Alison Gerry, legal counsel for Beck’s family, questioned Mason about WhatsApp messages that he sent to Beck before the coroner halted the line of questioning out of concern for the “mental health” of the witness.
The inquest was read a message that Beck sent to Mason that day which said: “I honestly feel trapped in this whole situation, I have tried to act as a normal as possible because we are working together but nothing is normal about this situation.
Finishing her questions, Gerry asked Mason: “You were Jaysley’s line manager, you were older, she was a young new soldier and your subordinate and it’s right you became completely obsessed with her, possessive, jealous, manipulative and when she split up with her boyfriend, you were overjoyed as that meant you could be together and, when that did not happen, you became more obsessive and manipulative?”.
Inquest is read message sent by Jaysley Beck, 19, to her line manager, Ryan Mason, saying she felt ‘trapped’.
Asked by the assistant coroner Nicholas Rheinberg if he had threatened suicide or self-harm to manipulate Beck into a close relationship, Mason said: “My aim was never … it was not to manipulate or stuff … I don’t know if I had an aim … I can’t remember.”.
