatic images showed the moment a crew member of a rescue helicopter was lifted into the abyss with their arms raised in the delicate recovery operation on July 15.
His body revealed that he had suffered severe injuries from an accidental fall from a considerable height.
He had been partying all night in Playa de las Américas with friends he was on vacation with, 18-year-old Lucy and Brad Hargreaves. In the morning, he tried to walk back 11 hours to his own accommodation miles away.
Floral tribute in memory of Jay Slater / La Provincia
His mother Debbie Duncan, 55, father Warren Slater, 58, and brother Zak, 24, left floral tributes in the area.
The father and brother spent weeks searching the area in the hopes of finding him. They retraced his steps under the scorching heat for days on their own after the police called off their search.
They are now preparing to fly back to the United Kingdom with the body to hold a funeral to bid him a final farewell.
