WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT: Kiena Dawes was just 23 when she took her own life after suffering abuse at the hands of her evil partner, Ryan Wellings
Kiena Dawes died by suicide in 2022(Image: LancsLive/MEN)
Nearly four years on from Kiena Dawes’ tragic death, her friends and family have been forced to relive their torment as her abuser has been back in court.
On July 22, 2022, the mum-of-one died by suicide after her fiancé Ryan Wellings spent years terrorising her. In a heartbreaking message from beyond the grave, Kiena said she felt there was no other way to put a stop to the abuse she suffered unless she ended her life. She wrote: “I was murdered. Ryan Wellings killed me.”
Wellings was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of assaulting the 23-year-old before her death and engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour over a period of two years. Prosecutors said the thug “set the scene for her death”. In January 2025, he was jailed for six and a half years – and now he’s had his prison sentence extended for contempt of court.
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The yob was found to have ignored the judge’s instructions not to discuss his trial while he was giving evidence, and talked about the case in eight telephone calls from prison with his new girlfriend, Emma Croft, 29, and his mother Lisa Green, 53, between 17 December 2024 and 2 January 2025.
In one abhorrent ‘coaching’ call, Croft instructed Wellings to cry in court. She said: “Some advice to listen, so take it in. Say how sorry you was and how you regret some of your action. You can show emotion. If you do feel like you’re gonna cry then let it out.” Days later, Wellings wept when giving evidence about hearing of the death of Kiena.
In another vile exchange, Croft told Wellings that when he was questioned about “kick offs” between him and Kiena to suggest that some of them were related to her mental health problems. She also advised: “Don’t forget to keep mentioning self-defence. Get it in there.” Croft and Green pleaded guilty to contempt of court, and were this week sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for 20 months. Wellings had his sentence extended by seven months.
Kiena suffered horrific abuse in the lead-up to her death. She had fallen head over heels for landscape gardener Wellings when they were introduced by her brother in January 2020, and from the get-go, their relationship was “intense”. Within a week, 30-year-old Wellings had a tattoo of her name and face, and after three months, they were engaged to marry.
But the “fairytale” soon turned into a “nightmare” for the happy-go-lucky hairdresser, from Fleetwood in Lancashire , who endured repeated abuse. On several occasions she tried to seek help, but was so terrified of the controlling father-of-three that she always relented. Unable to escape, she eventually took her own life on 22 July 2022.
Just weeks earlier, on 4 July 2022, 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. 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, Kiena managed to push Wellings out of the flat, 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 during which she said Wellings had “launched” her into a bathroom radiator, breaking 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 relationship, 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 Kiena. But on July 17, he called her in the early hours making 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 desperate 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 Wellings inflicted on Kiena 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 Kiena’s’ friends as a “horrible little b*****d” with a jealous streak. They said he did not like being answered back, which “triggers his anger”.
The abuse included regular slapping and “ragging” by her hair and threats to use a drill to take out her teeth. He also said he would “make her look like Katie Piper” by throwing acid in her face, and sponged cash off her, securing and leaving 22 jobs, 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 Kiena 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.
Speaking after Wellings was convicted, Kiena’s devastated mother Angela 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.”
Following her daughter’s death, Angela opened a centre called Behind Closed Doors to help other victims. The hub, in her hometown of Fleetwood, Lancs, offers sanctuary to women experiencing violence and abuse.
While Kiena’s family are continuing her legacy of bravery and kindness, they are still tormented by the actions of Welling and some of his family members. Last year, Wellings’ mother Lisa Green, 53 and father, Michael Wellings, 51, pleaded guilty to kidnapping their granddaughter, just weeks after Kiena’s death. The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was “snatched from the street” by the pair, who drove off a short distance.
Green dialled 999 herself to say they had to “snatch her back” because they claimed the Dawes family had refused to return her and their son had parental responsibility.
Sentencing them both to nine months in prison, suspended for 20 months, Judge Altham said: “You didn’t think of your granddaughter, you thought only of yourselves.”
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk.
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.
