Key facts
- Colonel Samantha Shepherd was acquitted of failing to properly handle allegations made by Gunner Jaysley Beck.
- Gunner Jaysley Beck died by suicide in December 2021.
- The court found insufficient evidence to safely convict Colonel Shepherd.
- Major James Hook's trial for failing to treat Beck's disclosures with appropriate seriousness continues.
- Beck had reported behavior by Warrant Officer Michael Webber during a July 2021 exercise.
- Michael Webber was jailed for six months in 2025 after pleading guilty to sexual assault.
Colonel Samantha Shepherd has been cleared by a court martial of failing to properly handle allegations made by a teenage soldier who later died by suicide. Assistant Judge Advocate General Edward Legard told the court on Wednesday that the crown had concluded there was insufficient evidence upon which Shepherd could be safely convicted.
Shepherd had faced accusations of “conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline” over the case of 19-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck, who took her own life in December 2021. The board, consisting of an RAF air commodore, a navy captain, and an army colonel, formally returned a not guilty verdict.
Shepherd was on trial at the military court centre at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, alongside Major James Hook. The prosecution had alleged that both officers "let down" Beck when she told them about an incident involving Warrant Officer Michael Webber during an adventure training exercise on Thorney Island in July 2021. Beck had informed both officers about behaviour towards her by Webber at a social event during the exercise.
Major Hook's trial continues. The court heard a summary of his interview with military police, in which he stated Beck told him Webber had "made a pass at her" and it was possible she also said he tried to kiss her. Hook said he asked Beck if Webber had forced himself on her or if she felt threatened, to which she replied: "No." Hook also stated he questioned the veracity of the allegation, noting Beck's complaints about the exercise and her desire to return to Larkhill barracks, and that he informed her of the potential consequences for Webber if investigated and found guilty.
An earlier inquest into Gunner Beck's death established that the assault by Michael Webber, who was jailed for six months in 2025 after pleading guilty, and the military's subsequent failure to take appropriate action, had contributed more than minimally to her death.