Mum of soldier who took her life after Army sex assault breaks down on live TV

The mother of a young soldier who took her own life after being sexually assaulted in the Army broke down as she spoke on BBC Breakfast.

Nineteen year old Gunner Jaysley Beck was found dead in her barracks at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in 2021. She had lodged a complaint against Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, who last week admitted one count of sexual assault.

An inquest earlier this year concluded that the Army’s handling of her complaint played “more than a minimal contributory part” in her death. Her mother, Leighann McCready, appeared on the program on Tuesday where she described the past four years as “hellish”, reported the Mirror.

Fighting back tears, she told hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent: “It’s really difficult to put into words how I’m feeling. Not just myself, but my whole family. We’ve waited four years for some form of justice for Jaysley. And the outcome will never bring our daughter back. And we shouldn’t have had to have gone through this.”

When asked if Webber’s guilty plea brought her any sense of justice, she replied: “Why has he pleaded guilty four years later? That I cannot answer. Will his sentence bring us any comfort? No. Again, we’ve waited four years for this”, reported the Express.

Reflecting on how the years since her daughter’s death have felt, she said: “Hellish. I should be grieving our daughter and not fighting for justice. And that has taken away what I should be naturally processing as a grieving parent. And instead, my focus has been fighting for justice.”

She described the pain of having to relive what her daughter went through, saying: “So not only have we had to listen to our daughter Jaysley, what she went through, hence why we’re here, where we are. I was able to, I felt like I was putting my own crime case together, which I shouldn’t have been.”

Leighann said her strength has come from Jaysley and her family. “I believe Jaysley is sending me so much strength to get through each and every single day,” she said. “And I won’t say every day’s a good day. I absolutely won’t. There’s days when I can’t bring myself off my bed and I can’t stop the tears. But I always believe that tomorrow is always a better day.”

The heartbreaking interview has shone fresh light on the case and on the Army’s failings in handling sexual assault complaints. For Leighann, though, the focus remains on remembering her daughter while continuing to push for change, even if it comes at the expense of her own grieving process.