The Disappearance of Jay Slater documentary airs tonight on Channel 4 and it’s a heartbreaking watch as team shadowed Jay’s family for the past year
The Disappearance of Jay Slater, is set to air on Channel 4 this weekend – a deeply unsettling yet crucial watch.
Leeds-based Candour Productions has been shadowing Jay’s family over the past year as they tirelessly sought answers, from the post-mortem examination to the inquest.
Key figures in the documentary include Jay’s mum, Debbie Duncan, his dad, Warren Slater, and his brother, Zak. They courageously open up about the devastating impact that conspiracy theories and horrific abuse have had on them.
Having watched the hour-long programme, it’s clear that anyone would be left with an overwhelming sense of deep sympathy for the family.
Debbie and Warren, who showed unfiltered honesty throughout, came across as ordinary people with an extraordinary love for their child. And while no parent should ever have to endure the loss of a child, they faced this heartbreak amidst one of the most intense online storms imaginable, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Jay, aged 19, vanished during a holiday in Tenerife in June 2024, quickly becoming a story that gripped the nation. Despite the rampant speculation and damaging accusations, the saga ended tragically when Jay’s body was discovered on July 15.
In due course, a post-mortem confirmed it was an accident with no third party involvement. Jay, hailing from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, had suffered a “heavy fall from height” while attempting to navigate difficult terrain back to his accommodation.
The documentary was granted remarkable access, including footage from inside Jay’s funeral, and it revealed that at the centre of this story was a family enduring unthinkable anguish, all whilst online detectives dissected their every action.
Below, I highlight four poignant moments from the devastating film.
Jay Slater’s rucksack
Despite becoming emotional at various points, courageous Debbie was resolute in being as open as possible throughout the documentary.
And this was evident in a heart-wrenching scene when she discovered what was inside Jay’s rucksack at the time of his death.
With the cameras capturing everything, she emptied the bag inside Jay’s bedroom for the first time, and said: “It’s been a year and I still can’t bring myself to unpack his case. I still smell his smell.”
Speaking to Jay’s dog, she added: “You know, don’t you? You wonder where he is still when you come in here, don’t you?”
The black zip-bag had been with Jay when his body was discovered and the Guardia Civil returned it to the family.
Examining his final belongings, Debbie, who even addressed her son’s involvement in a brutal machete attack in 2021, said: “His driving licence and then this bottle of aftershave and his lighters.”
Haunting final message
The last message Jay ever composed on his phone was disclosed in the documentary.
Debbie uncovered the unsent message after accessing her son’s Snapchat account when his mobile was handed back. She said: “When we signed into Jay’s Snapchat there was an unsent message from Jay to [friend] Brad. So the message was obviously just flying around and then the message sent to Brad, which obviously gave Brad a fright. He messaged me straight away ‘are you on Jay’s phone?’. I said yeah, we’ve just signed into his Snapchat.
“He said ‘I’ve just got a message that’s just come through from Jay.’ The last message he sent. He said, ‘Listen, I’m not going to make it.’ It’s kind of like he knew he just wasn’t going to make it.”
Toxicology report
Jay had been in Tenerife for a music festival with friends and a particularly heartbreaking moment in the programme came when Debbie was informed of private details from her son’s toxicology report.
At this point, she discovered that traces of MDMA and cocaine were present in his system during the hours leading up to his death.
She was left devastated upon learning what Jay had taken before the findings were leaked and shared on YouTube.
Speaking in the documentary, she said: “It’s just another kick in the teeth, but how is it even allowed? Official court documents, talking about our son, it’s lawless, ain’t it? There’s nothing we can do, we’re just powerless.”
Conspiracy theories
The wild conspiracy theories that spread across social media formed a major part of the documentary, and after watching it, you truly understand just how destructive they were, and continue to be today. Executive producer Anna Hall expressed her horror at the situation, stating: “What we have witnessed has been utterly horrific – not only the pain of a family in deep grief, but the full onslaught of the online world, the world of TikTokers and Youtubers who feel they can say whatever they like, widely speculating about one family’s tragedy.”
She condemned the impact of rampant online speculation on Jay’s grieving family, saying: “It is appalling what has happened to Jay’s family – and we hope this film will help to bring awareness of the real life consequences of online speculation. It is an unmonitored world where fake news runs rife – and this film shows the devastating impact this has had on one grieving family.”
In a heart-wrenching confession, Debbie admitted that she was initially “convinced” by one of the theories circulating during the search for Jay.
This came after Jay’s friend, Lucy, launched a GoFundMe campaign, something Debbie confessed she hadn’t requested or even considered necessary at the time.
Debbie explained: “Although Lucy couldn’t access the money, she thought it may help with people searching and accommodation costs but the money were going up and up and it just span out of control. Conspiracy theories of, ‘Jay’s lost an amount of drugs.’ YouTubers, TikTokers, it was all, ‘He’s been taken up into the mountains – he’s been kidnapped’.”
Caught up in her distress and confusion, she found herself believing these theories. She continued: “Lucy put a target amount £30,000 so that is it, once it reaches £30,000 she will hand this money over to these people who have got Jay.
“I was convinced that was going to be the case. And I was even saying to her, ‘Is that what you need the money for? Is that why you set it up?’ And she was saying ‘no no’.”
Struggling to hold back tears, she confessed: “I just wanted to believe anything to think he was still alive.”
In a poignant conclusion to the documentary, the mother, now advocating for laws to protect families from online conspiracy theories, declared: “Now we have the truth, Jay’s family and Jay’s friends can process it as a tragic accident but I will never ever understand why social media detectives were totally destroying people’s lives.”
She described the ordeal as: “It has been torture, absolute torture. The YouTubers and the TikTokers that have made this situation a million times worse.”
#watched #Jay #Slater #doc #hit #conspiracy #theories #message
