A beautician who is now the girlfriend of Ryan Wellings is making a “big mistake” and is “in denial” about the domestic abuser, a pal reportedly claimed.
Kiena Dawes, 23, left a suicide note calling her partner Wellings a “monster” who had “killed me”. She left the message and their nine-month-old daughter with a friend before killing herself on a railway line on July 22 2022.
Wellings has now been jailed for six-and-a-half years. The 30 year old was cleared of the unlawful killing of Kiena, 23, but he was convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour over a two-year period.
Prosecutors had taken the highly unusual step of charging Wellings with manslaughter, and he was the first defendant to face trial for the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence.
At his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, urged the judge to sentence Wellings on the basis that his conduct “formed the background and set the scene” for Ms Dawes’ death. And a friend of Kiena are now reportedly angry with Emma Croft, 28, who started going out with Wellings last summer before he was put on remand.
Kiena Dawes ‘has paved way for future abusers to be held liable’ after harrowing suicide
Kiena tragically took her own life
(
Image:
Kynan Dawes / SWNS)
Emma Croft with Wellings
While a person who was close to Ms Croft claimed she hasn’t taken on board what Wellings has done and she kept on visiting him even after he was taken into custody.
“All her friends told her she was making a big mistake, but she just kept saying ‘there are two sides to every story’ and that we didn’t know the truth,” the person told the Mail. “But the more we heard about what went on with poor Kiena, the more horrified we all were. For this monster to be blowing kisses to Emma in court really turns my stomach.”
It is understood that Ms Croft has lost her job now as a nail technician due to the relationship. “She claimed her own family were quite supportive of the relationship, but I find that hard to believe,” they said. “As a result of her relationship with Ryan she’s lost a lot of her friends and now her job, but she doesn’t seem able to see him for what he is, though as far as we know, he’s never actually abused her.”
Ms Croft also knew Kiena and wrote on her now deleted Facebook profile a tribute in July 2022, saying: “Heartbreaking the most beautiful girl inside & out thinking of all your family and little girl xxxx.”
Kiena Dawes following an alleged assault
(
Image:
Kynan Dawes / SWNS)
Kiena suffered domestic abuse at the hands of Wellings
The Powder Room, a beauty salon in Blackpool confirmed on Facebook that Ms Croft was no longer working for them. “Please Read. In regards to recent media coverage, we would like to inform our clients that Emma Croft no longer works at The Powder Room. We ask that others are kind and respectful towards all staff who work hard to make our salon an inviting place and have nothing to do with the situation that has arisen. Police are aware of recent media comments and are staying in close contact with the owners of the salon. Thank you.”
During Wellings’ trial, jurors heard that Ms Dawes, a hairdresser from Fleetwood in Lancashire, had suffered two years of violence and abuse at the hands of the defendant. She had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, resulting in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships, a condition allegedly exploited by the defendant.
She had attempted suicide in the past, before her relationship with Wellings, and his lawyers told the court her death was because of “multiple factors”. Bubbly and happy-go-lucky, she had been “swept off her feet” by Wellings, a landscape gardener from Bispham, who had a previous conviction for battering an ex-partner, the mother of his twin girls.
A video grab of a police visit to Kiena Dawes’ home
(
Image:
Lancashire Constabulary / SWNS)
Wellings had Kiena’s name and face tattooed on his body within a week of meeting, and proposed marriage within three months. But she later said her “fairy tale” had turned into a “nightmare” with Wellings, who had a vicious temper and regularly had cocaine and drink binges, the court heard.
Described by Mr Greaney as an “entitled, aggressive bully” and by Ms Dawes’ friends as a “horrible little bastard” with a jealous streak, he did not like being answered back to. His abuse of Kiena included regular slapping and “ragging” by her hair, and threats to use a drill to take out her teeth and to “make her look like Katie Piper” by throwing acid in her face, jurors heard.
After she became pregnant, Wellings gave her a black eye and began criticising her weight, calling her a “fat little bitch” while contacting escorts and prostitutes online. Friends and her mother told Kiena to “run a mile” from “toxic” Wellings, but a pattern developed of break-up and make-up as he made excuses for his behaviour.
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. Mr Greaney read Ms Dawes’ suicide note to jurors: “The end. I fought hard, I fought long. I went through pain no-one could imagine. I was murdered. Ryan Wellings killed me. He ruined every bit of strength I had left. I had dreams. I had a future at one point. That was taken away from me.”
For mental health support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk