Man blamed for ‘killing’ his 23yo fiancee in suicide note learns fate

When Kiena Dawes took her own life following years of domestic abuse, she left a note that blamed her boyfriend for her death.

A violent British man whose fiancée took her own life after suffering years of domestic abuse has been cleared of her manslaughter.

Kiena Dawes, 23, had written a suicide note claiming, “Ryan Wellings killed me”, before leaving their nine-month-old daughter with a friend and ending her life on July 22, 2022.

Jurors heard Wellings had repeatedly lashed out at the hairdresser during their two-year relationship, beating her while she was pregnant with his child, as well as threatening to drown her in a bath, drill her teeth and douse her in acid.

The 30-year-old landscape gardener was found guilty of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour between January 2020 and July 2022 after a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court.

He was found not guilty of Ms Dawes’ manslaughter, the BBC reported.

Kiena Dawes, 23, had written a suicide note claiming, ‘Ryan Wellings killed me’, before her death in 2022. Picture: Lancashire Police

Wellings was the first defendant to be tried before a UK jury accused of the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence.

Only one other defendant has been convicted in such circumstances before after Nicholas Allen admitted to the manslaughter of his partner, Justene Reece, in 2017, according to the Independent.

Wellings, who had denied all charges, blew a kiss to his new girlfriend as the verdict was read out, while Ms Dawes’ sister burst into tears, a report by the Daily Mail stated.

The court heard Ms Dawes called police at least five times reporting domestic problems with Wellings. While she frequently downplayed her abuse to officers due to threats from her partner, she did make a statement about the assault on July 11 – just 11 days before her death.

Body cam footage shows the young mum with bruising and blood on her face following an incident in which Wellings “launched” Ms Dawes into a radiator with such force it broke the appliance off the wall.

The 30-year-old landscape gardener was found guilty of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour – but not guilty of manslaughter. Picture: Lancashire Police

Her suicide note, which was found in the notes app on her phone, 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.”

Addressing her daughter, she then wrote: “I’m sorry I let you go … I’m so sorry I had to go.

“The world turned their back on me. I was strong. I had dreams. I had a future at one point. That was taken away from me.”

She added in the note she hoped her daughter was “kept away from the monster who is called her dad”.

Ms Dawes first met Wellings in January 2020 and was “swept off her feet”, her mother had told the court, according to the BBC.

Ms Dawes had documented the abuse she endured in notes stored on her phone. Picture: Lancashire Police

Her family said the said the ‘fairytale’ two-year relationship turned into a ‘nightmare’. Picture: Lancashire Police

She was seen on a door cam dropping off her nine-month-old daughter to a friend before taking her own life. Picture: Lancashire Police

Wellings, who also had a previous conviction for assaulting another partner, had Ms Dawes’ name and face tattooed on his body within a week of meeting her, and proposed marriage within three months.

But Ms Dawes later said her “fairytale” turned into a “nightmare” with Wellings, who had a vicious temper and regularly binged on cocaine and alcohol.

The abuse was detailed to the jury in hundreds of text messages between them, and from Ms Dawes to her friends.

She also detailed incidents of abuse in her phone alongside notes documenting her thoughts and feelings at the time.

One entry, dated January 4, 2022, read: “I get hit around the head every week now even if it’s just a slap. But he’s made me believe that’s acceptable because I argue back with him...

“I have started to believe I deserve this and I’m not good enough.

“He can be so perfect to me and a fantastic person but then this is in between.”

After she became pregnant, Wellings gave Ms Dawes a black eye and began criticising her weight while contacting sex workers online, the jury heard.

Wellings told jurors “I’m not a monster”, but did admit getting “heavy handed” with his partner.

He will be sentenced in relation to the assault and coercive control for two years of violence and abuse at a later date.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Winstanley said: “I hope these guilty verdicts give [Kiena’s loved ones] some sense justice has been done.”

However her grief-stricken family believe Ms Dawes’ voice has “not been fully heard” after her abusive ex-partner was cleared of manslaughter.

In a statement outside court, her mother Angela said that “justice has not been done in the way we hoped” as she described her daughter as a “rare gem”.

She’s now raising her granddaughter.

Originally published as Man blamed for ‘killing’ his 23yo fiancee in suicide note learns fate