JAY Slater’s machete attack victim has defended the search for the missing teen and urged sleuths to stop tormenting his family.
Tom Hilton was left with his skull split open when an eight-strong gang – including Jay – ambushed him with a machete, golf clubs and an axe.
Tom, then 17, was left fighting for his life after the assault in Rishton, Lancashire, in 2021.
But despite his ordeal, brave Tom has slammed online trolls and told them to instead “help find” 19-year-old Jay, who vanished in Tenerife more than a week ago.
He wrote on Facebook: “Whoever’s writing on these TikToks give it a rest. This young lad’s missing and his family’s heartbroken.
“Put yourself in their shoes. Stop talking nonsense on social and get this lad found, mentioning my name all this and that.
“And have some respect and help find this boy and get him back to his family.”
During the trial at Preston Crown Court last year, Tom described the gang as “like a pack of gorillas”.
Tom told the court how he was chased down and beaten by the group.
He was left with his skull exposed and wounds to his shoulders and legs.
Throughout the trial, the eight gang members laughed and joked, reports Manchester Evening News.
Judge Philip Parry said: “You should all eight be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves but I am not at all convinced you are.
“Many of you have found these proceedings amusing throughout the trial and yesterday and today, showing disrespect to the court.
“I hope for the sake of all your families, the public and the people who have offered you jobs and apprenticeships and the sort that you all grow up.”
Jay was handed an 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid work.
After completing most of his sentence, Jay ventured off on his first holiday abroad with pals for the three-day NRG festival in Tenerife.
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But after going to a rave on June 16, he headed to Masca, on the north of the island, with two British men he had met that evening.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay stayed at their rented Airbnb for a couple of hours before trying to make his way back to his holiday accommodation.
He made a final frantic call to friend Lucy Law last Monday morning.
Jay told his pal he was lost in the middle of nowhere with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
It sparked a mammoth search involving sniffer dogs, drones, helicopters as well as dozens of emergency crews.
Much of the hunt has been focussed on the unforgiving 2,000ft “badlands” Masca ravine.
It is where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower at 8.50am on June 17.
As the search goes on for its ninth day, Jay’s distraught family are grappling with fake death posts being shared on social media by vile trolls.
Jay’s family have had to endure an onslaught of vile messages and bogus theories from trolls online after the teen disappeared.
His heartbroken mum said she felt “very let down” after sleuths started questioning what more than £30,000 raised on a GoFundMe page would be used for.
Debbie Duncan said: “I am really am saddened by all your comments. You seem to be so bothered about this GoFundMe page.
“I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag.
“I really cannot believe the British public are not supporting me in trying to find Jay.
“This may happen to any of you one day. Very let down by you all.”
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
Possible new sighting of Jay places him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although unconfirmed by police
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Cops focus their search around small outbuildings in de Teno park near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
The GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy surpasses £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay appearing to fall and stumble back up at a rave before he vanished
MONDAY 24
Search for Jay enters eighth day
Police expand search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay’s dad says his family are in ‘a living hell’
