A 19-year-old soldier found dead in her room at an army camp had become frightened at the “psychotic and possessive” behaviour of her boss, who had sent her thousands of WhatsApp messages and expressed his love for her, an inquest heard.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, who died at Larkhill camp in Wiltshire, was concerned Bombardier Ryan Mason had hacked her phone because he seemed to know where she was, the inquest was told.
An army service inquiry report published in October 2023 described Beck being exposed to “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour”, and said it was “almost certain this was a causal factor” in her death on 15 December 2021.
At the start of the two-week inquest, Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, said her daughter, who had joined the army two years before, “did not feel safe” as the situation involving Mason developed.
She said Beck received 3,600 messages from Mason in November 2021 and her daughter felt he was becoming “a creep” and “a bit obsessive”. She added: “It was relentless.”
McCready 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.”
Her daughter had phoned her on 7 December “upset and crying” and was “afraid something would happen”. McCready added: “Ryan was freaking her out.”
McCready said her daughter did not want to inform anyone in the army about Mason’s behaviour as she did not want to be known as “the female troublemaker”.
The hearing in Salisbury was shown a series of WhatsApp messages between Beck and Mason between October 2021 and December 2021.
In one message to Beck, on 27 October he wrote: “I’m renaming you in my phone as the magician.” On 11 November 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 25 November Beck wrote to Mason: “This whole falling in love with me, it’s becoming a bit too much. It’s weighing me down a little bit.”
The inquest was also shown a draft text message Beck had apparently planned to send Mason that said: “I honestly feel trapped in this whole 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.”
McCready told the inquest that her daughter had also been upset by an uncle’s suicide in August 2020, and had recently had a relationship come to an end.
The inquest heard Beck had complained of being assaulted by a sergeant who put his hand “between her legs” while on a team-building stay in Hampshire.
McCready said her daughter had been too afraid to return to her room that night and slept in her car. She told the inquest her daughter had been angered by an apology letter from the sergeant, which ended by saying his “door was open” for her. He received a minor sanction.
A friend of Beck, Bombardier John Wheeler, told the inquest that “inappropriate relationships” between different ranking soldiers were rife and he had lost “faith” in the chain of command.
He said Beck had sent him excerpts from a “love story” that Mason had written where the characters were aliases for Mason and Beck. Wheeler said he believed the book would amount to sexual harassment.
Wheeler added that Beck was a “bubbly person” but she had become “more and more down” in the weeks before her death.
The hearing continues.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
