Jay Slater’s family blast trolls over £60k GoFundMe cash for ‘biggest & best’ funeral as desperate mum pleads for more
JAY Slater’s family have blasted online trolls criticising them over the £60,000 raised for the repatriation of his body home.
Jay’s devastated mum Debbie Duncan has asked people to continue donating so she can give her son “the send-off he deserves” after his body was found on Monday.
But online trolls have targeted the family, disbelieving that they need all that cash and more.
They have currently raised £62,500 at the time of publication.
Family spokesperson LBT Global have now slammed the trolls and said they were seeing “vast amounts of hateful content online”.
Boss Matt Searle said: “This hate comes from people who, I assume, have never had to repatriate a deceased loved one.
“Those costs can top £20k easily.
“These people probably haven’t had to arrange their own child’s funeral, nor felt the need to make it the biggest and best they can as it’s the last thing they’ll ever do for their child.”
It comes as…
- Jay Slater was confirmed dead on Tuesday as body was found in gruelling search on Monday after 4 weeks
- Jay’s mum said ‘our hearts are broken‘ after ‘beautiful’ son’s body is found
- Jay Slater cops revealed his cause of death details after teen suffered ‘broken bones’ from ‘horror fall’
- The body was discovered just yards away from where Jay’s phone last pinged
- Jay’s best pal Lucy Mae Law paid tribute to the ‘happiest person in the room’
- Donations on Jay Slater GoFundMe hit a huge benchmark of £60k
- Jay’s mum Debbie asked people to continue donating so she can give her son “the send-off he deserves”
Searle also revealed how the cash is being spent, saying there was only “very little spare” from the cash.
He said the search and rescue charities that looked for Jay have had their “costs covered”.
The cash has also covered the family’s accommodation as they have waited and hoped to find Jay alive.
The family is also making a donation to LBT Global “for the support we have given, support which is outside of that we are funded to do.”
Searle said: “When you add that up there is very little spare from £60k. Certainly not enough to ‘line her pockets’, ‘set her up for life’ or even ‘cover her duty free’.
“I have removed many hateful and indeed slanderous comments today. It means I can’t be helping other families right now.
“It has to stop.
“To those out there who feel the same way about these vile comments, report them. Thanks for your support.”
Mum Debbie, 55, posted to the fundraising page today to thank well-wishers for their kindness.
Jay’s mum said she is “overwhelmed” by grief and thankful for the support the family has received from the public.
She said: “We would like to thank LBT Global for their support during this impossible time.
“We are working with agencies to arrange Jay’s repatriation to the UK and the remaining funds, along with any future donations will be used to help with this if needed and to pay for Jay’s funeral costs back home.”
The devastated mum wept as authorities this week confirmed they had found the teenager’s body in a mountainous region.
The apprentice bricklayer first disappeared on the holiday island on June 17, sparking a mammoth rescue effort.
The Sun understands family members have since jetted to Tenerife to be by Debbie’s side as she waits for Jay’s body to be repatriated.
She paid tribute to him on Wednesday with a heartfelt note that reads: “To my beautiful boy. I’m so sorry we never found you.
This hate comes from people who, I assume, have never had to repatriate a deceased loved one
Matt Searle
“I miss you so much. You will be forever young and forever missed. Love you so much.”
Searchers discovered Jay’s remains on Monday – four weeks after he disappeared while on holiday with his pals for the NRG music festival.
Spanish cops still haven’t revealed the exact location where the body was found.
But it’s believed his body was pulled from the remote Baranco Juan Lopez valley, not far from where his phone signal last pinged.
The landscape is considered to be near-impossible to access on foot unless you’re an experienced climber with equipment – including rope.
Some gaps seen between the desolate landscape are only a few feet wide and sometimes hidden which could explain how the teen’s body was missed in previous aerial searches.
TIMELINE OF THE TRAGEDY
THE grim discovery of a body comes after weeks of agony for Jay’s friends and family. 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.
Yesterday: 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”.