Soldier, 19, took own life on army base after ‘boss bombarded her with messages’

A soldier died by suicide after she was bombarded with text messages from her “psychotic” boss, an inquest has heard.

A soldier took her own life on an army base after her “psychotic and possessive” boss bombarded her with messages, an inquest heard.

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

The 19-year-old was subjected to an “intense period of unwelcome behaviour” from Bombardier Ryan Mason, an inquest heard.

A service inquiry report published in October 2023 found this was almost certainly a “casual factor” in Jaysley’s death, The Sun reports.

Soldier Jaysley Beck took her own life in 2021. Picture: Facebook

Between October 2021 and December 2021, Mason sent the Gunner a string of text messages, an inquest was told.

In November alone – the month before Jaysley’s death – she received 3,600 messages.

In one, he told her: “Love you Jayse. As a friend.”

Mason also told her: “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, Jaysley told 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.”

In another message, Jaysley wrote that she feared Mason was watching her.

She said: “When you said you seen me leave 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.”

She had been hounded with messages by her boss, an inquest heard. Picture: Family Handout/PA Wire/AAP

‘Creep’ fears

In another message sent 11 days before she died, Jaysley told Mason: “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?”

Jaysley’s mum Leighann McCready told the court her daughter felt that Mason was “overstepping the mark of her friendliness” and was becoming a “creep”.

The mum said Jaysley called her on December 7 “upset and crying” as she worried that her boss had hacked her phone and was listening to her conversations.

The inquest was also shown a draft message Jaysley was planning to send Mason.

It read: “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.”

The hearing was also told that Jaysley had complained of being assaulted by a sergeant who put his hand “between her legs” while on a team-building stay in July 2021.

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

Jaysley was subjected to an “intense period of unwelcome behaviour”.

She also told the hearing that her daughter was 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”.

It also said that family issues, including a bereavement, were responsible for Jaysley’s death, which her family reject.

The report outlined three “contributory factors” to Jaysley’s death – including the “significant strain” of a sexual relationship with a married colleague in the last few weeks of her life.

It also mentioned a relationship that ended in November 2021 and involved “repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend”.

The third mentioned an “unhealthy approach to alcohol, with episodes of binge drinking”.

It added that Jaysley had no diagnosed mental health conditions and had not sought welfare support from anyone in the Army.

Paying tribute, Jaysley’s mum 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.”

The inquest continues.

This story was published by The Sun and reproduced with permission