Several heartbreaking missed chances to save a young woman from her drill-wielding “torturer” boyfriend have emerged today.
Kiena Dawes, 23, took her own life after suffering prolonged domestic violence at the hands of Ryan Welling, who was found guilty of assault and controlling and coercive behaviour on Monday.
Speaking after Welling, 30, was convicted, Kiena’s devastated mother Angela Dawes said: “I’m finding it almost impossible to put into words how big of an impact losing Kiena has been. Kiena was a rare gem. She brought so much love and kindness to this world, into everyone who loved her. She was an extremely beautiful girl and was quite truly the sweetest, kindest and gentlest person I have ever known.”
Jurors at Preston Crown Court had heard Kiena left a note saying, “Ryan Wellings killed me,” before leaving their nine-month-old daughter with a friend and taking her own life on a railway line on July 22, 2022.
But in the 12 months before she killed herself, Kiena called police no less than five times either to report that she had been assaulted or give details of the domestic abuse she had suffered. On four of the occasions, she was visited by officers at her home. Twice she had visible injuries, including a black eye when she was six months pregnant.
Kiena, a hairdresser from Fleetwood, Lancashire, was so scared of Wellings that it was only when he brutally assaulted her in front of their baby, 11 days before she died, that she finally backed efforts to prosecute him.
Yet, even then, police granted Wellings bail and then failed to lock him up when he apparently breached his bail conditions. She would write in a message shortly before she killed herself: “I was in hospital longer than he was in the cells,” she would write in a message shortly before she killed herself.”
Kiena had encountered mental health challenges from the age of 13 and had on a number of occasions attempted suicide. She was later diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, which resulted in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships. In other words, she was a vulnerable young woman.
In January 2020, she was introduced to Wellings, a friend of her brother Kynan. The relationship quickly became intense, with Kiena swept off her feet in what she saw as a “fairytale romance”.
But, in the previous year, Wellings, raised in Blackpool, Lancashire, attacked his then-partner, Kayleigh Anderson, following a two-day coke and booze session with an uncle. Having picked him up in her car, Wellings called Ms Anderson a “bitch” before striking the back of her head.
He admitted battery against Ms Anderson, with whom he has twin girls, and after Kiena’s death would be convicted of punching a friend in the face following a drinking session.
And wasn’t long into his new relationship with Kiena that Wellings’ true colours shone through. During the Covid lockdown of Spring 2020, the hairdresser travelled to stay with a friend in Dorset. Wellings followed her, proposing to her on the beach holding a banner that read: “Will you marry me, baby?”
Kiena accepted and in May that year they moved into a property on the south coast. Within weeks, a jealous Wellings attacked Kiena after demanding to look through her mobile phone.
Kiena’s pregnancy later in 2020 meant she stopped taking medication for her mental health condition, which deteriorated and which Wellings then exploited.
The young woman recalled in a witness statement given to police: “The emotional abuse was on a daily basis… He would talk to other women on social media and was cheating. [He] would call me names like am I a psychopath and a freak. He kept telling me I would talk to myself and I would have my baby taken off of me.
Hospital treatment followed but as soon as she was released the abuse began again. Attempts to end the relationship came to nothing. When she kicked him out for cheating, her fiancé’s friends threatened to torch her car. Wellings even updated his Facebook profile to a photo showing him smiling and holding a lighter.
When six months pregnant, Kiena called police after Wellings gave her a black eye. She had said: “He was telling me that if I continued I would get our baby taken away from us as soon as it was born and that this would all be my fault. On police arrival Ryan’s attitude changed and he put on an act, he was very pleasant. I told police it was just a verbal argument because I was scared about our baby and losing Ryan.”
That October, their daughter was born – not that fatherhood moderated Wellings’ behaviour, reports Mail Online.
“It wasn’t long till he was hurting me again,” she wrote. “I started to 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.”
By the start of 2022 things had escalated further still. Phone notes made by Kiena – she disguised them as shopping lists – recorded how Wellings threatened to throw her father’s ashes out of the window and worse.
In Kiena’s suicide note, her final thoughts were for her daughter.
“Please can the world protect her,” she wrote. “Make sure she is safe. She is loved. She is heard and she doesn’t ever experience any of the pain I have. I’m so sorry I had to go.
“I tried my hardest to stay with you, to keep you safe from these monsters. But I couldn’t, I couldn’t protect you because they are allowed to live, speak, lie…I am going to miss you so much…Good night and I am sorry.”
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk
If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy.
For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk
If you need to talk and don’t know where to turn to, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively you can email [email protected] or visit the website to find your local branch.
