British teenager Jay Slater had taken ecstasy, cocaine and possibly ketamine – but did not steal a Rolex watch as he claimed on Snapchat – the night before he went missing in Tenerife, an inquest into his death has heard.
Bradley Geoghegan, who was on holiday with Mr Slater on the Spanish island, said the 19-year-old had also been drinking alcohol before he was last seen on 17 June last year.
Mr Slater’s disappearance sparked a huge search until his body was eventually found by a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard in a ravine near the village of Masca around four weeks later on 15 July.
Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said in May that a post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as head injuries, and Mr Slater’s body showed no evidence of restraint or assault, with the pattern of injuries consistent with a fall from a height.
The teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, had been to the NRG music festival with friends at the Papagayo nightclub in the resort of Playa de las Americas on 16 June.
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During the night out he was forced to leave a nightclub for being too drunk. However, instead of going back to the apartment he shared with Mr Geoghegan, he went to an Airbnb miles away in the northern village of Masca with two men they had met on the holiday.
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The next morning Mr Geoghegan said he got a video call from Mr Slater, who was walking along a road and was still “under the influence”, Preston Coroner’s Court heard.
Mr Geoghegan said: “I said put your maps on to see how far you were. It was like a 14-hour walk or an hour drive. I said, ‘Get a taxi back’, then he just goes, ‘I will ring you back’.”
He added that did not think his friend had any money on him, and taxis in Tenerife insisted on payment up front before carrying a fare.
The inquest into Mr Slater’s death had begun in May but was adjourned the same day.
Dr James Adeley, a senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, made the decision after a number of witnesses who had been asked to give evidence could not be traced or were unable to attend.
The adjournment allowed for time to trace the witnesses who had been with him in the hours before he vanished.
Witness says Slater didn’t steal watch
This includes Ayub Qassim – one of the two men staying in the Airbnb that Mr Slater travelled back to.
Mr Qassim said he and Steven Roccas, the second man staying in the Airbnb, met Mr Slater and his friends out in Tenerife.
He added that Mr Slater asked if he could come back to his and Mr Roccas’ apartment on the night before he went missing.
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Mr Qassim, giving evidence via videolink, told the hearing: “I did say, ‘Bro, oh mate, it’s so far away from the strip.’ There’s nothing happening there other than scenery. I said I would drop him off in the morning. He rolled with us.”
The coroner then asked Mr Qassim about messages Mr Slater had sent about a watch possibly being stolen.
Mr Qassim said while still on the strip before leaving for their apartment he saw what he described as a Romanian “Lucky-lucky” man take a watch from another person and tried to sell it to him and Mr Slater.
He added: “Jay did not steal no watch. I can say 100%.”
While on the drive to the Airbnb Mr Slater then posted a message to friends on social media, saying: “Just took a 12k Rolly (Rolex) off some c*** with this Maili (Somalian) kid. Off to get 10 quid (thousand) for it. Off my undies ha, ha, ha.”
Coroner Dr Adeley asked the witness: “You were not involved in taking a watch?”
Mr Qassim replied: “No. And neither was he.”
He said when they got to his Airbnb he gave Mr Slater a blanket and pillow and told him he could sleep on the sofa before going off to his own bed.
Slater said he ‘cut his leg on a cactus’
Lucy Law, who had to be traced along with Mr Geoghegan and Mr Qassim after the inquest was adjourned in May, was next to speak at the hearing and said Mr Slater was “definitely on a buzz… but not visibly mangled” the night before he went missing.
Ms Law said Mr Slater told her “there’s no way I’m going home” after she suggested it.
She is believed to be the last person to have had contact with the teenager after she spoke to him on a 22-second call on the morning he went missing.
He is believed to have said he had cut his leg on a cactus and got lost in the mountains. His phone battery was also said to be on 1% at this point.
Meanwhile, the coroner’s officer Alice Swarbrick said she was unable to get in touch with Mr Slater’s friend Brandon Hodgson and Mr Roccas so that they could give evidence at the inquest.
