The man who was with Jay Slater in an Airbnb before he went missing has spoken out about the tragedy.
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Jay went missing on June 17 while he was attending the NRG music festival with his friends in Tenerife.
As the 19-year-old's friends opted to go back to their accommodation, Jay decided to travel by car to the remote area of Masca with two British men he had met previously.
The following morning Jay called his friend Lucy Mae Law to explain that he was thirsty, only had one percent battery on his phone, and that he was about to attempt a 10-hour walk back to where they were staying.
Jay was reported missing and after 29 days of searching, human remains identified to be the 19-year-old were discovered 20 minutes away from where his phone last pinged.
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During the investigation, questions were raised about the men that Jay was with the night before his disappearance, with rumors circulating that they were possible drug dealers.
Conspiracy theories did the rounds online, but after investigating it was declared that the two men were not of interest in connection with Jay's unfortunate passing.
The two men, Ayub Qassim and a man believed to be his holiday pal 'Rocky', have since opened up on a YouTube live broadcast, cited by the Mirror, where they have finally spoken out about the case.
Qassim insisted they took Jay back to the Airbnb at his own request. "Took him home? No one took no-one, bro. He invited himself. Think, bro, use your head," he stated.
Addressing how he felt after Jay's death, Qassim said: "It’s mental, mate, it’s actually mad. Do you know what I'm saying? It’s actually mental, man."
When asked if he had punched Jay, Qassim responded: "No, of course not. Mate, what do you reckon happened to him? He had a tragic accident, you know what it’s like. Taking it out that way. The kid didn’t have his funeral, have a bit of respect."
Throughout the investigation, there was intrigue around a Rolex watch that Jay was alleged to have stolen.
Regarding the stolen watch, Qassim questioned: "Why the f*** would I invite someone who took my watch back to mine so they can sleep on the sofa? What are you on about?"
Moving the conversation to Jay's friends, Qassim said: "Everyone needs to relax, like, leave Lucy alone, cos, to be fair, Lucy was the first one at my yard saying, ‘yo, like, I’m looking for him, where is he?’ People do like listening to drama."
Qassim acknowledged knowing Jay’s group from Lancashire but clarified they weren’t socializing together that night.
When asked why Jay seemed scared when he left their apartment, Qassim said: "I don’t know why he was scared and he ain't here to answer that question. I don’t want to say, people could be going through something in their own heads, who knows.”
Qassim also denied the claims of his continued drug dealing after having served a jail sentence previously, stating: "Everyone’s calling me a dealer, I was 19, I’m 30 now. Everyone asking why was he scared, bro I don’t know why he was scared, bro. Stop asking me, you’re asking the wrong guy."
Qassim explained why the Airbnb was booked under a different name and reiterated that Jay had asked to join them.
“He looked at me and said, ‘bro I ain’t got the keys to my place, them lot have gone back, left and that, can I roll with you man?’ He asked me, bro, I didn’t invite no-one,” he stated.
Qassim also claimed a detective informed him that Jay had two knives on him, saying: “That’s even more mental, like the guy had two knives on him. Like we was in danger, let alone, but no one’s saying anything about that."
'Rocky' also briefly commented: “I got drunk, I was sleeping in the car. Why did he not charge his phone? I don’t know, I was asleep so I can’t tell you, mate.”
