Kiena Dawes' desperate final days from car crash to tragic goodbye to baby
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In a heartbreaking message from beyond the grave, Kiena Dawes said she felt there was no other way to put a stop to the abuse she suffered unless she ended her life. On July 22, 2022, the mum-of-one was found dead after fiancé Ryan Wellings spent the previous two years terrorising her - leaving her bruised, shaken and threatened. On Monday, Wellings was found guilty of assault, coercive behaviour and prolonged domestic violence towards Kiena but cleared of her manslaughter.
She had fallen head over heels for the landscape gardener when they were introduced by her brother in January 2020, and from the get-go, their relationship was "intense". The 30-year-old had a tattoo of the 23-year-old's name and face within a week, and after three months, they were engaged to marry.
The "fairytale" soon turned into a "nightmare" as he abused the happy-go-lucky hairdresser, from Fleetwood in Lancashire, crushing her confidence slowly until she finally broke. On several occasions she tried to seek help, but was so terrified of the controlling father-of-three that she always relented.
Just weeks before she took her own life, on July 4, Kiena drove into the back of a car, telling paramedics she forgot she was on the road and was thinking about suicide. A week later, on July 11, the couple had a row when Kiena moved some of his belongings while vacuuming - an argument that later proved to be fatal.
Wellings demanded she return the engagement ring he had given her and threw it out the window, the court heard. With their daughter 'screaming' next to them, she managed to push Wellings out of the flat, she told police, only for him to fling the door open, slamming it in her face, causing her to black out.
