A man accused of driving his partner to suicide through domestic abuse and violence knew she was at risk of taking her own life, a court heard.
Kiena Dawes, 23, died on a railway line near Garstang after leaving a note in which she said ‘Ryan Wellings killed me’ on July 22, 2022. The mum-of-one said she ‘fought hard’ but had been ‘mudered, slowly’ by her partner Ryan Wellings.
Wellings, 30, denies coercive control, ABH and manslaughter at Preston Crown Court. He claims Kiena ‘exaggerated’ about heated arguments between them and ‘fully made up’ some accounts of abuse she claimed to have suffered at his hands.
He admitted saying ‘nasty things’ and ‘restraining her’ when she became aggressive to him and said over time he became more ‘heavy handed’ with her at the flat they shared in Fleetwood.
Closing the case for the prosecution, Paul Greaney KC said Wellings ‘exploited Kiena’s vulnerability’ which he knew about from the start of their relationship. The hairdresser had a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder which caused mood swings, impulsivity and an increased risk of suicide.
Kiena told police Wellings called her names connected to her mental health and said no one would believe her if she reported domestic abuse. She also said Wellings told her that her daughter would be removed from her.
Kiena’s mental health struggles were first reported when she was 14 and she had made previous attempts on her own life, before meeting Wellings, Mr Greaney said.
When the couple met in January 2020, Kiena’s older brother Kynan told Wellings of his sister’s mental health difficulties and Kiena herself spoke about her condition throughout their relationship.
On July 4, 2022, Wellings attended the scene of a road traffic collision which Kiena reported to North West Ambulance Service. She said she had been so distracted by suicidal thoughts she had not noticed the car in front of her and collided with it.
Ryan Wellings
During her pregnancy in 2021, Kiena was admitted to hospital and later spent time in a crisis home due to her mental health struggles. In April 2021, Kiena reported preparing to take her life after problems in their relationship.
“What did he do in response?” Mr Greaney said. “He threatened to set fire to her car.”
“Ryan Wellings knew throughout his relationship with Kiena that if he behaved in a way that was abusive that she might well take her own life.”
In the witness box, Wellings agreed he knew about Kiena’s struggles but said he did not think she would take her own life. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Kennedy told the jury that had she not died on July 22, 2022, Kiena may have died by suicide in the future – but Mr Greaney KC said that information was ‘a distraction.’
He said: “The question is whether it is proved that the unlawful acts of the defendant caused Kiena’s death at the point at which she died. At that moment of that day, as Kiena wrote her suicide note and [took her own life], what was the cause of what she did?”
“Kiena would not have died when she died but for the crimes of the defendant… Because of what he had done, because of his crimes, she saw no other way out. It was reasonable and foreseeable that that was the outcome if he behaved in that unlawful way.
“The defendant denies he behaved in the way she describes over and over again in messages and in her suicide note. He maintains her suicide was not reasonably foreseeable. He maintains Kiena may have taken her own life for reasons unconnected to him and his criminality.
“Ryan Wellings knew throughout his relationship with Kiena that if he behaved in a way that was abusive that she might well take her own life.” The trial continues.
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