Kiena Dawes: Man sentenced to more than six years after abusing partner
Ryan Wellings, 30, was cleared of the manslaughter of Kiena Dawes, 23, who left a suicide note calling her partner a "monster" who had "killed me"
Last updated 16th Jan 2025
A man has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years for domestic abuse after being cleared of killing his partner Kiena Dawes.
WARNING: This article contains details some readers may find distressing
The 23-year-old called Ryan Wellings, 30, a "monster" in a note left before taking her own life, saying "he killed me".
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 a two-year period but cleared of manslaughter by the jury on Monday following a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court.
During the trial, 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.
Passing sentence, Judge Robert Altham, Honorary Recorder of Preston, told Wellings: "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."
As Miss Dawes' mother, Angela Dawes, and extended family, watched from the public gallery, Judge Altham told the defendant he made his victim feel worthless, blame herself for being assaulted, and that she was an "unfit mother".
He told Wellings the jury had acquitted him of manslaughter and he must sentence him on the basis that he had no "criminal responsibility" for Miss Dawes' death.
But he added: "However, from May 2020 until her death, you abused, exploited and assaulted her."
Three Lancashire Police officers are facing disciplinary hearings over the case.
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