Boyfriend told young mum 'hitting you is like hitting a man' before she took own life

Kiena Dawes, 23, left a suicide note on her mobile phone claiming her former fiancé Ryan Wellings was her killer - he is now on trial accused of manslaughter and a campaign of abuse

A man accused of leading a “campaign of abuse” which drove a young mum to take her own life told her “hitting you is like hitting a man”, a jury has heard.

Kiena Dawes, 23, left her nine-month-old daughter at a friend’s before driving to a railway line and died after being struck by a train. She left a suicide note on her mobile phone naming her former fiancé Ryan Wellings as her killer.

Wellings, 30, is on trial accused of her manslaughter, as well as controlling and coercive behaviour over a two-and-a-half year period and assaulting causing actual bodily harm. A jury at Preston crown court was shown a doorbell video of Kiena dropping off her daughter at the home of friend Kacie Valentine in Fleetwood, Lanc.

The youngster was still strapped to a car seat along with the mobile phone. When Ms Valentine discovered the suicide note she could be seen running outside in the road and shouting: “No, no, no.”

Giving evidence she told the court Kiena had told her that Wellings had been violent and she had seen her friend with cuts, bruises and a “black eye”. Ms Valentine also said that Kiena had revealed that Wellings told her after one attack: “Hitting you is like hitting a man.”

Kiena died in July 2022 with the prosecution alleging that Wellings took advantage of her vulnerability, due to her mental health problems. This abuse was a “significant factor” in Kiena’s decision to take her own life, it is claimed, with Wellings last attack coming just 11 days before she died.

Wellings is said to have assaulted Keina on multiple occasions and the court has heard how she made notes of his alleged abuse of her mobile phone that were recovered by police. Ms Valentine spoke of a night when Kiena asked to stay over at her house because Wellings was drinking and taking drugs in their kitchen.

Earlier John Jones KC, defending, claimed Wellings was not responsible for her death and there were “multiple factors” the jury needed to consider. He characterised the defendant’s relationship with Ms Dawes as “loving and affectionate” but also “difficult and stormy”.

He said: “As with any relationship there were good times and bad times and you may conclude by the end of the relationship the times were predominantly bad not good. Whether the relationship could be described as ‘toxic’ was for them to determine, he said, and whatever the good times or bad times the defendant attests that it did not lead to Ms Dawes “most tragic death”.

He said some of the allegations Ms Dawes had made were “either untrue or inaccurate” but the defence “did not want to pretend everything in the relationship was perfect”. He claimed Ms Dawes was a “deeply troubled” young woman with a “long and troubled psychiatric history” which included previous attempts to take her own life.

Her death was not the consequence of any unlawful acts by Wellings, he said. “Whatever the shortcomings in that relationship they were not the reason why she chose to kill herself,” he added, and the decision she made to take her own life was “attributable to multiple factors”.

The jury previously heard about the suicide note Kiena left on her phone, which read: “The end. I fought hard, I fought long. I 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.” The note also said: “I hope my life saves another by police services acting faster” and that she wanted her daughter “kept away from the monster who is called her dad.”

Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, has told the court Kiena had a personality disorder that can result in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulties in relationships and Wellings “exploited this vulnerability”.

Wellings, of Bispham, Lancashire, denies charges of controlling and coercive behaviour, assault causing actual bodily harm and manslaughter. The trial - due to last four or five weeks - continues.