The mother of a missing X Factor star has opened up about the last words she heard from her son before he vanished.
For nearly two years, Julie Davis has endured a living nightmare, waking each day not knowing whether her missing son, Levi Davis, is dead or alive.
The former professional rugby player vanished on October 29, 2022, after arriving in Barcelona, and despite international attention, his disappearance remains unsolved.
“It feels worse than a bereavement,” says Julie, 53, from Solihull, Northern England. “When someone’s missing, you are constantly grieving. But I’ll never give up hope of finding Levi alive.”
Levi, 24, a former winger for Bath and a contestant on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019, had been dealing with career-ending injuries and was pursuing a new path in music.
Julie’s last conversation with him haunts her: he called from Barcelona to ask for £30 for a hotel room. She refused, encouraging him to become more independent after months of financial support. She sent a text afterward, but received no reply, BBC News reports.
His last known movements were captured on CCTV at The Old Irish Pub on La Rambla around 10PM. He was seen leaving alone after reportedly having one or two drinks. A WhatsApp message sent to a friend after midnight was his final known communication.
The next morning, cruise ship passengers docked near Barcelona’s port reported seeing a man matching Levi’s description (dark-skinned, about 30, wearing a white T-shirt) in the water. Spanish police initially launched a search but called it off when no one from the vessel was reported missing. They later concluded Levi likely drowned.
Julie, however, remains unconvinced. “His phone last pinged near an underground station by the port at 6:30AM. What was he doing there?” she said, per Wales Online. A week later, Levi’s passport was found in a cargo area nearby. His bank account has not been touched since.
The Catalan police released a 250-page report, but much of it was in Spanish and Catalan, leaving Julie to crowdfund for legal help to properly examine it.
The cheapest solicitor quote she received was £5,000 ($6,700), just for initial work. “As far as the UK police are concerned, we’ve just been forgotten,” she says.
Levi’s disappearance took a darker turn when Julie discovered he had previously been blackmailed in what she believes may be linked to his vanishing.
According to Julie, Levi had been the victim of a sexual assault that was filmed and later used to extort him, according to the Byline Times.
“He was drugged and raped, and photographs were taken,” she says, revealing that her eldest son, Nathan, had shared the disturbing details with her. “They threatened him, said they’d harm our family if he didn’t pay.”
In one incident, Levi allegedly recorded a video expressing fear for his life, and in a chilling account, he described being “chained to a chair with his feet in a bowl of water, connected to some kind of electricity.” Julie believes this incident, which occurred around the time of his X Factor appearance, deeply affected him.
Julie continues to push for answers. With little progress from Spanish authorities and only limited support from UK police, she’s turned to crowdfunding and advocacy campaigns like the Mirror’s Missed, which highlights overlooked missing persons cases in the UK, more than 170,000 annually, including 75,000 children, per the National Crime Agency.
“I just want the truth,” Julie says. “Even if it’s the worst news, I need to know what happened to my son.”
West Midlands Police confirmed they are supporting the Spanish-led investigation and will continue to pass on updates to the family. But for now, Julie remains in limbo, trapped between hope and grief.