A man has been found guilty of assault and prolonged domestic violence towards his partner, but cleared of her manslaughter.
Kiena Dawes, 23, had written a suicide note saying, “Ryan Wellings killed me”, before leaving their nine-month-old daughter with a friend and taking her own life on a railway line on July 22, 2022.
Wellings, 30, had denied manslaughter but became the first defendant to be tried before a jury accused of the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence.
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.
From 2020-2023, 723 domestic abuse-related deaths were identified by police in England and Wales, of which 216 were suspected victim suicides, one study found.
Ms Dawes’ suicide note, written on her phone, meant she had named and blamed her killer, “from beyond the grave”, Wellings’ trial heard.
But he was cleared of her manslaughter and convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour towards Ms Dawes after a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court.
Jurors heard Ms Dawes, a hairdresser from Fleetwood in Lancashire, had suffered two years of violence and abuse at the hands of Wellings.
She had 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.
Bubbly and happy-go-lucky, she had been “swept off her feet” after meeting Wellings, a landscape gardener from Bispham, who had a previous conviction for battering his ex-partner, mother of his twin girls.
Wellings had Ms Dawes’ name and face tattooed on his body within a week of meeting, and proposed marriage within three months.
But Ms Dawes later said her “fairy tale” turned into a “nightmare” with Wellings, who had a vicious temper and regularly enjoyed cocaine and drink binges.
The abuse was detailed to the jury in hundreds of text messages between them, and from Ms Dawes to her friends.
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 – which, “triggers his anger”.
His abuse of Ms Dawes included regular slapping and “ragging” by her hair and threats to use a drill to take out her teeth, and “make her look like Katie Piper” by throwing acid in her face.
He also sponged off her, unable to hold down work, securing and leaving 22 jobs and draining her of money while she worked two jobs. Wellings claimed £15,000 in Covid loans during lockdown he spent on hotels, £1,800 golf clubs and drugs.
After she became pregnant, Wellings gave her a black eye and began criticising her weight, calling her a “fat little bitch” while contacting escorts and prostitute online.
Friends and her mother, Angela Dawes, warned Ms Dawes to “run a mile” from “toxic” Wellings, but a pattern developed of break-up and make-up, he excusing his behaviour saying “It was only a slap” and apologising profusely.
After threatening her with his drill, Ms Dawes again broke up with Wellings, with him texting back: “Can we have sex with each other still? We just be sex buddies?”
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.
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 told jurors “I’m not a monster”, claiming her allegations were either untrue or exaggerated and any injuries to her accidental.
He did however admit getting “heavy handed” with her.
A final battering “broke” Ms Dawes, Wellings 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 killed herself.
Three Lancashire Police officers face disciplinary hearings.
The defendant claimed Ms Dawes’ accusations against him were either untrue or exaggerated, and any injuries she suffered before her death were a result of his attempts to restrain her or accidental.
Ms Dawes had been described as a “very troubled young lady” who decided to end her life not because of Wellings, but because of “multiple factors”.
She had also made a number of suicide attempts in the past, before she met Wellings.
Sentencing of the defendant is yet to be arranged.
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