Lancashire man found guilty of assault after partner’s suicide | UK news

A man accused of driving a young mother to suicide through domestic violence has been found guilty of assault and prolonged controlling behaviour but cleared of her manslaughter.

Ryan Wellings, 30, was blamed from “beyond the grave” for the death of his partner, Kiena Dawes.

Wellings denied manslaughter and was found not guilty by a jury after a six-week trial at Preston crown court. He was convicted of assault and of coercive and controlling behaviour and will be sentenced on Thursday.

Dawes, a 23-year-old hairdresser and mother of a nine-month-old baby, took her own life in July 2022, leaving a note on her phone that read: “I fought hard. I fought long. I went through pain no one could imagine … I was murdered. Slowly … Ryan Wellings killed me.”

But the defence barrister, John Jones KC, said Dawes had been a “very troubled young lady” with a history of mental health problems and suicide attempts.

Wellings, who was stood in the dock, made no reaction as the verdicts were read out in silence to a packed courtroom. He then smiled and blew a kiss to his girlfriend in the public gallery as he was led away.

Dawes’ sister wept and her mother looked straight ahead as the defendant was cleared of manslaughter.

Jurors heard that Dawes, a hairdresser from Fleetwood in Lancashire, had experienced two years of violence and abuse at the hands of Wellings.

She had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, resulting in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships, a condition allegedly exploited by the defendant.

The jury heard that the pair met in January 2020 and that Wellings, who had a previous conviction for battering his ex-partner, the mother of his twin girls, had Dawes’ name and face tattooed on his body within a week of meeting. He proposed marriage within three months.

Dawes later said her “fairytale” with Wellings turned into a “nightmare”. His abuse was detailed to the jury in hundreds of text messages between them and from Dawes to her friends.

Jurors heard his abuse included regular slapping and “ragging” by her hair and threats to use a drill to take out her teeth and “make her look like [TV presenter] Katie Piper” by throwing acid in her face.

Police were contacted more than once but Wellings threatened Dawes that she would have their daughter taken away from them if she co-operated, so she declined to help prosecute him. Three Lancashire officers are facing disciplinary hearings over their handling of the case.

Wellings was described by the prosecutor Paul Greaney KC as an “entitled, aggressive bully” and by Dawes’ friends as a “horrible little bastard” with a jealous streak.

Jones, the defence barrister, said the couple’s “party lifestyle” of alcohol and drugs had been a “recipe for disaster”.

He said their “fairytale” relationship had ended in turmoil because of Wellings’ temper and Dawes’ mental health difficulties – and their liking for cocaine.

He told the jury: “This corrosive and destructive combination was to bring heartache to them both, and death to one. It was a recipe for disaster. Mental health on one side, drug abuse and temper on the other.”