Kiena Dawes manslaughter trial, hears from Mum who told her to 'run a mile'

A woman allegedly driven to take her own life by her violent, abusive partner was told by her mother to "run a mile" from him after he first hit her, a court heard.

Angela Dawes also said her daughter Kiena, 23, had been told by Ryan Wellings he would throw acid in her face and threatened to use a drill to take her teeth out, Preston Crown Court was told.

Wellings, 30, is accused of subjecting Kiena Dawes to repeated abuse and violence during their two-and-a-half-year relationship, a jury has heard.

Hairdresser Miss Dawes, 23, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, left her nine-month-old daughter with a friend, along with a suicide note, and took her own life on July 22 2022.

Miss Dawes, who had a history of fragile mental health, left the note which claimed, "I was murdered" and that Wellings had "killed me".

Mrs Dawes said her daughter was "swept off her feet" after Wellings had a tattoo of her name on his neck within days of meeting her in January 2020, followed by a portrait of her face on his leg.

And within three months, he had proposed marriage which she accepted.

Mrs Dawes told the jury: "She was a young girl, I think she felt she was swept off her feet.

"I fear that Kiena thought this was romantic and the fairy tale she wanted."

But soon Mrs Dawes said she became aware Wellings had allegedly attacked her daughter for the first time.

Kiena told her mother that Wellings had thrown her over a glass table that had broken and she was left with bruising.

Mrs Dawes continued: "I said to Ryan, 'You hurt my baby, my daughter'.

"I said to him, 'Look at her? How can you hurt her?'

"He said, 'I'm sorry. I'll get help'.

"I told her to run a mile. I said, 'That's not OK'."

But Mrs Dawes told the jury the violence continued.

She described another incident when Wellings wanted money from Miss Dawes.

Mrs Dawes said: "There's been so many incidents it's hard to remember the specifics. He wanted to get money out of her account, £50.

"He dragged her by the hair to the floor. He dragged her around like a ragdoll.

"He was controlling her by then. Her whole life revolved around Ryan. Everything.

"She had to do everything that Ryan said. All the time.

"It had to be done to Ryan's instructions. She had to do things at a set time because that's what Ryan told her to do.

"She would set time on her phone. She had to pick him up, he didn't drive.

"She would have to take him wherever he wanted to go. Anything that Ryan needed, Kiena had to do it for him."

By early 2021, Miss Dawes was expecting a child, but despite being six or seven months pregnant she was given a black eye by Wellings, her mother said, because he did not like the type of shower gel she had bought.

Her mother added: "She wasn't OK at all. She was upset, she was scared, she had a baby in her tummy. She was visibly upset. She was crying."

After the birth of her baby girl, Mrs Dawes said there was a further incident while Kiena was bathing her daughter in a baby bath.

Welling allegedly grabbed his partner by the hair and pushed her face in the water, telling Miss Dawes: "Say goodbye to your baby."

Another time, Mrs Dawes said Kiena had told her Wellings had put a drill to her mouth and "threatened to drill her teeth out".

Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, asked Mrs Dawes: "Kiena was a young woman and she was understandably concerned about her appearance.

"Did Kiena ever tell you about whether Ryan might do something to affect her appearance? What did he say he would do?"

Mrs Dawes replied: "He would make her look like Katie Piper. That he would throw acid in her face."

Wellings denies manslaughter, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour to Miss Dawes between January 2020 and her death on July 22 2022.

The defendant, of Bispham, Lancashire, claims the accusations against him are either untrue or exaggerated and any injuries Miss Dawes suffered before her death were a result of his attempts to restrain her or accidental.

The trial continues.

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