The mother of a teenage Royal Artillery Gunner who took her own life said her daughter “should still be here” after a coroner ruled a string of Army failings contributed to her death.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was found hanged at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on December 15 2021.
Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg ruled that the Army’s failure to take action after Gunner Beck was harassed by her line manager contributed to her death.
He also ruled that “on the balance of probabilities” she had been sexually assaulted by another senior colleague, and the Army’s failure to take appropriate action “more than minimally” contributed to her death.
Speaking after Mr Rheinberg ruled Gunner Beck had died by suicide, her mother, Leighann McCready, said: “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.
“Today, the Coroner has given his findings. They are extremely critical and he found that various Army failings in the handling of her report of sexual assault and in responding to the sexual harassment she was suffering, contributed to her 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.”
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck on parade (Family handout/PA)
Concluding the Salisbury inquest on Thursday, Mr Rheinberg said there had been a “systemic failure” by the Army to report harassment she suffered at the hands of her manager before her death.
Mr Rheinberg said Gunner Beck had faced the failure of superior officers to take action over the “barrage” of messages sent by her manager Ryan Mason and the failure to fully investigate Gunner Beck’s complaint of sexual assault against Warrant Officer Michael Webber.
He added: “I find there is an arguable case for saying, in relation to Jaysley, the state breached her Article 2 right to life by way of the state failure to put in place a framework of laws, policies, procedures and means of enforcement which will, to the greatest extent, protect life.”
The coroner added that Gunner Beck’s complaint about being sexually assaulted on a stay at Thorney Island “should have been reported to police and the failure to do so breached Army policy”.
He added: “I find on the balance of probabilities that the complaint should not have been dealt with by minor administrative action, by following this route it breached Army policy as it was a sexual assault carried out on a 19-year-old Gunner by a middle-aged man of senior rank and was recorded merely as inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a warrant officer.”
The inquest previously heard that the 19-year-old had complained about the “possessive and psychotic” behaviour of her boss Mr Mason, a bombardier at the time.
Jaysley Beck who was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 (Family handout/PA)
The hearing was told the senior soldier, who had mental health issues having previously self-harmed, had sent Gunner Beck more than 1,000 messages in that October and 3,600 in November, and had spoken of his love for her.
Her mother, Leighann McCready, of Oxen Park, Cumbria, said that her daughter “did not feel safe” as Mr Mason’s behaviour intensified, and she had feared that he had hacked her phone and was watching her.
An Army service inquiry report published in October 2023 described this as “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour”, and said it was “almost certain this was a causal factor” in her death.
Mr Mason, who served in the Core Engagement Team (CET) with Gunner Beck but left in the same month as her death, denied that he had tried to “manipulate” her by putting pressure on her by talking about his own mental health and suicide concerns.
Jaysley Beck with a pet dog (Family handout/PA)
The hearing was also told that Gunner Beck had made a complaint against another senior soldier, then Battery Sergeant Major Webber, during the stay at Thorney Island, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in July 2021 for an adventure training exercise.
She had said that he had “made a pass” at her, put his hand between her legs and “pinned her down” while trying to kiss her, the hearing was told.
Gunner Beck, who joined the Army at 16, had been left scared by the incident and ended up sleeping in her car for safety, the inquest was told.
The married soldier, who is now of Warrant Officer 2 rank, declined to answer questions at the inquest.
WO2 Webber had been ordered to write a letter to Gunner Beck after the incident, which he said had been an attempt at a “genuine apology”.
The Army service inquiry report said this “minor sanction” was “possibly a factor that may have influenced her failure to report other events that happened subsequently”.
The report added that said family issues, including a bereavement, were also responsible for Gunner Beck’s death, which her family reject.
It detailed three “contributory factors” to Gunner Beck’s death, including the “significant strain” of a sexual relationship with a married colleague in the last few weeks of her life; a relationship which ended in November 2021 which involved “repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend”; and an “unhealthy approach to alcohol, with episodes of binge drinking”.
It added that Gunner Beck had no diagnosed mental health conditions and had not sought welfare support from anyone in the Army.
Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the army personnel services group, apologised at the inquest to Gunner Beck’s family and said the force formally accepted failures were made.
The coroner, Mr Rheinberg, said that he would not be preparing a report to prevent future deaths as he had been “reassured” by the Army, including from Brigadier Emmett’s evidence, that “matters are currently under review and revision”.
Emma Norton, the family’s solicitor, said: “It is hard to imagine a more critical set of conclusions from the coroner, who has today found that the multiple and extremely serious failings on the part of the Army in responding to Jaysley’s report of sexual assault and her experience of intolerable sexual harassment, contributed to her death.”