WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Ryan Wellings has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years for a campaign of violent abuse and control he launched against his former fiancée Kiena Dawes, who wrote he ‘killed’ her
The depraved thug who launched a horrific campaign of abuse and control on his fiancée before she took her own life has been jailed for six-and-a-half years. Ryan Wellings was found guilty of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour but cleared of the manslaughter of his partner Kiena Dawes, following a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court.
The 23-year-old mother left her eight-month-old baby girl at a friend’s house before she was found dead on a railway track near Garstand, Lancashire, in July 2022.
Wellings, who works as a landscape gardener, claimed his relationship with Kiena was “loving” and he denied that his actions caused her death. Instead, he pointed to her underlying mental health issues as a potential reason for her taking her own life, in the court case that has gripped the nation.
Wellings’ last attack on Kiena was 11 days before she took her own life, as the court heard the abuse was a “significant factor” in the young mother’s death.
In her heartbreaking suicide note, Kiena wrote: “The end. I fought hard, I fought long. went through pain no one could imagine. No one will know what I went through. I was murdered. Slowly. They tortured me, till there was nothing left. I lost my fight but I didn’t give up my battle. I fought till the end. Ryan Wellings killed me.”
The maximum sentence Wellings could have received was 10 years, five for each of the offences he was charged with.
Kiena, described as a “rare gem” by her grief stricken family, endured two years of abuse from Wellings. He threatened to drill her teeth, drown her in the bath, “make her look like Katie Piper”, throw her dad’s ashes down the toilet and even beat Kiena while pregnant with their child.
She made contact with the police at least five times over a 12 month period of relentless mental and physical torture before her death in July 2022, yet chances to save Kiena were missed.
Haunting messages left by Kiena have now pieced together the gruelling reality of being with an abusive partner, a testament to the extremity of VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) – which the government is implementing new measures to combat.
She documented much of the abuse under the guise of a shopping list on her iPhone, which now stands as a harrowing timeline and shines a light on the missed opportunities to save Kiena – who said she felt “unsupported” by police in her final days.
Kiena’s final words were an outpour of love for her daughter, who she so desperately wanted to protect from monster Wellings, along with her chilling comment: “I hope my life saves another by police services acting faster.”
Wellings was handed four years for coercive and controlling behaviour and two years for assault, meaning a sentence totalling six years. He was also handed six months for an assault on Scott Fletcher meaning Wellings has been sentenced to a total of six years and six months in prison.
Passing sentence, Judge Altham said Wellings has shown no remorse and is a “clear danger to any partner you have in the future”.
The full timeline of the shocking abuse inflected on Kiena by Wellings can be read here. It is hard-hitting, so if you are a survivor of abuse please take care of yourself.
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.