Mother’s fury as Kiena Dawes’ unrepentant ex Ryan Wellings is cleared of manslaughter after she killed herself following years of home abuse – and he blows kiss to his new lover from dock

The mother of a ‘beautiful’ woman who killed herself after enduring years of sickening abuse from her fiancé today apologised to her late daughter for failing to get ‘justice’ after he was cleared of 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. 

Jurors heard how Wellings repeatedly lash out at the hairdresser, beating her while she was pregnant with his child, as well as threatening to drown her in a bath, drill her teeth and ‘make her look like Katie Piper’ by dousing her with acid. 

The 30-year-old also urged Ms Dawes to kill herself, boasted that ‘hitting you is like hitting a man’ and, on one occasion, dunked her head in a bath and said: ‘Say goodbye to your baby’.  

He was the first defendant to be tried before a jury accused of the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence, but was found not guilty at Preston Crown Court. 

He turned and blew a kiss to his new girlfriend as the verdict was read out, while Ms Dawes’ sister burst into tears. 

Despite being cleared of manslaughter, Wellings was convicted of assault and coercive control for two years of violence and abuse. 

Speaking outside court after the verdicts, Ms Dawes’ mother, Angela, condemned Wellings as a ‘monster’, adding: ‘Today was for you Kiena. I am sorry that your voice has not been fully heard and that justice has not been done in the way we all hoped.’

In an emotional statement surrounded by family, she added: ‘I’m finding it almost impossible to put it into words just how big of an impact losing Kiena has been on all the family, her beautiful baby girl and all of her friends.  

‘Kiena was a rare gem, she brought so much love and kindness to this world and to everyone that loved her. 

‘She was an extremely beautiful girl and was quite truly the sweets, kindest, gentlest person I have ever known.

‘Kiena, we miss you so very much, every second of every day. Her baby girl was brought to my home a few hours after Kiena was found and has been in my full time care every since that tragic day.

‘I cannot put it into words just how much it breaks my heart that her beautiful baby girl doesn’t have her mummy here because of that monster.

‘I will never forget the day when three CID officers came to my house shortly after I lost Kiena, and I simply said ‘Ryan Wellings killed my baby and I will fight for her justice’.

‘I truly hope that no other young lady or child has to go through what he did to my daughter and her baby.

‘I just wish with all my heart that I could bring her back and say ‘It’s OK, you are safe now’.    

‘Although a manslaughter conviction has not been achieved today, the case and convictions of controlling and coercing behaviour and assault clearly demonstrate the perpetrators of domestic abuse will be held to account and imprisoned for what they have done.

‘It cannot bring back my baby girl as this has happened all too late for her.’

The trial heard that on one incident just 11 days before Ms Dawes’ death, on July 11, 2022 he ‘launched’ her into a radiator with such force it broke the appliance off the wall, then slammed a door in her face – knocking her out and leaving her with blood pouring from her head.

She called police at least five times reporting domestic problems with Wellings. While she frequently downplayed her abuse to officers – due to threats from her partner – she did make a statement about the assault on July 11. 

He was arrested for assault but bailed on condition he did not contact her, which he did. 

Ms Dawes wrote in a suicide note: ‘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.’ 

In the note, she also shared her hopes that police would act ‘faster’ in cases like hers – and three police officers are now facing disciplinary proceedings. 

The two offences Wellings was convicted of each have maximum terms of five years. It can now be revealed that his mother, Lisa Green, and girlfriend, Emma Croft, are both under police investigation for allegedly ‘coaching’ him to give evidence. 

The prosecution claimed  that Wellings took advantage of Ms Dawes’s vulnerability – on account of issues with her mental health – and was repeatedly violent and abusive towards her.

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. 

This abuse was a ‘significant factor’ in her decision to take her own life, prosecutors said. She was later found dead on railway tracks, near Garstang, Lancashire, after being hit by a train.

Wellings’ defence team insisted the injuries Ms Dawes had suffered before her death had been as a result of Wellings’ attempts to restrain her or had been inflicted accidentally. 

They suggested that descriptions of the landscape gardener’s behaviours by her had been either inaccurate, untrue or exaggerated. 

And they claimed that despite the young mother’s relationship with her partner being a ‘recipe for disaster’ – Wellings was not guilty of driving her to suicide through domestic violence.

Defence counsel John Jones KC told Preston Crown Court Ms Dawes’ suicide was not caused ‘in any significant degree’ by his client.

He added the couple’s ‘party lifestyle’ had been a ‘recipe for disaster’ and their ‘fairytale’ relationship was to end in turmoil because of  Wellings’ temper, Ms Dawes’ mental health difficulties, and their joint abuse of cocaine.

‘This corrosive and destructive combination was to bring heartache to them both, and death to one,’ Mr Jones told the jury.

‘It was a recipe for disaster. 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.’

Mr Jones said on ‘four if not five’ occasions, Ms Dawes had made ‘clear and determined’ suicide attempts, and that at least three of those were before she ever met Wellings.

He told the jury the prosecution case was ‘predicated on the assertion’ that but for the behaviour of the defendant, Ms Dawes would not have taken her own life.

During the trial, jurors were told that after being charged with manslaughter, Wellings downed a bottle of prosecco and went on a cocaine binge before recording a vile video taunting Ms Dawes’ grieving family.

In the clip, shared on Facebook, the landscape gardener blamed Ms Dawes’ mother for her daughter’s death and called her a ‘f****** s**g’.

The video showed Wellings being driven in a car, wearing sunglasses and holding a bottle, saying: ‘I’m driving around with a bottle of prosecco.

‘I have been told off an hour ago on a manslaughter charge. It’s all f****** s***.

‘Angela Dawes (Kiena’s mother), you need to take the blame for abandoning your daughter and going to Greece.

‘You are a f****** s**g.’

Ms Dawes, who had struggled with poor mental health, first met Wellings in January 2020 and was ‘swept off her feet’, her mother told the court.

Within a week Wellings would have a tattoo of her name and face on his body and after just three months he would propose.

But friends of Ms Dawes said the ‘fairytale’ relationship soon ‘turned into a nightmare’, with Wellings violently attacking her while she was pregnant.

Wellings – who was branded a ‘bully’ in court – had threatened to use a drill on her teeth and douse her in acid to disfigure her, jurors were told. He had even tried to drown her in a baby bath during one explosive attack, the court heard.

The 30-year-old would accuse Ms Dawes of cheating on him and threatened to toss her late father’s ashes out of the window during one row.

In February 2021, Ms Dawes discovered she was pregnant with Wellings’ child, later saying both were ‘over the moon’.

From that point she stopped taking her medication and her mental health took a ‘downturn’, she later said in an unsigned police statement.

‘The emotional abuse was on a daily basis,’ she said.

‘He would talk to other women on social media and was cheating.’

Ms Dawes’ mental health condition resulted in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships, the court heard.

While she suffered from emotionally unstable personality disorder, Wellings ‘exploited’ her vulnerability and ‘made it worse’.

The court heard a ‘pattern’ developed of Wellings being ‘aggressive and violent’ before ‘showering’ Ms Dawes with affection.

Wellings would call her ‘a psychopath and a freak’ and tell her the baby would be taken off her after she was born, she said.

‘In the end, it was to grind Kiena down,’ Mr Greaney said.

A final assault on July 11, 2022 – just 11 days before her suicide on the West Coast Main Line near Garstang, Lancashire – proved a ‘significant factor’ in her decision to take her own life, Mr Greaney added.

In a text message to a friend, sent three days before her suicide, a despondent Ms Dawes wrote: ‘I was in hospital longer than he was in the cells. The world is f****d and I hate it.’

During the trial, jurors were told how police had previously installed panic alarms and changed the locks at her home after an assault in March 2022.

She said Wellings had punched a wall, thrown a steak at the wall and ‘tried to drown her in the baby bath’.

Police made safeguarding referrals for Ms Dawes and her baby daughter, who was in the flat at the time.

However on July 11, a row broke out between Ms Dawes and Wellings when she moved some of his belongings while vacuuming.

During the argument, Wellings demanded that Ms Dawes return the engagement ring he had given her then threw it out of the window.

With their daughter ‘screaming’ on the sofa, she managed to push Wellings out of the flat, she later told police, only for him to fling the door open, causing her to black out.

Jurors were shown graphic injuries of the gashed forehead Ms Dawes sustained, with blood pouring down her face.

Wellings was arrested on suspicion of ABH, telling officers that Ms Dawes had attacked him and sustained the injuries while he was trying to get out of the flat.

He was released on bail with conditions which included not contacting Ms Dawes.

However, on July 17 she received a call from his former partner, Kayleigh Anderson – someone who Wellings had previously been convicted of attacking.

It did not connect, but Ms Dawes called the number back, then dialled 999 saying Wellings had been on the other end ‘threatening her’, only to be told that the call did not amount to a breach of his bail conditions.

After her death, jurors heard how Wellings taunted Ms Dawes’ family with a video clip – shared during a booze a drugs binge shortly after being charged with manslaughter.

Prosecutor Mr Greaney told Wellings he uploaded the video ‘on purpose to intimidate the Dawes family and show them who is boss’.

‘What we see there is the real Ryan Wellings. Ryan Wellings the bully,’ the prosecutor added.

‘The entitled person. The person who thinks he can do what he wants to people and say what he wants.’

Wellings replied: ‘I did not know what I was doing. I know I did wrong and did some stupid things. That’s me hurting. Being blamed for killing my kid’s mum, the woman I loved.’

The defendant said he was sleep-deprived and had downed bottles of prosecco and taken drugs at the time but maintained he uploaded the video to Facebook by accident and later deleted it. 

Mr Greaney moved on to the suicide note left by Ms Dawes.

He pointed out she did not blame her family for her death, writing: ‘I will always love my family. I love them unconditionally.’

Mr Greaney said the note blamed Wellings for her death, calling him a ‘monster’ and a ‘bully’.

‘She says you killed her in that note, just hours before she took her own life.

‘At the time Kiena took her own life, she was thinking about you and regarded you as a monster.’

Wellings, wiping away tears, replied: ‘I’m not a monster. Never have been.’

Today, judge Altham thanked jurors for their time and excused them from further jury service, should they wish, for the next 15 years. 

Wellings will be sentenced on Thursday. 

Domestic violence charity Refuge called for ‘improved recognition of how domestic abuse can directly cause trauma and suicide’ in the wake of Wellings being acquitted of manslaughter.

The organisation said that, on average, one woman in England and Wales is killed by partner or ex-partner every 5 days, and an estimated 3 women die by suicide each week due to being subjected domestic abuse.

Julia Dwyer, Head of Services at Refuge, said: ‘Refuge is devastated by the death of Kiena Dawes in 2022. Kiena faced horrific abuse and violence perpetrated by Ryan Wellings, found not guilty of manslaughter but convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour. In light of today’s conviction, we remain steadfast in our position that there is an undeniable link between domestic abuse and suicide.

‘The trauma that can develop as a result of domestic abuse cannot be underestimated. A Refuge study, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, found that 83% of people who used Refuge’s services reported feelings of despair or hopelessness – a key determinant for suicidality. 

‘At least 24% said they had felt suicidal at one time or another, with 18% sharing that they had made plans to end their life. And yet, despite the severe impact that domestic abuse can have on the mental wellbeing of those who experience it, deaths by suicide are not formally recognised as domestic abuse-related deaths.

‘On average, 1 woman in England and Wales is killed by partner or ex-partner every 5 days, and an estimated 3 women die by suicide each week due to being subjected domestic abuse. 

‘While these figures alone are truly harrowing, we expect these to represent the tip of the iceberg as deaths caused by domestic abuse continue to be severely under-reported.

‘Refuge stands in solidarity with Kiena’s family, and everyone who has been affected by domestic abuse. Improved recognition of how domestic abuse can directly cause trauma and suicide is paramount in ensuring as many victims/survivors as possible are able to get justice, and we will continue to campaign for a world where no more lives are taken by the crime that is domestic abuse.’

DCI Andy Fallows, of Lancashire Police, said: ‘Kiena Dawes was a devoted and loving mother who, despite her personal challenges, was determined to give her baby girl the best life she could.

‘Ryan Wellings took Kiena’s love and in return launched a concerted campaign of emotional, mental and physical abuse. Over a two-and-a-half-year period, Wellings broke her spirit.

‘He isolated Kiena, belittled and abused her, controlled her, subjected her to violence and made her believe that she would never escape him.

‘I would like to thank the jury for their considered verdict in what has been an extremely harrowing and complex case. While we and Kiena’s family are disappointed that they didn’t come back with a manslaughter verdict, we are pleased the jury recognised that Wellings was guilty of criminal wrongdoing by the guilty verdicts they did come back with today.

‘I want to praise the Dawes’ family for the dignified manner in which they have behaved during this highly emotional trial. Day after day they have sat in court and listened to the truly abhorrent way in which Wellings behaved towards Kiena.

‘While lessons will undoubtedly be learned from this case, I want to take this opportunity to appeal directly to anyone who finds themself in an abusive relationship or knows or suspects someone else might be. Please make contact with the authorities or reach out to domestic abuse organisations for help and support.

‘Although today’s headlines will understandably be about Ryan Wellings and today’s verdict, I don’t want Kiena, the victim, to get lost or forgotten about. Kiena was a fun-loving, kind and sensitive young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. She was a mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend who died in extremely tragic circumstances.’

A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said: ‘Our investigation into the contact between Lancashire Constabulary and Kiena Dawes, before her death is complete.

‘We examined the police response to Miss Dawes being reported missing, as well as the police response to earlier reports that she had been the victim of assaults.

‘Following the conclusion of our investigation in July 2023, we found one officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct and two officers had a case to answer for misconduct relating to actions or omissions connected to Ms Dawes’s reports of domestic abuse.

‘We found no case to answer for a fourth officer who was under investigation for potential misconduct.

‘It is for Lancashire Constabulary to arrange police disciplinary hearings which will determine the outcome.

‘Our thoughts remain with Miss Dawes’ loved ones and all those affected by her death.’

The disciplinary hearings for the three officers involved will now go ahead after the conclusion of Wellings’ trial, following which he was cleared of manslaughter but convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour.

Samaritans are available on 116 123 or at www.samaritans.org