A jury has been told the relationship between Kiena Dawes and her partner Ryan Wellings was ‘a recipe for disaster’ which both should have walked away from.
But John Jones KC, defending Wellings said Kiena’s death in July 22 was not caused by his client. Kiena, 23, took her own life after leaving a note which said she had been ‘murdered slowly’ by Wellings through two years of domestic abuse.
Wellings, from Bispham, denies coercive control, ABH and manslaughter.
Closing the case for the defence, his barrister Mr Jones KC said between the squabbles and fall-outs between the couple there was ‘love and affection; which was clearly demonstrated in text communication between them. He described a ‘see-sawing relationship’ from as early as May 2020, shortly after the couple got engaged on a beach in Dorset.
“Did it lead to Kiena’s death?” Mr Jones asked. “No.”
Addressing the jury at Preston Crown Court, Mr Jones said the ‘ill-fated relationship was beset with problems’.
Wellings had problems with drug abuse, bingeing and anger, while Kiena suffered with emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) characterised by extreme emotions and mood swings.
“We know now this relationship bore all the ingredients of disaster and something that neither could cope with – although goodness gracious, they certainly tried.”
He said Kiena’s friends and family now regretted the relationship between Kiena and Wellings but condoned it at the start. Kiena’s mum Angela described the beach proposal as Kiena’s ‘fairytale ending’ but the fairytale was soon to tarnish, Mr Jones said.
Over the next two years, the combination of Wellings’ drug abuse and temper and Kiena’s mental health would destroy the relationship.
“This corrosive and destructive combination was to bring heartache to both and death to one,” Mr Jones said. “You must determine what caused that death.
“We say it wasn’t caused in any significant degree by Ryan Wellings. That is the conclusion you can come to when you have heard all the evidence.”
Mr Jones KC said Kiena’s family and friends only heard about the difficulties in the relationship and did not see ‘the depths of love and affection she had for Ryan’. He said Kiena’s mental health struggles had been ‘troublesome’ for at least five years before she met Wellings.
Wellings also had deep seated problems with drugs and his temper, which were clear from a previous conviction relating to his former partner
“It was a recipe for disaster – mental health on one side, drug abuse and temper on the other. We know that they didn’t know or appreciate that at the time.”
Mr Jones asked the jury to treat hearsay evidence from Kiena’s friends and family with caution, as they had only heard ‘one side of the coin’. He said arguments between the couple were resolved within days, and often hours.
He said: “Is Kiena simply someone who suffers EUPD which manifests through severe and uncontrollable mood swings? Perhaps when she said those things to her friends she genuinely believed them to be so – it was a source of irritation one minute and hours later they were forgotten.
“That is not to say there weren’t problems. There were. These problems were deep seated and manifested from the start and although they should have walked away, neither did so until it was too late.
“Whatever might have been the attraction, while it may have been fatal it was not a fatality caused by Ryan Wellings.” The trial continues.
You don’t have to suffer in silence if you’re struggling with your mental health.
Here are some groups you can contact:
Samaritans: Phone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email jo@samaritans.org, in confidence.
Childline: Phone 0800 1111. Calls are free and won’t show up on your bill.
PAPYRUS: Suicide prevention charity offering professional help and support to children, young people and anyone concerned for someone struggling with life. Call HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039 967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.
Depression Alliance: A charity for people with depression. No helpline, but it offers useful resources and links to other information.
Students Against Depression: A website for students who are depressed, have low mood, or are suicidal. Click here to visit.
Bullying UK: A website for both children and adults affected by bullying. Click here.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): For young men who are feeling unhappy. There is a helpline: 0800 58 58 58 or visit the website.
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