Ryan Wellings jailed for abuse and assault of Kiena Dawes - updates

A thug who subjected his partner to years of abuse before she took her own life is in court today (January 16).

Ryan Wellings was cleared of Kiena Dawes' manslaughter following a trial earlier this month. But the 30-year-old was found guilty of assault and controlling and coercive behaviour.

During a six-week trial, Preston Crown Court heard how Dawes, 23, endured heartbreaking abuse over a two-year period. A juruy was told how Kiena was found dead on a railway track near Garstang, Lancashire, in July 2022.

In the tragic final note left by hairdresser Kiena, rom Fleetwood, she wrote that she had been "murdered" by Wellings.

Wellings, a landscape gardener from Bispham, Lancashire, claimed his relationship with Kiena was "loving" and he didn't accept his conduct caused her death, saying her underlying mental health issues may have caused her to take her own life. The court heard that Wellings' abuse was a "significant factor" in Kiena's decision to end her life, with the last attack just 11 days before her death.

In her heartbreaking suicide note, Kiena wrote: “The end. I fought hard, I fought long. went through pain no one could imagine. No one will know what I went through. I was murdered. Slowly. They tortured me, till there was nothing left. I lost my fight but I didn’t give up my battle. I fought till the end. Ryan Wellings killed me.”

Follow live updates from court below

Wellings has now been taken to start his sentence. He has shown no emotion throughout today's hearing.

Mr Greaney KC is now thanking the police officers and staff who have gathered evidence, prepared the case, and supported the bereaved family throughout the investigation. HHJ Altham says the police should be commended for their professinalism and