The funeral of Jay Slater has been targeted by “vile trolls” and scammers who are trying to make money off the teenager’s tragic death.
The 19-year-old flew from Lancashire to the Canary Islands for a music festival but disappeared after he went to stay with people he met during a night out on June 16.
Based off of his last known location - which was in the Rural de Teno Park in the north of Tenerife - a huge search effort was launched, which saw local police, his family and even TikTok sleuths scour the land to try and find the missing teenager.
Sadly, their attempts were futile and the body of Slater was discovered on July 15, almost a month later.
A 'celebration of life' service will be held on the weekend for the teenagerPAOn August 10, Slater’s body will be laid to rest in the Chapel at Accrington Crematorium, in Lancashire and the service will include a 'celebration of life' ceremony which will commemorate his 19 years.
However, trolls have capitalised on the event and have claimed that anyone can watch via a live stream - though to access this “link”, well-wishers must pay a fee.
The family says they have been swamped with reports of these scams popping up online, according to LBT Global - a crisis support charity that helped Slater’s relatives through their loss.
The charity has slammed the scams as “hurtful and deeply unrespectful” to the 19-year-old’s family.
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Jay Slater died from traumatic head injures PAChief Executive Matthew Searle, from LBT Global, told The Sun: “We are inundated with reports of these scams, and as fast as we can get the platforms to remove them, more appear.
“To be completely clear – there is no live stream of Jay's funeral, and anyone claiming to offer one is a scam.”
“As much as being hurtful and deeply unrespectful, this is taking vital donations away from a small charity.”
He asked that anyone who sees a link to report it, and stressed not to send the scammers any money.
The wild Masca region of Tenerife where Jay Slater went missing Reuters'It is so typical of the vile trolling this family has received for them to target something so special as a funeral,” he continued.
Following a post-mortem examination that was carried out in Britain last week, the 19-year-old was revealed to have died from traumatic head injuries.
His body was found in a deep ravine in the mountains and it was believed that he fell whilst trying to make his way back to his hotel.
Coroners found that Slater’s injuries were “consistent with a fall from height” and stated that his death would have been instantaneous.
The Spanish Civil Guard said the teenager could have fallen in the terrain where he had been walking, which had previously been described as “dangerous”.
