CARRIS Taylor hugged her mum tighter than normal and told her \u2018I might be back later\u2019 \u2013 but within hours she was dead.<\/p>\n
The teenager tragically took her own life \u2013 after being groomed and molested by a paedophile she had been manipulated into believing was her boyfriend. Her mum is now calling for a change in the law to give justice to victims like Carris.<\/p>\n
Carris Taylor and her heartbroken mum Sharon Baker Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
Carris took her own life, aged 16, in April Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
Paedo Oliver Beck, 26, was jailed last year Credit: Warwickshire Police<\/p>\n
Carris\u2019 family have been left devastated by her sudden death Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
Twisted abuser Oliver Beck, 26, was convicted of three counts of sexual activity with a child under 16 and jailed for four years in May 2025 \u2013 having begun \u201crelentlessly grooming\u201d Carris, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, when she was just 14.<\/p>\n
But having served several months on remand before his conviction \u2013 and with him expected to only serve half his sentence inside and the rest on licence \u2013 he is set for release.<\/p>\n
The abuse led to a rift between Carris and her family, with cops having to pursue a \u201cvictimless\u201d prosecution as the teen refused to testify against Beck.<\/p>\n
Now her heartbroken mum is calling for a change in the law to hold abuser responsible if their victims take their own lives.<\/p>\n
Sharon Baker said Carris had \u201cgone off the rails\u201d in the aftermath of the conviction but appeared to be piecing herself back together \u2013 completing her GCSEs, starting college and making plans to join the Army.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe began to rebuild her life,\u201d mum-of-six Sharon told The Sun.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then the darkness returned. She slipped back into drugs and alcohol, lost the small jobs she had, and began struggling again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe now believe she simply couldn\u2019t cope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharon described her daughter as \u2018vibrant\u2019 before the abuse Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
The troubled teen had turned to drink and drugs Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
Carris took her own life on Sunday April 19, aged just 16, and her body was found by an off-duty policeman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sharon recalled two officers arriving at her door that morning.<\/p>\n
Carris was often reported as missing in the troubled couple of years before her death \u2013 the family had got to know the local officers, even chatting jovially with them on the doorstep.<\/p>\n
But Sharon didn\u2019t recognise these two and, unusually, they asked if they could come in.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as they told me to sit down, I collapsed,\u201d Sharon, 43, said. \u201cI knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
She thought back to the Friday before, when she\u2019d last seen Carris, who\u2019d hugged her and her stepdad Dave.<\/p>\n
Whilst being groomed and abused by Beck, the teenager had grown distant from her loved ones and had eventually gone to live with a foster family.<\/p>\n
However, following his conviction, she\u2019d started to rekindle the relationship with her family and had discussed moving back home.<\/p>\n
Beck is due for release this year Credit: WARWICKSHIRE POLICE<\/p>\n
Sharon says her daughter was let down by the system and wants a law change Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
Referring to that final meeting, Sharon said: \u201cAt the time, it didn\u2019t register but now we\u2019re thinking back, she hugged us really tight.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then she said to us, \u2018I might be back later, Mum.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018alright then, bab\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was obviously the last time I saw her.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she replays that evening \u201cevery single day\u201d. Carris had turned up out of the blue \u2013 and now Sharon believes she\u2019d been planning her suicide for weeks and that was her goodbye.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wished I\u2019d have held her tighter,\u201d explained the grieving mum, holding back tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband says he wished he\u2019d have locked the door and not let her go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so many \u2018what ifs\u2019 \u2013 what if we\u2019d have done this and what if we\u2019d have done that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could spend the rest of our lives torturing ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharon said Carris was always vulnerable as a child but had big plans as she appeared to be recovering Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
Heartbreaking floral tributes left for Carris Credit: Sharon Baker<\/p>\n
Sharon said she was taken to Warwick Hospital where she waited seven hours before she could say goodbye to her daughter.<\/p>\n
In her grief-stricken state, she also contacted the prison Beck was at the week Carris died.<\/p>\n
She claimed to be a friend of his and wanted to let him know of a bereavement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to actually listen to his voice when I told him she\u2019d gone,\u201d Sharon explained. \u201cBut I couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call handler went through his approved contact list and refused to put the call through.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed something to blame at that exact point in time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked if she believed Carris still saw Beck as her boyfriend or if she\u2019d feared seeing him again, Sharon said: \u201cShe didn\u2019t show us any emotions at all about it \u2013 that was the kind of girl she was.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was so closed up with no emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou’re Not Alone\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society \u2013 from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.<\/p>\n
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.<\/p>\n
Yet it\u2019s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.<\/p>\n
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:<\/p>\n
Cops had pursued an \u201cevidence-led prosecution\u201d as Carris had not been willing to speak against him.<\/p>\n
Speaking following Beck\u2019s sentencing at Warwick Crown Court on May 2 last year, Det Sgt Dan Lydster said: \u201cBeck groomed his victim relentlessly and, as with most predators, he would have hoped that his manipulation would prevent him from ever being held to account.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was clear to us that Beck is a danger to young girls and we took the decision to pursue a victimless prosecution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to do everything in our power to protect Warwickshire\u2019s children from predators like Beck.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sharon has accused both Warwickshire police and social services of failing to protect her daughter from Beck, and said little support was provided for her deteriorating mental health following his conviction.<\/p>\n
She said she warned cops about the inappropriate relationship but \u201cI wasn\u2019t listened to\u201d, adding: \u201cWhile in care, she was given no support, no counselling, despite my constant pleas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole system has killed her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cMy daughter was once a vibrant, happy, carefree girl who didn\u2019t worry about what others thought of her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe turned her into someone I barely recognised. I tried again and again to help her but he had manipulated her deeply.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n