Drug dealer Jay Slater stayed with at Airbnb reveals final time he saw teen before he plunged to death in Tenerife
ONE of the final people to see Jay Slater alive has spoken out about the last time he spoke to the teenager before he tragically fell to his death.
Convicted drug dealer, Ayub Qassim, 31, took the 19-year-old Brit back to an Airbnb in Masca the night before he went missing on June 17.
Qassim has always denied any involvement in Jay’s death after the Lancashire teen was discovered in a ravine a short walk from the Airbnb.
He says Jay spent the night in the £40-a-night home before leaving in the early hours of the morning.
Qassim, from Barking, east London, claims he offered Jay a lift back to his hotel complex but the teen declined and walked away in a rush before disappearing.
Four months on from Jay’s funeral, Qassim has given a two-hour interview speaking about the last time he saw Jay.
Speaking on The Central Club podcast, he said no blame can be placed on him over Jay’s tragic death as he left him still “in one piece”.
Jay was “pretty much chill” the entire time he was at the Airbnb and had only asked for a cigarette and a blanket, Qassim said.
He did admit to having “survivors guilt” when he heard Jay had gone missing but said at the time it felt like a “told you so” moment as Jay had refused to accept a lift back.
Qassim said he spoke to his pal who first told him Jay didn’t make it back to his friends and said: “My reaction was mate, I f***ing told him I’d give him a lift in a couple hours, if only he waited.
“That’s your lot’s problem. I’m going to bed. Your mate is sweet, he come here in one piece, he left in one piece, I did my part
“The moment he said ‘I’m going’ and I shut my door, that’s me out of this.”
He added: “Sorry I couldn’t be your foreign suspect, I apologise, it’s not me for this whole situation.”
Qassim is believed to have drove Jay back to the Airbnb after a night of partying at the NRG festival in Papagayo, Playa de las Americas.
The pair were also joined by a third man who is yet to be formally identified but goes by Rocky.
Jay was said to have been quiet on the drive back to the rented cottage and mostly sat on his phone in the back seat.
Qassim has also now revealed that he knew Jay had some concerns over staying at the Airbnb.
He said: “I could tell he didn’t want to be there.”
The London-based man also admitted he was sent messages from a friend who spoke to Jay on the morning of his disappearance.
In one text Jay asks about Qassim and a third man staying with the two, saying: “Are these lads sweet?”.
The 31-year-old said on the podcast: “My pal did says he messaged to say ‘Is your pal alright upstairs’ and my guy said ‘Come off it, he is sweet’.
“That was about 10-20 minutes before he left. I do believe, there was a lot of texting back and forth.”
“He was obviously going through something in his head,” he added.
Jay then decided he was going to leave and make his way back to his friends Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves who were staying at a hotel near to the Tenerife strip.
Qassim says he again offered him a lift but that Jay planned to catch a bus instead after speaking to a neighbour who had asked Qassim to move his car.
The neighbour, Ofelia Medina Hernandez, told Jay a bus comes every 10 minutes.
Jay never caught a bus and instead decided to attempt the 10-hour trek back to his hotel.
During this treacherous journey he is thought to have slipped on rocky terrain and plunged to his death.
It is still unclear why the teen didn’t wait for a bus or return to Qassim or Ofelia to ask for help.
Qassim said that once Jay left for the bus he felt like he was no longer responsible: “When someone is telling you that they just want to go, you don’t know what’s going on in your head. They just want to go.
“I’m not going to be like ‘you’re not going, you’re staying’. I’m just thinking you’re safe sat on the bus stop.”
Cops are believed to have spoken to Qassim and Rocky in the days following Jay’s disappearance and ruled them both out of having any involvement in the case.
They deemed the men as “not relevant”.
Qassim was jailed for nine years back in 2015 for his role as the ringleader of a London-based gang dealing heroin and crack cocaine in Cardiff.
Jay’s grieving mum Debbie Duncan still wants answers from Qassim and Rocky over what happened to her son.
She told The Sun that she wants to quiz both men on why they picked him up from the party and how he ended up leaving on his own.
It comes as Qassim also revealed he had spent some time with Jay and his pal Brad in the days before he vanished.
A large group of friends all went to watch England play against Serbia during Euro 2024 with Qassim meeting Jay through a mutual friend.
Timeline of the tragic case
JAY'S body was finally found after weeks of agony for the teen's friends and family with many questions still left unanswered - here is how the events unfolded...
Sunday, June 16: Jay and his friends party at the last day of NRG music festival being held at Papagayo night club in Playa de la Americas, Tenerife.
June 17 3-6am: Jay leaves with Ayub Qassim and another man for a £40-a-night Airbnb 23 miles away in the village of Masca.
7.30am: Jay shares a photo on Snapchat standing at doorway of the Airbnb.
8.50am: He calls pal Lucy Mae Law and says he is “lost in the middle of nowhere” with no water, a cut to his leg and one per cent on his phone.
Tuesday, June 18: Pals search area but no sign of Jay. Local cops and mountain rescue teams start official search. Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan flies to Tenerife.
June 19-20: Spanish police deploy drones, dogs and a helicopter, but find no trace. Search moves to Los Cristianos amid possible sighting, but it is ruled out and they return to Rural de Teno, near Masca.
June 21: Lancashire Police offer support but it is declined.
June 22: Mum Debbie issues emotional appeal to Jay saying “We just need you home.”
June 24: Claims of Jay sighting in Santiago del Teide — near to where he disappeared — and family believe a grainy CCTV image could be of him.
June 25: Debbie issues plea for her son to come home as more friends fly out and TV investigator Mark Williams- Thomas joins search.
June 29: Cops rule Mr Qassim, and other man at Airbnb, out of investigation.
June 30: Spanish cops officially suspend hunt but say probe “remains open”. His family continue to search.
July 15: A body is found by helicopter search team close to where his phone last pinged. His possessions are discovered next to human remains. Spanish cops say it points to an “accidental fall”.
August 5: Tenerife authorities confirm the body found in mountainous area of island is Jay’s.
August 10: Jay’s funeral is held at Accrington Crematorium, Lancs, with hundreds of mourners gathering to remember the “one of a kind” teen