Army mishandled sex assault before Jaysley Beck’s death

The death of a soldier left terrified after being sexually assaulted by her superior was, in part, caused by the British Army’s handling of her complaint, a coroner says.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found hanged in her barracks at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on 15 December 2021 after a Christmas party.

Gunner Beck had filed a complaint against Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber after he “pinned her down” and tried to kiss her at a work social.

On Friday, Assistant Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg determined the Army’s handling of the complaint played “more than a minimal contributory part in her death”.

The incident in question occurred at an adventure training exercise at Thorney Island, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in July 2021.

The work gathering extended into the early hours of the morning, until Gunner Beck and Mr Webber were left drinking together alone.

Gunner Beck claimed WO1 Webber told her he had been “waiting for a moment for them to be alone”, had engaged her in a drinking game called Last Man Standing before grabbing her leg and trying to kiss her.

Shortly after, Gunner Beck called her friend Lance Bombardier Kirsty Davis, “frightened and in tears” because “someone tried it on with her”, the inquest was told.

She had hidden in a toilet cubicle with her feet up, before spending the remainder of the night in her car on the phone to Ms Davis out of fear he would come to find her.