Jay Slater’s has been revealed , finally debunking a long-standing rumour surrounding the teenager last summer.

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, died after sustaining multiple injuries consistent with a fall in a rocky area. His remains were found near the village of Masca in July, 2024, the previous month.

The Spanish Civil Guard said Jay could have fallen in the steep and inaccessible area where he was found. His disappearance sparked a huge wave of media attention before his body was found.

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And now during an inquest into his death at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday, 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.

This debunks a 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.

During the inquest, it was revealed that 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."

At the time of his disappearance, even Jay's family were convinced foul play had been involved. Speaking last summer, Jay's uncle Glen Duncan said: "I've been thinking third party involvement from the start.

"There's just some things that have already been out there. Why would two lads hire a villa up here? They're down on the strip, you know what it's like down there."

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