A man who bullied and abused his partner over a two year period before she took her own life will be sentenced today.
Ryan Wellings, 30, was convicted of coercive control and ABH following the death of his partner Kiena Dawes. Kiena, 23, was found dead by a railway line near Garstang on July 22, 2022, after leaving a note blaming Wellings for her suicide.
However Wellings, from Bispham, was cleared of manslaughter following a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court. During the trial, harrowing details of Wellings’ abuse were presented to the jury.
Videos showing Kiena distressed after reporting an attack by Wellings were played to the jury along with 999 calls of the young mum asking for help. Throughout the trial, Wellings showed no emotion and appeared to be smirking at several points in the evidence.
Wellings, a landscape gardener, will be sentenced for ABH after the jury saw through his claims that a head injury Kiena suffered on July 11 was an accident. He was also found guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour.
In a row which started over nothing more than Kiena moving a piece of sandpaper, Wellings threw Kiena into a radiator, causing it to fall from the wall. As he left the flat in Fleetwood, he kicked the door so hard it hit Kiena in the head and knocked her out.
(Image: Lancs Police)
When she came round she had blood pouring from her head and her baby daughter was crying on the sofa. Kiena told the 999 operator she was bleeding so badly she felt unable to pick the baby up, but as she shouted to Wellings to help, he got into a taxi and left her alone and injured with their little girl.
During the row, Wellings admitted he called Kiena names, including ‘fat slag’ and ‘schizophrenic freak’. He admitted he would sometimes be ‘heavy handed’ with Kiena during arguments.
The attack was the last in a long line of physical and emotional abuse which amounted to coercive and controlling behaviour. Within a week of their relationship starting, Wellings had Kiena’s name and face tattooed on his neck and body.
Within weeks of meeting Kiena, Ryan Wellings had her name tattooed on his neck
(Image: Twitter/X)
Three months later he proposed on a beach in Dorset. However the following month he assaulted Kiena in a drink fuelled rage about a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. Kiena’s friend visited the following day and found Kiena ‘covered in bruises’ and extremely distressed. The house was damaged, with broken glass on the floor, a sofa upturned and the TV off the wall.
Over the two years that followed, Wellings belittled Kiena, bullied and humiliated her. On one occasion he ragged her to the floor by her hair at the home of his ex partner, Kayleigh Anderson. On another occasion Kiena suffered a black eye when she was seven months pregnant.
Wellings threatened to drill Kiena’s teeth out and throw acid in her face to ‘make her look like Katie Piper’. He called her names relating to her mental health and said her baby would be taken away from her if she reported his abuse.
He repeatedly sold Kiena’s possessions and threatened to throw her dad’s ashes down the toilet. Kiena said she was hit around the head weekly, but Wellings dismissed the abuse.
Today (Thursday January 16) the Honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Robert Altham, will sentence Wellings for ABH and coercive control. LancsLive will be providing live updates from the sentencing.
You don’t have to suffer in silence if you’re struggling with your mental health.
Here are some groups you can contact:
Samaritans: Phone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email jo@samaritans.org, in confidence.
Childline: Phone 0800 1111. Calls are free and won’t show up on your bill.
PAPYRUS: Suicide prevention charity offering professional help and support to children, young people and anyone concerned for someone struggling with life. Call HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039 967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.
Depression Alliance: A charity for people with depression. No helpline, but it offers useful resources and links to other information.
Students Against Depression: A website for students who are depressed, have low mood, or are suicidal. Click here to visit.
Bullying UK: A website for both children and adults affected by bullying. Click here.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): For young men who are feeling unhappy. There is a helpline: 0800 58 58 58 or visit the website.
Subscribe to our new weekly newsletter THE COURT FILES and get all the biggest stories from Lancashire’s courts direct to your inbox