Teenage soldier complained of ‘psychotic, possessive’ boss before her death

A teenage soldier was found dead after she became “scared” by the “psychotic and possessive” behaviour of her boss, who she feared had “hacked” her phone and had sent her thousands of messages, an inquest has heard.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on December 15 2021.

An Army service inquiry report published in October 2023 described “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour”, and said it was “almost certain this was a causal factor” in the 19-year-old’s death.

At an inquest into her death, Gunner Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, described how her daughter “did not feel safe” as the situation involving Bombardier Ryan Mason intensified.

The hearing in Salisbury was shown a series of WhatsApp messages between Gunner Beck and Mr Mason between October 2021 and December 2021.

Ms McCready said her daughter provided support for Mr Mason, who she said had mental health issues.

In one message to Gunner Beck, on October 21, Mr Mason wrote: “Love you Jayse. As a friend”, and on October 27 he wrote: “I’m renaming you in my phone as the magician.”

Then on November 11, he wrote: “You’re amazing Jayse, I appreciate you so much, I love everything about you, even your flaws.

“I will always be there along for the ride with you, I have said it before but you’re stuck with me forever now. I love you x As a friend, I love you.”

On November 25, Gunner Beck wrote to Mr Mason: “This whole falling in love with me, its becoming a bit too much, I have just come out of a relationship and I’m just not wanting to be involved in anything like this.

“It’s weighing me down a little bit, I’ll be totally honest with you.”

She added: “Totally honest here, I just don’t want to hear how you feel about me.”

Ms McCready said her daughter had received 3,600 messages from Mr Mason in the month of November and added: “Ryan Mason was overstepping the mark of her friendliness and her nature, this was Jayse’s impression and she made us aware that he is becoming a creep.”

In another message, Gunner Beck wrote that she feared Mr Mason was watching her.

She wrote: “When you said you seen me leav camp I was a bit taken back like are you watching me when you say things like ‘You’re there’ it’s just weird and the whole thing is just bizarre.”

In a message sent by Gunner Beck to Mr Mason on December 4, she said: “It’s snapping me, I have replied to you and in the space of a couple of minutes you sent three texts and tried to phone me. Can you understand why I think it’s a bit too much?”

Ms McCready, of Oxen Park in Cumbria, said her daughter felt Mr Mason was “a bit obsessive” and she believed he had organised that her daughter would only go on work trips with him rather than other colleagues.

She added: “There was a time when she was on the phone to me and said ‘Mum, I think he’s hacked my phone because he knows exactly where I am standing and he’s meant to be away’.”

Ms McCready said her daughter had phoned her on December 7 when she was staying in a hotel in Newbury for work.

She said her daughter was “upset and crying” and was “afraid something would happen – she thought he had tracked her phone and was listening to her conversation”.

She added: “Ryan was freaking her out.”

The inquest was shown a draft text message that Gunner Beck had planned to send Mr Mason.

It said: “I honestly feel trapped in this whole situation, I have tried to act as normal as possible because we are working together but nothing normal about this situation.

“It’s possessive and psychotic, you have to understand it’s not normal behaviour.

“I am struggling to deal with all of this, it’s taking a huge toll on my own mental health for many personal reasons. I need time out.”

Ms McCready said her daughter had told her she did not want to make a complaint because she did not want to be seen as a “female troublemaker”.

Ms McCready told the inquest her daughter had also been upset by her uncle’s suicide in August 2020, and had recently had a relationship come to an end.

The hearing was also told that Gunner Beck had complained of being assaulted by a sergeant who put his hand “between her legs” while on a team-building stay at Thorney Island, near Emsworth, Hampshire, in July 2021.

Ms McCready said her daughter had been too afraid to return to her room that night and slept in her car.

Ms McCready said her daughter had been angered by an apology letter from the sergeant, who received a minor sanction, which ended by saying his “door was open” for her.

The Army service inquiry report said this 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.

Her mother was accompanied at the inquest by her partner, Anthony, and daughter, Emilli, and the family placed photos of Gunner Beck on the table in front of them.

In a tribute, Ms McCready said: “Jayse was the very heart of our family. The loss we feel is beyond words, there’s a void that can’t be filled, our hearts will be forever broken but the light will never fade.

“She leaves behind a legacy of love, kindness, strength that will continue to guide us.”

Bombardier John Wheeler said he had a close relationship with Gunner Beck and said she was a “bubbly person” but she had become “more and more down” in the weeks before her death.

He said that she had sent him excerpts from a “love story” that Mr Mason had written where the characters were aliases for Mr Mason and Gunner Beck.

He said that he believed the book would amount to sexual harassment.

The hearing continues.