Debbie Duncan has spoken about how 'tragedy trolling' made her life hell following her son's disappearance and death. She said the trolling has 'never stopped' because there is no punishment for social media users, and detailed cruel online abuse that pushed her to 'the brink of a nervous breakdown'. Debbie Duncan described the abuse as an unending cycle, with comments alleging her son was involved in the mafia and drug dealing.
Jay Slater disappeared in June 2024 in Tenerife at age 19, sparking a massive manhunt and conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theorists made false claims, including that Jay's disappearance was a 'revenge attack' for his past behavior. Jay's body was discovered four weeks after his disappearance in a remote area near Masca.
It's just never ended, two years on almost, and they just keep coming - it's going round in circles, the comments about, 'He was involved in the mafia and drug dealing', and then it gets really personal.
An inquest in 2025 found Jay died on June 17, 2024, with injuries consistent with a 'heavy fall from height'. Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said the cause of death was head injuries, with no evidence of restraint or assault. The exact circumstances leading to Jay Slater's fall in Tenerife remain unclear, as the inquest only concluded it was consistent with a heavy fall from height.
Debbie Duncan appeared on This Morning on Thursday to promote her campaign for Jay's Law, which aims to hold social media companies accountable. The specific legal measures or penalties Jay's Law proposes to impose on social media companies have not been detailed publicly. It is also unknown whether any social media platforms have taken action against the trolls targeting Debbie Duncan and her family.
Calling his family, calling me [saying] 'they're drug dealers... he had a bad upbringing', it just got really personal.
Debbie Duncan said trolls have been calling her and her family, making personal accusations about drug dealing and upbringing. Debbie Duncan described trolls calling her family and making personal accusations about drug dealing and upbringing, stating they do not know the family yet judge them, with conspiracies starting almost immediately.
A GoFundMe page set up during the search for Jay raised over £70,000 in donations. Debbie Duncan said the GoFundMe money was used to help the family stay in Tenerife, support search teams, and give Jay a proper send-off. She said they were transparent with GoFundMe about how the money was used. Debbie Duncan described being transparent with GoFundMe about the money's use but anticipating further criticism. The exact allocation of the £70,000 to each purpose—family stay, search teams, and funeral—has not been disclosed. It remains unknown whether any criminal investigations are ongoing regarding the online abuse against Debbie Duncan.
They don't know us, they don't know our family, they don't know Jay but yet they just judge... and the conspiracies started almost immediately.
Then the GoFundMe was set up which caused a lot of... and people, where there's money concerned, so many families rely on GoFundMe's now, I'm eternally grateful for all the help and support and the donations.
We were transparent with the people at GoFundMe, they know what the money was used for but there will probably be a video out later today, 'Oh, there's Debbie Duncan again sat on the sofa talking about Jay and how much is she getting paid?'