A TEAR rolled down my cheek today as the powerful words of Jay Slater’s mum tugged on the heartstrings of all those at his inquest.
Enduring the agony of your son not returning from his first holiday with friends is one thing, but to do it at the mercy of trolls is unimaginable.
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Jay’s family have been relentlessly hounded for more than a year now by frankly moronic wannabe sleuths desperate to give their useless opinion to any fool who will listen.
Endless conspiracy theory groups run by spineless armchair detectives cropped up all over social media.
Did they have a clue what they were talking about? Absolutely not.
I have never seen such pathetic cries for attention.
Imagine having such a low moral compass to not only lap up baseless theories, but to also take the time to write such spurious, wildly unhelpful posts yourself.
What has really made my blood boil over the last 13 months is the trolling Jay’s family have been forced to suffer.
Posting your ridiculous thoughts on social media is bad enough.
But to actually directly contact his grief-stricken relatives? That’s downright despicable.
I’ve seen firsthand the categorically vile abuse Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan received.
When I met with her days after Jay’s funeral last August, she showed me a handwritten letter that arrived at her home address that morning.
The anonymous female sender – naturally too shallow to even reveal her name – asked Debbie why she went to “all that fuss” for Jay’s funeral.
Sickeningly, the sender – also a mother herself – crowed about her own sons and claimed they had been “brought up properly”.
I hope she hangs her head in shame and her sons one day find out how their own mother cruelly taunted another mum during her darkest moments.
Debbie told how she had been sent thousands of messages; been bombarded with calls and even sent ransom notes by twisted trolls.
Mum-of-two Debbie said to me through tears at the time: “I don’t even have the words to describe how sick these individuals are.”
And try as I might, neither do I.
As a journalist, I’ve covered countless stories over the years and spoken to many grief-stricken families – with no story any less important than the ones before.
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But watching on in Tenerife as Jay’s family battled for answers broke my heart – especially when I could see just how horrendous the abuse they were suffering was.
Even after Jay’s body was found, it felt like they still hadn’t got the closure they so desperately deserved as theories ran rife on social media.
Finally, a year after Jay’s body was found, Debbie, Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak gained some closure from his inquest.
Three witnesses who failed to turn up to an initial hearing in May filled in some gaps in the picture of his final hours, which I hope gave them some comfort.
As for those called up who didn’t even have the decency to help Jay’s family understand what happened to him, I hope you are forever haunted by your lack of conscience.
Although the coroner today correctly dispelled spiteful claims about Jay’s behaviour, I can only imagine that the scars from the incessant trolling will forever run deep.
Jay didn’t steal a watch, he didn’t have knives in his shorts and he didn’t leave the Airbnb for any untoward reason.
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He was a young lad having the time of his life on holiday, and sadly, yes, did make some decisions such as taking drugs, that ultimately led to his accidental death.
But does that make him a bad person? Does that make it fair for you to bully his family?
The answer is, and has always been, no.
Please now, leave Jay’s family alone. They deserve peace after the torment they have suffered for so long, on top of their grief.
Brave Debbie showed admirable resilience today as, through tears, she reminded the public that Jay was a real person.
“He may have been a story for the past 13 months – a story full of many untruths,” she said.
“He did touch the hearts of the nation and that overwhelms us.
“We ask you now to please let Jay rest in eternal peace.”
I can only pray everyone takes heed of her plea.