Campaigners have called for domestic abusers to be held accountable if their victims are driven to suicide, after the tragic case of Kiena Dawes who took her own life and left a note behind blaming her fiance’s campaign of terror.
Yesterday, however, Ryan Wellings was convicted of assault and prolonged domestic abuse, but cleared of manslaughter. Seemingly celebrating, the unrepentant abuser blew a kiss to his new girlfriend as the verdict was read out.
In the year to the end of March 2023, police figures showed domestic abuse related deaths classed as suspected suicide were more common than killings by a current or ex-partner, with Kiena’s death just the latest in the tragic roll call.
In a chilling note from beyond the grave, the young mother told the world ‘Ryan Wellings killed’ me as she admitted she had run out of strength after going through unimaginable pain at the hands of a serial abuser.
‘I fought hard, I fought long,’ she wrote in a suicide note titled ‘The End’. ‘I went through pain no one could imagine. I was murdered. Slowly. They tortured me, till there was nothing left. I lost my fight but I didn’t give up my battle.
‘Ryan Wellings killed me. He ruined every bit of strength I had left. I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t ask for it. I hope my life saves another by police services acting faster.
‘Don’t let bullies live free. They don’t deserve it. Make sure the person who is tortured is heard. Let them have a voice.’
Shortly after writing the note on her phone, Ms Dawes left their nine-month-old daughter with a friend before taking her own life on July 22 2022.
The six-week trial has once again shone a light on women being driven to take their own lives after suffering through years of abuse, only for the attackers to be cleared of responsibility.
Ainie Grainger, a survivor of childhood domestic violence, called for the link between suicide and domestic abuse to have greater recognition as she told MailOnline today: ‘For him [Wellings] to get off is an insult not only to her family but to her.’
In a series of similarly heartbreaking cases, Roisin Hunter Bennett, Chloe Holland and Jessica Louise Laverack all took their lives after suffering years of domestic abuse. Their abusers denied driving their victims to suicide.
Kiena Dawes (pictured), 23, went missing from her home in Fleetwood, Lancashire, on July 22, 2022 before taking her own life
Ryan Wellings was yesterday convicted of assault and prolonged domestic abuse, but cleared of manslaughter
Just 11 days before her suicide, Ms Dawes suffered an horrific head wound after being attacked by her partner (Ms Dawes is seen with blood over her face in an image released by police)
Domestic abuse plays a role in as many as a third of all female suicides, according to Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse, which is why campaigners are demanding better recognition of the links between them.
And a report last year showed the number of domestic abuse victims who died after taking their own life rose for a third year in a row.
In the year to the end of March 2023, police figures showed domestic abuse-related deaths classed as suspected suicide were more common than killings by a current or ex-partner.
There were 242 domestic abuse-related deaths in England and Wales, of which 93 were suspected suicides.
Ms Dawes’ death raises questions from Lancashire Police as to whether more could have been done to protect the 23-year-old hairdresser from Wellings’ abuse.
Three Lancashire Police officers are facing disciplinary proceedings after an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Much of the detail that secured his convictions was contained in thousands of messages written by Ms Dawes as well as in statements she had given to police before she died.
Preston Crown Court heard how the hard-drinking, cocaine-snorting body-builder went from professing undying love to his girlfriend to physically and mentally breaking her.
The jury heard how he tried to strangle her with an iPhone charger cable, how he screamed ‘slag’ at her, threw a stool at her and told her to kill herself.
He punched and kicked Ms Dawes, tried to drown her by holding her head in a baby bath and threatened to ‘drill her teeth out’.
When she spoke of ending their two-and-a-half-year relationship Wellings warned her that he would throw acid in her face ‘like Katie Piper’ – the TV presenter who was attacked with acid by her ex and an accomplice – so nobody else would want her.
After years of abuse, Ms Dawes took her life in July 2022. Her mother, Angela, said outside court yesterday: ‘I am sorry that your voice has not been fully heard and that justice has not been done in the way we all hoped.’
Wellings was the first defendant to be tried before a jury accused of the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence.
The trial bears striking similarities to the case of Chloe Holland, who took her own life aged 23 after enduring her abusive ex’s violent attacks for months.
Chloe Holland (pictured with her mother Sharon) took her own life aged 23 after enduring her abusive ex’s violent attacks for months
Marc Masterton was sentenced to 41 months in prison after pleading guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour
Roisin Hunter Bennett also took her life after suffering domestic abuse. Her parents have called for coroners to have better understanding of the impact of coercive control
Jessica Louise Laverack, known as Jessie, died in 2018 after fleeing her ex-boyfriend Patrick Walsh
She had moved from Rotherham to East Yorkshire in August 2017 to escape Patrick Walsh (pictured)
Marc Masterton, 26 – who repeatedly controlled Ms Holland’s appearance, isolated her from her friends and family and sickeningly encouraged her to kill herself – was sentenced to just 41 months in prison in October 2023.
He pleaded guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour.
On one occasion, Masterson had assaulted Chloe with a dumbbell, before handing her a knife and ordering her to harm herself.
He even put a tracking device on her phone, preventing her from escaping him.
Just before her death, Chloe reported her ex to Hampshire Police, who opened an investigation.
Due to the severe psychological impact of the abuse, Ms Holland went on to hang herself in February 2023.
Her mother, Sharon, said after Masterton’s sentencing: ‘No amount of time in prison will bring my daughter back.
‘But less than five years for contributing to her death just isn’t fair.’
The parents of Roisin Hunter Bennett also last year called for coroners to have more understanding of the impact of coercive control.
The 19-year-old died in hospital on March 16 2022, nine days after trying to take her own life.
Her parents, Margaret Hunter and Tony Bennett, said her two-year relationship had been emotionally abusive. Her former partner denied any wrongdoing.
Ryan Wellings (pictured) was accused of carrying out a two-and-a-half year campaign of domestic abuse which led her to kill herself. But a jury cleared him of manslaughter
At her inquest in January 2023, it was concluded that Ms Hunter Bennett had killed herself ‘due to the ending of a relationship and the pressure of balancing work and studying for exams’.
But her parents successfully appealed to the High court for the inquest conclusion to be amended, with the coroner adding she took her won life ‘due to an emotionally abusive relationship’.
Ms Hunter said: ‘For anyone who knows anything about coercive and controlling behaviour, that in itself shows a fundamental misunderstanding.
‘Coercive and controlling behaviour is a pattern of behaviour which occurs over a long period of time.
‘The coroner said that he could not apportion blame. It was important to be proportionate, but if there is an overwhelming amount of evidence in one particular area, then that is just where the evidence is.’
After the appeal, Ms Hunter said: ‘I feel as though it is incumbent on the chief coroner who is in charge to urgently issue guidelines on domestic abuse-related suicide so that he can give his coroners some clarity.’
Ms Hunter Bennett’s ex-partner told the BBC: ‘Roisin’s untimely death caused me great shock and sadness.
‘While I regret things I said while upset following the breakdown of our relationship, in no way do I accept that I was emotionally abusive towards Roisin or caused her to take her own life.’
Ring video shows Ms Dawes walking up to the door of her friend’s house with her child in a carrier
Ms Dawes was left with a one inch gash on her forehead after Wellings slammed a door in her face during a row just 11 days before she took her life
The police told the inquest that there would be no criminal prosecution.
In a third case, Jessica Louise Laverack was tragically found dead by her family in February 2018.
She had moved from Rotherham to East Yorkshire in August 2017 to escape a ‘violent and abusive’ ex-partner, Patrick Walsh.
Despite moving counties, Mr Walsh found out where Jessie lived and sent her a letter, before turning up unannounced in September 2017.
Her death was subject to a domestic homicide review – the first of such case in the East Riding.
A coroner concluded: ‘Jessica Louise Laverack was vulnerable due to a history of domestic abuse and anxiety, her emotional distress caused alcohol dependence.
‘The lack of an appropriate, co-ordinated approach to her issues, which was further hampered by inadequate information sharing, while not directly causative of her death, would have affected the state of her mental health and contributed to her decline.’
Ainie Grainger, a survivor of childhood domestic violence, told MailOnline today: ‘For him to get off is an insult not only to her family but to her.’
In a report to prevent future deaths report, Coroner Lorraine Harris said on June 27 2022: ‘[There] is a need for the recognition of the link between domestic abuse and suicide. Processes and policies do not seem to include this serious area to the extent that is required.’
Women’s charities and survivors have long said the link between domestic abuse and suicide to be recognised.
After the Wellings trial, Julia Dwyer, head of services at Refuge, said: ‘Kiena faced horrific abuse and violence perpetrated by Ryan Wellings, found not guilty of manslaughter but convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour.
‘In light of today’s conviction, we remain steadfast in our position that there is an undeniable link between domestic abuse and suicide.
‘The trauma that can develop as a result of domestic abuse cannot be underestimated.’
Ms Dwyer added: ‘On average, 1 woman in England and Wales is killed by partner or ex-partner every 5 days, and an estimated 3 women die by suicide each week due to being subjected domestic abuse.
‘While these figures alone are truly harrowing, we expect these to represent the tip of the iceberg as deaths caused by domestic abuse continue to be severely under-reported.’
Priscilla Grainger and her daughter Ainie have also been campaigning for change after the mother and daughter suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband.
Ainie told MailOnline today: ‘I think in Kiena’s case, the reason she left the note was to tell people “this is what he did to me and that I felt like I couldn’t reach out”.
‘I think that’s the whole thing of it being brushed under the carpet.
‘People are so afraid they are going to be judged, that they are not going to be believed. I do think its a stigma attached with it as well.
‘I definitely think in this circumstance with the evidence there is in her case, he should be held accountable for this. For him to get off is an insult not only to her family but to her as well.
‘The fact she left a note to say “this is what happened to me and “I felt I didn’t deserve this and I am taking my life”. It was nearly for her to say “I don’t want this to happen to someone else, this is why I am taking my life, I actually physically cant take anymore”.’
Ms Grainger said it was essential that abusers must shed responsibility if their victims are driven to suicide.
She added: ‘I think if we linked suicide and domestic abuse together more it would open up a new conversation and may help for evidence with other cases of domestic violence.
‘I do think it comes down to evidence. It’s a harder thing to try and get evidence on because realistically can you blame someone for someone committing suicide? It comes down to whether they have mental health issues, or was it premeditated?
‘But when you put trauma into the works, these people need to be held to account if a lady kills herself because she couldn’t take it more.
‘I’ve seen it before where women have committed suicide because of domestic abuse because they just can’t take anymore, they feel there is no road to go down and get help because they feel like a piece of paper, like an order is not going to stand.