Police have tried to track down several people needed for providing witness testimony at Jay Slater’s inquest – but several of them failed to turn up to proceedings
Tragic Jay Slater’s mates have been tracked down after they seemed to disappear into the wind when the late teen’s inquest was opened in May after an urgent witness appeal was launched by police.
Missing Jay, 19, was found dead last year following a month-long search in the mountains of Tenerife, having disappeared following a night out on the Spanish territory with several friends on June 17. Lucy Law, Brandon Hargreaves, Brandon Hodgson and two men with whom he stayed at a rented AirBnB the night before he went missing, spoke to local and British media about the teen. But they failed to appear at an inquest into his death launched in late May, which was paused following a desperate plea from Jay’s mum to find them.
READ MORE: Former detective slams authorities and says they ‘failed’ in Jay Slater inquest
Some of those mates have now been tracked down, with the Daily Mail reporting their last known locations as the inquest prepares to resume. Several of them have been traced to sunkissed overseas destinations not unlike the territory where he went missing last year.
Lucy Law
Lucy Law was one of two friends who came on holiday with Jay from his native Lancashire last year, and the 18-year-old helped get early search efforts off the ground, assisting the teen’s family when they arrived to help. She posted a heartfelt tribute to her late friend when his body was found, writing: “Always the happiest and most smiley person in the room, you was one of a kind Jay and you’ll be missed more than you know.
“I’m sure you’ll ‘have your dancing shoes polished and ready’ waiting for us all. We all love you buddy. Fly high.’ and attended his funeral, but failed to appear at the inquest.” She also attended Jay’s funeral.
She has reportedly returned to Tenerife for a holiday, her stepfather has said. He added that she was also on holiday when she was called to give witness testimony at the inquest earlier this year, with her family unaware it was going on at the time.
Bradley Hargreaves
Another friend from Lancashire who travelled to Tenerife with Jay, Bradley Hargreaves also regularly spoke with the press after search efforts were launched. When Jay went missing on June 17, Bradley, also known as Bradley Geoghegan, was sent his location, identifying him as being in the small village of Masca.
He also posted a tribute when his body was found, saying: “Nothing be the same without you. Rest easy brother. Love you always.” He did not appear as a witness at the inquest, having informed the coroner’s office he would be abroad on a holiday book last October. He is believed to be in Greece.
Brandon Hodgson
Brandon Hodgson was the third Lancashire friend to jet to Tenerife alongside Jay, and was one of the last people with whom Jay spoke before going missing. Investigator Mark Williams-Thomas said Brandon, now 20, had received a text from the teen saying: “I’ve started walking.”
Brandon added: “He was laughing at first, then he sent me his location. On the phone he said to me ‘I’ve been walking for half an hour’, I told him to go back and he said, ‘I’ve already been walking for half an hour, I’m not going back, I don’t want to go back, I just want to go home.”
Brandon is now “liasing with police” after Lancashire Police officers attended his address in the run up to the hearing with a witness summons without answer. Like Jay’s other mates, it has been discovered that he is currently on holiday, also abroad but in an undisclosed location.
Ayub Qassim
Ayub Qassim, a fellow Brit but not a friend from home, had invited Jay back to his rented AirBnB in the Tenerife mountain village of Masca the night before he went missing. The 31-year-old, a convicted drug dealer also known as “Johnny Vegas” had let him stay overnight, and claimed he told Jay he would drive him home after the teen told him “this woman told me I can get a bus every 10 minutes”.
Mr Qassim told Mark Williams-Thomas: “I told him that he’s mad, there’s no bus that’s coming here every 10 minutes, chill out for a bit and I’ll drop you off later on “He said, ‘No, no I’ve got to go to Los Cristianos, I need to scram, I need to chip out’. There’s nothing more that I could do.
“I saw him walk off maybe down the steps. I maybe shut the door and said if you need me…” The Metropolitan Police had tried to serve him a witness summons at his last known address in Barking, East London, but neighbours informed the service that he was no longer at the address and living abroad.
Steven Roccas
Steven “Rocky” Roccas was staying with Mr Qassim at the Masca AirBnB, but little more is known about the man beyond this. He kept his head down while Mr Qassim spoke about his last contact with Jay, and his identity was revealed for the first time at the teen’s inquest. Met Police officers had tried to serve him a witness summons at his address in London, but found he was no longer residing there before later tracking him to a business via an email address he had provided Spanish police. But the business was shuttered – having reportedly been closed for three years – and Mr Roccas has not been found.