In a heartbreaking message from beyond the grave, Kiena Dawes said she felt there was no other way to put a stop to the abuse she suffered unless she ended her life.
On July 22, 2022, the mum-of-one was found dead after fiancé Ryan Wellings spent the previous two years terrorising her – leaving her bruised, shaken and threatened. On Monday, Wellings was found guilty of assault, coercive behaviour and prolonged domestic violence towards Kiena but cleared of her manslaughter.
She had fallen head over heels for the landscape gardener when they were introduced by her brother in January 2020, and from the get-go, their relationship was “intense”. The 30-year-old had a tattoo of the 23-year-old’s name and face within a week, and after three months, they were engaged to marry.
The “fairytale” soon turned into a “nightmare” as he abused the happy-go-lucky hairdresser, from Fleetwood in Lancashire, crushing her confidence slowly until she finally broke. On several occasions she tried to seek help, but was so terrified of the controlling father-of-three that she always relented.
Just weeks before she took her own life, on July 4, Kiena drove into the back of a car, telling paramedics she forgot she was on the road and was thinking about suicide. A week later, on July 11, the couple had a row when Kiena moved some of his belongings while vacuuming – an argument that later proved to be fatal.
Wellings demanded she return the engagement ring he had given her and threw it out the window, the court heard. With their daughter ‘screaming’ next to them, she managed to push Wellings out of the flat, she told police, only for him to fling the door open, slamming it in her face, causing her to black out.
With blood pouring down her face, she made a desperate 999 call where she said Wellings had “launched” her into a bathroom radiator, knocking it from a wall and had slammed a door in her face, knocking her out and leaving a gash on her head. In a police statement, Kiena – who had been diagnosed with a personality disorder, resulting in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships – said Wellings had called her a “schizophrenic freak”.
PC Sawyer told the jury about the scene when she got to the flat at about 10.30pm. She said: “There was blood on the floor in the communal corridor. She was covered in blood, on her hands, on her face. She was upset and she was crying. She had a cut to the right side of her head.
“There was a broken towel rail in the bathroom.” Kiena, who was treated in hospital for her injuries, had the courage to call the police at least five times during their romance, reporting domestic incidents, but refrained from pressing charges due to threats from Wellings that their baby would be taken away. But on this occasion, she made a statement about the assault on July 11 which saw Wellings arrested.
He was bailed on the condition not to contact Ms Dawes. However on July 17, he called her in the early hours with threats. When she reported the call to police, it wasn’t treated as a breach of bail, which left her feeling “unsupported”.
Three days before her death, she sent a text message to a friend, saying: “I was in hospital longer than he was in the cells. The world is f****d and I hate it.”
It was this final assault that proved to be a “significant factor” in her decision to take her own life, Prosecutor Mr Greaney said. On July 22 she dropped off their nine-month-old baby daughter at a friend’s house before going to kill herself.
Ring camera footage shows the mum walking up to the door with her little girl in her carrier before letting herself in, as her friend was taking a shower.
She left her daughter inside, along with a parting letter, which read: “I was murdered. Ryan Wellings killed me. He ruined every bit of strength I had left. I didn’t deserve it. I hope my life saves another by police services acting faster. Don’t let bullies live free.”
The mum-of-one had also written a suicide note on her phone, which read: “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.”
The extent of the horrific abuse was outlined to the jury in hundreds of text messages sent between the pair. He was described by prosecutor Paul Greaney KC as an “entitled, aggressive bully” and by Ms Dawes’ friends as a “horrible little b*****d” with a jealous streak. They said 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. He threatened to “make her look like Katie Piper” by throwing acid in her face. He also sponged cash off her, securing and leaving 22 jobs and draining her of money while she worked two jobs.
After she became pregnant, Wellings gave her a black eye and began criticising her weight, calling her a “fat little b***h” while contacting escorts and prostitutes online. Friends and her mother, Angela Dawes, warned her to “run a mile from toxic” Wellings, but a pattern developed of break-up and make-up. He excused his behaviour, saying, “It was only a slap,” and apologising profusely.
Defence counsel John Jones KC told the jury that the couple’s “party lifestyle” had been a “recipe for disaster”. “This corrosive and destructive combination was to bring heartache to them both, and death to one,” Mr Jones said.
“Mental health on one side, drug abuse and temper on the other. We know that. They did not know or appreciate it at the time, that’s the point. You must determine what caused that death. We say it was not caused in any significant degree by Ryan Wellings.”
Kiena 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 him.
Speaking after Wellings was convicted, Kiena’s devastated mother Angela Dawes said: “I’m finding it almost impossible to put into words how big of an impact losing Kiena has been. Kiena was a rare gem. She brought so much love and kindness to this world, into everyone who loved her. She was an extremely beautiful girl and was quite truly the sweetest, kindest and gentlest person I have ever known.”
Three officers from Lancashire Police are now facing misconduct hearings after it was heard Kiena had approached the force multiple times about Wellings’ behaviour towards her during his two-and-a-half years of abuse.
If you need to talk and don’t know where to turn to, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit the website to find your local branch.
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