Shorouk Express
An abusive boyfriend who subjected his vulnerable partner to two years of assault and domestic abuse has been jailed, after being cleared of her manslaughter earlier this week.
Ryan Wellings, 30, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for his crimes after Kiena Dawes, 23, left a suicide note calling her partner a “monster” who had “killed me”. Wellings was seen smiling as he left the dock following his sentencing.
She left the note and their nine-month-old daughter with a friend before taking her own life on a railway line on 22 July 2022.
Wellings’s abuse of Ms Dawes included regular slapping and “ragging” by her hair, threats to use a drill to take out her teeth, and saying he would “make her look like Katie Piper” by throwing acid in her face. During the final stages of their relationship, she was hospitalised after he beat her, with Wellings breaking his bail conditions shortly after he was arrested.
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Prosecutors took the highly unusual step of charging Wellings with manslaughter and he was the first defendant to face trial for the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence.
He was convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour over two years but cleared of manslaughter by the jury on Monday following a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court.
He was sentenced to four years in prison for coercive behaviour, two years for an incident where Ms Dawes was hit with a door, and an additional six months for an unrelated offence of actual bodily harm (ABH) on his friend in July 2023. The sentences will be served consecutively.
Judge Robert Altham, beginning his sentencing remarks, said: “Given the gravity of the offending, there’s no prospect of a sentence other than immediate custody.
“Kiena Dawes was according to the accounts of many witnesses, a popular, vivacious, friendly and kind young woman.
“You repeatedly assaulted and abused her. You would repeatedly hit her, in the messages she pleaded with you to stop hitting her.
“Knowing her previous attempts at suicide and her fragile mental health, you repeatedly told her she may as well kill herself.”
He said Wellings showed “no remorse”, adding: “You are a clear danger to any partner you have in the future.”
The court heard Wellings had previous convictions from the age of 16, including for burglary, criminal damage and battering an ex-girlfriend before he met Miss Dawes.
From 2020 to 2023, 723 domestic abuse-related deaths were identified by police in England and Wales, of which 216 were suspected victim suicides, one study found.
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Ms Dawes’s mother, Angela Dawes described her daughter as the “sweetest, kindest and gentlest person”, adding: “I truly hope no other young lady or child has to go through what he did to my daughter and her baby and I just wish with all my heart that I could bring her back and say, it’s OK, you’re safe now.”
She described the ordeal of the trial as “trauma in itself”, compounding the difficulty of dealing with what her daughter had been put through.
Jurors heard Ms Dawes, a hairdresser from Fleetwood in Lancashire, had previously been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, resulting in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships, a condition allegedly exploited by the defendant.
She had attempted to take her own life in the past before her relationship with Wellings, and his lawyers told the court her suicide was due to “multiple factors”.
Bubbly and happy-go-lucky, she had been “swept off her feet” after meeting Wellings in January 2020, a landscape gardener from Bispham, who had a previous conviction for battering his ex-partner, the mother of his twin girls.
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Wellings had Ms Dawes’s name and face tattooed on his body within a week of meeting and proposed marriage within three months.
But she later said her “fairy tale” turned into a “nightmare” with Wellings, who had a vicious temper and regularly enjoyed cocaine and drink binges, the court heard.
In May 2020, he attempted to strangle her with an iPhone charger cable and also threw a stool at her and told her to kill herself.
Described by prosecutor Paul Greaney KC as an “entitled, aggressive bully” and by Ms Dawes’ friends as a “horrible little bastard” with a jealous streak, he did not like being answered back to.
After she became pregnant, Wellings gave her a black eye and began criticising her weight, calling her a “fat little b****” while contacting escorts and prostitutes online.
Friends and her mother warned Ms Dawes to “run a mile” from “toxic” Wellings, but a pattern developed of break-up and make-up, as he made excuses for his behaviour.
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More than once, police were called, but Wellings threatened Ms Dawes that she would have their daughter taken off them if she told them what was happening, so she declined to help prosecute him.
He would also talk to prostitutes and escorts online, with the abuse leading to Ms Dawes feeling suicidal as she stopped taking her medication. In April 2021, he threatened to torch her car after she threw him out of her flat for cheating, with Wellings later updating his profile picture to show him sitting in a car, smiling and holding a lighter.
Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, read Ms Dawes’ suicide note to jurors: “The end. I fought hard, I fought long. I went through pain no one could imagine.
“I was murdered. Ryan Wellings killed me. He ruined every bit of strength I had left. I had dreams. I had a future at one point. That was taken away from me.”
Wellings admitted getting “heavy-handed” with Ms Dawes, but claimed any injuries she suffered were accidental or as a result of him trying to restrain her.
A final battering “broke” Ms Dawes, leaving her needing hospital treatment. This time she did make a statement to police and her tormentor was arrested.
He then broke his bail conditions but was not locked up, leaving Ms Dawes feeling let down by police. Four days later she took her own life.
Three Lancashire Police officers are facing disciplinary hearings over the case.
Only one other defendant has been convicted in such circumstances before, Nicholas Allen, who admitted before his trial in 2017 the manslaughter of his partner Justene Reece.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
