‘She should still be here’: Mum of soldier hounded to death by bosses tells Army ‘no apology will bring her back’
20 February 2025, 13:34 | Updated: 20 February 2025, 15:45
The heartbroken mother of a teenage soldier who took her own life after being sexually harassed by her bosses has told the army "no apology will ever bring her back."
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was sexually harassed by a senior officer and the army’s handling of this "played more than a minimal contributory part” in her suicide, a coroner has found.
Beck took her own life at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on December 15 2021, aged just 19.
Her death came just five months after she complained she had been sexually assaulted by a senior colleague while on a trip with the armed forces.
The accused, Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, now of Warrant Officer 2 rank, was given a "minor sanction" for his actions.
This alleged assault, and the military’s failure to appropriately respond, ultimately played “more than a contributory part in her death,” it has been found.
Summing up the inquest for Gunner Beck, Nicholas Rheinberg, assistant coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon said: "She was sufficiently terrified to flee the scene (after an incident), hide in the toilets, take refuge in the car and remain on the phone (to her colleague)."
He added: "How Jaysley's complaint was handled played more than a contributory part in her death."
Speaking following the inquest's conclusion, Jaysley Beck's mother, Leighann McCready, told reporters: "Jaysley was so much more than a soldier - she was our daughter, a sister to Emily and a friend to so many.
"She was kind, caring and truly loved by everyone who knew her. She was full of life, bright and absolutely fantastic at her job.
"The army itself has said exactly the kind of person they wanted to join - she should still be here.
"Today, the coroner has made a number of extremely critical findings against the Army, and they have found that they have contributed to our daughter's death.
"The Army has admitted that it let Jaysley down, and has apologised for its failings - but no apology will ever bring our daughter back."
She added: "This is a message to Sir Keir Starmer and our government - things need to change.
"The Army cannot be allowed to investigate itself anymore - when it comes to cases of sexual harassment, assault, bullying, and abuse. Too often, servicewomen and men don’t feel able to speak up out of fear of being victimised and even when they do, the Army is left to investigate itself. This cannot continue.
"There needs to be an independent body responsible for investigating these most serious cases which is completely separate from the Army. Only then can we ensure true accountability, real justice, and genuine change."
Prior to her death, Gunner Beck reported inappropriate actions from more than one of her male colleagues, including telling a friend she had been pinned down and assaulted by Webber.
Lance Bombardier Kirsty Davis, who trained alongside Back as a gunner, told her the inquest her friend had called her in the early hours of the morning to tell her something had happened.
She said Gunner Beck told her that "something happened that night, they were all having a few drinks, someone tried it on with her".
Davis explained: "He was trying to kiss her and she was trying to push him away, he was pinning her down".
The hearing was also told of a message sent by Gunner Beck which stated that he was "grabbing the back of my neck for a kiss".
Davis had been asleep at the time but woke up to 20 missed calls from Gunner Beck.
When she finally got hold of her friend, Gunner Beck did not want her to end the phone call and it lasted "all night".
Davis added: "I think she was afraid he was going to come to the car."
She said in her statement: "I remember him saying she was amazing and beautiful. I know this because Jaysley hated compliments and it made her feel awkward."
She added that Gunner Beck told her he "tried to force himself on her more than once, a few times. Jaysley had told him no, tried to get away from him but he had persisted so she left.
"I do not know if he actually kissed her or tried to, I do not remember if Jaysley said he had touched her or not.
"Jaysley was in tears, she was upset. I think she was just frightened at what was going on and she was crying, just a little bit."
In a series of separate incidents, Gunner Beck complained of the “psychotic and possessive” behaviour of her line manager Bombardier Ryan Mason, an inquest has heard.
Mason allegedly became infatuated with Beck, limiting her friendships with other men.
A Ministry of Defence investigation found this obsession was a “causal factor” in her death.
Bombardier George Young told the inquest Mason became possessive, alleging he manipulated rotas to be working with Beck as often as possible.
The inquest heard Beck had texted Mason on November 15, 2021, saying: “I am not going to lie to you, me and George have a friendship and I won’t lose that. I feel like I cannot do certain things because of you.
“I want to live my life and if that is being friends with George then nobody should question that.
“You do have to see where I am coming from. I don’t want to be the person putting you through this. I am not going to lie to you, this has to stop now because it’s becoming hard for me.”
Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said that former bombardier Ryan Mason had sent 1,000 messages to Gunner Beck in October 2021 and 3,600 in November.
He said: "It's difficult to imagine the extent of the adverse effect that this must have had on Jaysley, a very young woman with problems of her own.
"Jaysley described the bombardier's conduct as creepy and ultimately as frightening.
"Rightly or wrongly she felt he was tracking her by her phone, the bombardier denied this and I find it unlikely."
The coroner said that he found it "difficult to believe that" Mr Mason had not been manipulating Gunner Beck by demanding her support for his mental health by telling her of his thoughts of self-harm and suicide.
The Army said Mr Mason's actions amounted to "unwelcome sexual attention" and "harassment", the coroner said.
The inquest previously heard from Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the Army personnel services group, who said the force formally accepted failures were made.
Brigadier Emmett said on Monday: "We let her down in so many ways for which we have already apologised, and if I can apologise again, for what it's worth, I would do."
