SPINELESS trolls who have relentlessly hounded Jay Slater’s grieving family should hang their heads in shame.
When I met with his mum Debbie Duncan I was humbled by the bravery she has shown in the face of such depravity.
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Cowards hiding behind their computer and phone screens trolling Jay’s family have added to the unspeakable trauma they are suffering following the 19-year-old’s disappearance and death.
I have followed this story for The Sun since Jay vanished in Tenerife on June 17.
The story quickly became a national obsession with its twists and turns – but at the heart of it is Jay’s heartbroken family.
I watched as Facebook groups rapidly ballooned in the hours after Jay vanished – full of cynical and clueless armchair detectives.
Hundreds of thousands of people piled in – many of them with no purpose beyond causing Jay’s family pain.
Hurtful jokes and conspiracy theories were allowed to flourish.
And then on TikTok, shameless content creators felt the need to exploit Jay’s story for their pitiful view counts and clout-chasing.
Videos spouting bizarre, false and cruel claims were viewed millions of times.
Whatever the family did – or said – was poured over by wannabe psychoanalysts who seemed to be determined to turn Jay’s story into a Netflix crime drama.
The pain the family went through as they became the butt of online jokes even as they searched for their missing son is unforgivable.
And the social media giants who allow hate and falsehoods to spread unhindered deserve their share of the blame.
I was in the north west mountains of Tenerife when police revealed they had found Jay’s body after an agonising 29-day search.
But while this brought a sense of closure for Jay’s loved ones, the torment has continued from sick ghouls who refuse to let them grieve in peace.
Even as Debbie, Jay’s brother Zak and dad Warren were trying to plan his funeral and in the days after, trolls and idiotic conspiracy theorists have carried on targeting the family and peddling vulgar rumours on social media.
And on the day I met with Debbie and Zak, the grief-stricken mum had received a twisted letter to her home from an anonymous sender.
The pathetic writer criticised Debbie while attempting to paint herself as a good mother.
But I wonder how her three grown-up sons would feel if they knew how she had viciously attacked a grieving mum just days after her son’s funeral.
Debbie told me how from the moment she arrived in Tenerife, she was forced to contend with heartless trolls relentlessly calling her and messaging her.
In her first interview since Jay’s death, Debbie told The Sun…
These shameless people made twisted and completely baseless claims such as that Jay had been kidnapped, was part of a drug ring, and even that he’d left the Spanish island on a yacht.
They also sent her sickening photoshopped images – including one that appeared to show Jay chained and beaten.
As well as contending with endless conspiracy theories and trolls constantly messaging and calling her, Debbie is tormented by questions still unanswered.
Little is known about what Jay actually did when he went to an Airbnb in the remote mountains of north west Tenerife hours before he was last heard from.
She hopes to one day speak to the two men Jay went back to the remote Airbnb in Masca with.
Debbie said Jay was never without battery on his phone, so feels she needs answers about why he hadn’t charged his phone, and why he didn’t go back to charge it.
It was emotional to hear Debbie speak about Jay, who she feels has been unfairly portrayed by these trolls who didn’t even know him.
She spoke about his love of playing football, how he always had a smile on his face, and how he did a lot of good for many people.
In their final conversation before Jay’s fateful night out, she told how the last words they said to each other were “I love you”.
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Debbie said she was thankful that was the last thing they said to each other.
I can only hope one day Debbie and the rest of his family get the closure and peace they deserve.
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