Ryan Wellings, a 30-year-old landscaper from Bispham, has been jailed for six years for assaulting and coercive behaviour to Kiena Dawes, his former partner and a mother-of-one. In July 2022, Dawes took her own life and left a note describing Wellings as a “monster” and a “bully” who had “killed” her. At his recent trial, the key issue had been whether an abuser could be held criminally liable for the death of a suicide victim. Wellings’ manslaughter charge was found not guilty, but the jury accepted that he had physically and psychologically abused Dawes.
In court, it was revealed that Dawes had noted two and a half years of abuse in her phone, including Wellings threatening to “scar her face with acid” and to “drill the teeth” out of her mouth. Many calls had been placed to police who had shown up several times. Just days before her death, Dawes had called a confidential helpline run by domestic abuse charity Refuge, detailing how Wellings had hit her, flung her into glass and pulled her hair. At the start of July 2022, Dawes drove to her friend’s house, let herself in, and placed her nine-month-old daughter in the living room, while leaving her mobile phone next to her baby and later took her own life.
The CPS spokesperson for the case said it was “tragic”, and that “prosecutors respect the jury’s decision.” The Centre for Women’s Justice, headed by Harriet Wistrich, are reportedly aware of similar cases currently under the consideration of the CPS, and they are pushing for criminal courts to bring in the expert evidence about the operation of coercive control on victims of domestic abuse. Kiena’s mother, Angela Dawes, added after the case that his convictions “clearly” demonstrated the “perpetrators of domestic abuse will be held to account
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