Police issue powerful statement after man acquitted of killing 'devoted and loving' mother Kiena Dawes

Lancashire Police have issued a statement after a man was acquitted of killing 'devoted and loving' mother Kiena Dawes. The young mum, 23, ended her own life after describing her relationship with Ryan Wellings as a 'nightmare'.

On Monday (January 13), Wellings was found not guilty of manslaughter, but found guilty of assault and prolonged domestic abuse. He denied the charges of manslaughter, assault, and coercive and controlling behaviour following the death of Kiena, who left their nine-month-old daughter with a friend before taking her own life on a railway line on July 22, 2022.

A six-week trial at Preston Crown Court heard that their relationship had been a 'recipe for disaster'. It was alleged that Ms Dawes killed herself following campaign of domestic violence at the hands of Wellings. Ms Dawes had written a suicide note saying, “Ryan Wellings killed me."

But giving their verdict in court today (January 13), jurors found him guilty of assault and prolonged domestic violence, but cleared him of manslaughter.

Wellings, 30, had denied manslaughter but became the first defendant to be tried before a jury accused of the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence. Ms Dawes’ suicide note, written on her phone, meant she had named and blamed her killer, 'from beyond the grave', Wellings’ trial heard.

Jurors heard Ms Dawes, a hairdresser from Fleetwood in Lancashire, had suffered two years of violence and abuse at the hands of Wellings. She had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, resulting in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships, a condition allegedly exploited by the defendant.

Following the jury's verdict, Lancashire