Cause Of Death | Series 4 Preview (5)

This series returns with renowned forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd.

With decades of frontline experience, Dr Shepherd reexamines the evidence behind headline-making tragedies and haunting lesser-known cases, revealing how science can provide much-needed answers following a sudden death.

Through post-mortems, witness testimony and expert analysis, each episode carefully pieces together the clues to solve the mysteries the dead leave behind. With access to families, investigators and those closest to the cases, this series uncovers the human stories behind unexplained loss and the truths still waiting to be found. For Dr Shepherd, death is rarely the end of the story; it is where the search for answers begins.

Nineteen-year-old apprentice bricklayer Jay Slater disappeared in Tenerife on 17 June 2024 after walking alone in the mountains in the north of the island. An inquest ruled his death was a tragic accident, but two years later his mother Debbie Duncan still has unanswered questions.

Now, for the first time, Debbie is taken through her son’s post-mortem by the man who carried it out, Dr Richard Shepherd. He talks her through the details of his examination, explaining the medical evidence behind Jay’s death.

And there is further evidence. A Spanish post-mortem report reached Debbie only weeks before filming. It contains findings that have been unavailable to her up until recently.

But knowing how Jay died alone doesn’t explain the circumstances that lead up to his death. In search of answers about her son’s last hours, Debbie returns to Tenerife with Dr Shepherd and her brother Glen to recreate Jay’s last walk.

A digital forensic scientist uses Jay's phone to reconstruct his last hour of contact. Jay goes from laughing with friends to telling them that he is thirsty and frightened. Why did he leave the road from the mountain village of Masca and lose himself forever in remote terrain?

In Masca, accompanied by a local guide, his uncle Glen sets off on the route they believe Jay may have taken. The walk leads him into punishing heat and unforgiving terrain. As Glen’s journey takes him ever closer to the location where Jay was finally discovered, Dr Shepherd takes the medical evidence back to the place where Jay died and reveals how little sleep and no water would have affected Jay’s judgement in the hours before he died.

Cause Of Death returns Wednesday 30th September on 5.