'I'm not a monster, never have been', man accused of driving his partner to suicide tells jury

A man accused of driving his partner to suicide told a jury: "I'm not a monster, I never have been."

Ryan Wellings, 30, denies manslaughter after his partner Kiena Dawes took her own life in July 2022. Mum-of-one Kiena, 23, was found dead close to a railway line near Garstang, Lancashire, after leaving a note saying she had been 'murdered, slowly' by Wellings.

Within hours of being charged with Kiena's manslaughter on June 3, 2024, a video was uploaded on Facebook which showed Wellings in a car, singing about the charge and blaming Kiena's family for her death. Wellings told the jury he was 'hurting' when he recorded the video and only intended it for personal use, LancsLive reports from court.

Wearing mirrored sunglasses and a blue t-shirt, Wellings could be seen swigging from a bottle of Prosecco, singing: "I've been told off an hour ago on a manslaughter charge... it's all f***ing s**t." He then went on to name Kiena's mother, singing she should 'take the blame for abandoning her daughter" and called her a "f***ing sl*g.'

Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, said: "What we see here is the real Ryan Wellings."

Wellings replied: "That's the Ryan Wellings that hasn't been to sleep, has just been charged with killing my kid's mum. Three years of my life. I've lost my Mrs by killing herself and I've been blamed for it."

Mr Greaney KC said: "We are seeing Ryan Wellings the bully, Ryan Wellings the entitled person, who thinks he can do what he wants. Ryan Wellings who thinks he can treat people and say to people whatever he wants."

Wellings said: "I know what I did was wrong. I did some stupid things. That Facebook post has got me where I am now but that is me hurting." He said he recorded the video but 'accidentally' uploaded it,