A new Channel 4 documentary airing next weekend will detail the final days of teenager Jay Slater’s life, 15 months after his death which sent wild conspiracy theories flying

View 3 Images

The internet was rife with rumours after the teenager vanished last year(Image: Instagram)

The documentary aiming to clear up the mystery around Jay Slater’s death has helped to put an end to one cruel social media theory.

The 19-year-old went missing on 17 June 2024 and a huge search was launched before his body was found in a remote area near the village of Masca, Tenerife, four week later. Within hours of Jay Slater’s disappearance last summer, mass online interest set off the conspiracy theories created a social media storm led by true-crime keyboard detectives.

The case became the focus of worldwide attention, with over 30 million videos online speculating about Jay’s whereabouts but one claim in particular hurt his family. Viewers will see the long-standing rumour that there was any third-party criminal involvement in Jay’s disappearance, including one theory that he was murdered after stealing a £12,000 Rolex, debunked.

View 3 Images

The Channel 4 doc looks into the disappearance of Jay Slater

During an inquest into his death at Preston Crown Court, Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said Jay’s body was already decomposing when he examined it. However, he said the teenager’s cause of death was a head injury. A CT scan showed there was “a severe fracture of the head.”

He explained: “There were extensive changes due to decomposition. There were changes due to the period of time he was lying in a hot environment – changes I would expect to see in that period of 28 days or thereabouts.”

Dr Shepherd said Jay suffered several injuries but “that to the head is by far the most important one in understanding why Jay died”. He said this involved “the application of considerable force” and added: “The pattern of injuries is entirely consistent with a heavy fall from height.”

Dr Shepherd told the inquest, even if Jay had been admitted to a specialist neurosurgical unit, the head injury was so serious it is highly unlikely he could have survived. “The injury is so severe that death was either instantaneous or extremely quick,” he said. The Spanish authorities also concluded that the cause of Jay’s death was a severe traumatic brain injury.

View 3 Images

The programme will offer fresh details on the teen’s disappearance (Image: Channel 4)

During the inquest, it was revealed that Jay admitted stealing the luxury timepiece and was pictured with knives hours before he died. Between 5:03am and 5:52am on the morning Jay vanished, a message was sent from his phone saying: “Just took a £12k Rolly off some **** off to get 10 quid for it now.”

The inquest heard Jay sent a message to witness Josh Forshaw where he said: “Ended up getting thrown out with two Mali kids, just took an AP [expensive watch strap] off somebody and was on the way to sell it.”

The new documentary is set to detail his family’s hunt for answers and is the first time they have spoken publicly about the tragic case. Channel 4 ’s new film The Disappearance of Jay Slater will air next weekend.

The Disappearance of Jay Slater also has never-before-seen CCTV footage, previously unheard audio, the discovery of unsent messages, and access to the Slater family as they search for answers about what happened to Jay.

According to a coroner report in July, Jay told his friends he was “in the middle of the mountains” and in need of a drink, as he attempted a 14-hour walk home the morning after taking drugs and alcohol on a night out.