Abusive boyfriend whose partner Kiena Dawes blamed him for her death in suicide note jailed
An abusive boyfriend whose girlfriend blamed him for her death in a suicide note – after he subjected her to years of violence – has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for controlling and coercive behaviour and assault.
Ryan Wellings, 30, was found guilty of the offences but was cleared of Kiena Dawes’s manslaughter by a jury at Preston Crown Court on Monday.
He was the first defendant in England to face trial for the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence.
Shortly after Ms Dawes wrote her note on her phone, in which she described Wellings as a “monster”, the 23-year-old hairdresser left it with a friend before she took her own life on 22 July 2022.
Prosecuting, Paul Greaney KC cited the suicide note at Wellings’s trial. In it, Ms Dawes said he had “killed [her]”.
“He ruined every bit of strength I had left,” the note said. “I had dreams. I had a future at one point. That was taken away from me.”
Ryan Wellings. Pic: Lancashire Police
Wellings denied the allegations against him and told jurors “I’m not a monster”.
While a jury cleared Wellings of Kiena’s manslaughter, Mr Greaney invited the court to sentence the defendant “on the basis that [the offending of which he was convicted] formed the background to and set the scene for her death”.
He said the abuse was “both regular and routine across the relationship”.
On one occasion, the court heard the defendant “held a drill to Kiena’s face, switched the drill on and threatened to drill out her teeth”.
‘Breaks my heart’
In a personal statement read out on her behalf in court, Angela Dawes, Kiena’s mother, said: “It breaks my heart that [Kiena’s] beautiful baby doesn’t have her mummy here because of that monster.”
“I truly hope that no other young lady or child has to go through what he did to my daughter and her baby,” she added.
Kiena Dawes took her own life. Pic: Lancashire Police
Kiena’s grandmother, Irene Ball, said she had noticed at times during Kiena’s relationship with Wellings that her smile was “false” but recalled her granddaughter “tried to reassure [her]”.
“It was extremely shocking to see my granddaughter hurt and with injuries to her beautiful face,” she said.
“I told Kiena that he would really badly hurt her one day and I pleaded with her not to go back to him.”
Kynan Dawes, Kiena’s brother, said: “I introduced Kiena to this monster and I will regret that for the rest of my life.”
Mr Dawes said he felt “justice [had] been served” as “the world now knows what a monster he is”.
Addressing those who’d been following Kiena’s case online, he added: “I want people to see that domestic violence is not OK and men should respect their partners.”
He also urged anyone experiencing domestic violence to “go to the police”, adding “if you don’t feel like you can do this, speak to family or friends”.
‘Friendly and kind young woman’
In sentencing, Judge Robert Altham said Ms Dawes was “a popular, vivacious, friendly and kind young woman”.
“She pleaded with you to stop hitting her, but you just carried on. You tried to persuade her that it was her fault for upsetting you,” he added.
Ms Dawes had attempted suicide in the past, before her relationship with Wellings, and lawyers for Wellings told the court her death was because of “multiple factors”.
The judge said the defendant was aware of Ms Dawes’s history of mental health issues, he “called her names connected with her illness” and “repeatedly told her that she may as well kill herself”.
However, he said his sentence was based on the jury’s conclusion that the defendant had “no criminal responsibility” for Kiena’s death.
In mitigation, John Jones KC told the court the relationship between Ms Dawes and Wellings, a landscape gardener from Bispham who had a previous conviction for battering an ex-partner, was “inconsistent” throughout its two-and-a-half years.
“It would be wrong to say that that coercive relationship was in existence throughout,” he said.
The court heard the abuse of Ms Dawes included regular slapping and “ragging” by her hair, and threats to use a drill to take out her teeth and throw acid in her face.
After she became pregnant, Wellings gave her a black eye and began criticising her weight, calling her “fat” while contacting escorts and prostitutes online.
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Police were called more than once, but Wellings threatened Ms Dawes that their daughter would be taken from them if she told them what was happening, so she declined to help prosecute him.
But she did report Wellings following an attack which left her needing hospital treatment and he was arrested.
He broke his bail conditions but was not locked up, leaving Ms Dawes feeling let down by police. Four days later, she killed herself.
Wellings’ sentences, to run consecutively, were for controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate relationship and for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
A further count of assault on the defendant’s former friend Scott Fletcher was also included as part of the sentence, an offence to which he had previously pleaded guilty.
Wellings will serve half of the sentence in prison before he is released on licence.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
The mistaken release of an asylum seeker who was jailed for sexual offences has prompted widespread condemnation – and an extensive police operation.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, had assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, about a week after he had crossed the Channel and arrived in the UK by boat.
Last night, the teenager’s father was visibly upset as he turned up at HMP Chelmsford – asking for answers on how Kebatu was freed just one month into a 12-month sentence.
He did not want to speak on camera – but told Sky correspondent Mollie Malone that he was “frustrated” at the thought of the Ethiopian national being back on the streets.
“The justice system has let us down,” he said.
Footage has emerged that appears to show Kebatu in Chelmsford town centre following his release – dressed in prison clothes and clutching his belongings in a see-through bag.
He then headed to the railway station and boarded a train bound for London’s Liverpool Street, which departed at 12.41pm yesterday.
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Accidental release ‘damaging’ for government
‘You couldn’t make it up’
Kebatu’s case had a high profile and led to weeks of protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, where he was staying alongside other asylum seekers.
When he was sentenced last month, Judge Christopher Williams warned he posed a “significant risk of reoffending”.
The Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, Marie Goldman, told Sky presenter Barbara Serra she was “appalled, frustrated and angry about how this could possibly happen in the first place”.
She said it is clear something went “fundamentally wrong” at HMP Chelmsford – and her constituents are “fed up” with systems not working and underinvestment.
“It just destroys trust at a time when emotions are riding high. We’ve seen protests over the past few weeks and months, and there’s a lot of fear out there,” Ms Goldman added.
“It is so easy to lose trust and really hard to gain it – we need the government to get a grip on this.”
Protests were held at The Bell Hotel for several weeks
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described Kebatu as a “dangerous illegal immigrant” – and said his premature release shows “staggering incompetence”.
He told Sky News: “We also need an urgent apology from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Justice Secretary David Lammy who have presided over this fiasco.”
Mr Lammy, who also serves as deputy prime minister, has said he is “appalled” and “livid on behalf of the public that Kebatu is at large”.
He confirmed a full investigation is being launched, adding: “He should be deported back to Ethiopia after the sexual assaults that he’s committed.”
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Manhunt continues for Kebatu
Extensive policing operation under way
Multiple forces are now involved in the manhunt for Kebatu – including Essex Police, the British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police in London.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone told Sky presenter Gillian Joseph that detectives will be carefully piecing together his movements after walking free from HMP Chelmsford.
“All these forces will now be looking at the CCTV from the train itself – trying to locate him on the train and trying to identify at which stop he went off at, and where he went from that station,” he explained.
Mr Wettone said information from Essex Police’s initial investigation – including the contacts, friends and associates he had at the Bell Hotel – will also be a factor.
Questions will also be asked of the prison authorities: “Has he had any visits or phone calls? Has he got any friends or family in the country?”
He added that additional officers will have been allocated to the manhunt: “The Met will have some significant resources looking for him – maybe the Territorial Support Group or additional borough-based officers in and around Liverpool Street first of all.”
The British Transport Police could also be involved in further inquiries if Kebatu ended up travelling on the Underground.
“It really depends on where that thread goes – if they can locate where he got off, and then where he went to,” Mr Wettone said.
“This work is very, very fast-paced – there are detectives and intelligence officers working in the background, chasing up on leads and updating the teams on the ground.”
Experts are warning that without “fast changes” the UK could run out of drinking water in the future.
The first seven months of 2025 were the driest since 1976, with reservoirs across England only 56.1% full on average, according to the Environment Agency.
“I think that we do need to worry about the fact that there is this possibility we could run out,” Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology from Reading University, told Sky News.
“It’s only if we start thinking like that, that we’re going to start conserving our water, otherwise we just take it completely for granted.
“It is all of our fault, we have not been paying attention to what’s going on… we need some very fast changes to the way that we are using water and the way that we’re storing water in order to stop this being a problem in the future, because our summers are only going to get hotter.”
By 2050, the government says that England could face a shortfall of five billion litres of water every day.
‘Growing pressure’ on water system
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “This government recognises the growing pressure on our water system and is taking decisive action.
“We’re delivering over £104bn of private investment to fix leaking pipes, build nine new reservoirs and secure our water supply for the future.”
Latest figures suggest that around 2,690 megalitres of water is lost every day in England through leaks – the equivalent of 1,076 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
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‘We have invested an extra £10m’
“Leaks are a really important issue for us. We have invested an extra £10m just to deal with the weather that we’ve seen this summer,” said Dr Geoff Darch, head of strategic asset planning for Anglian Water.
Anglian Water is also hoping to build two new reservoirs in the East of England.
“We don’t want to stop people using water, it is absolutely essential for everything that we need it to do,” Dr Darch said.
“But I think we’ve got to a point now where we have to realise that water is a precious resource, it’s something that we all have to look after so that we have it for future generations and for the environment and with climate change and drought, we will need more reservoirs.”
The government claims it is fast-tracking new reservoirs to address the problem
Concerns about ‘whole system starting to collapse’
In August, the UK received just 62% of its average rainfall, according to the Met Office, which is leading a group of residents to monitor their water stocks closely.
“We collect all our own water from the rain, and so if we don’t have the rain that’s a significant issue,” explained Simon Tilly, director of the Hockerton eco housing project in Nottinghamshire.
He told Sky News they were working together to use less water.
“I suppose I’m most concerned about the whole system starting to collapse. There’s potential for longer droughts and us having a lot of water stress, there’s potential for a lot of floods when the drought finishes… and just generally that system going into random patterns where we’re getting more droughts and more floods,” he added.
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