Woman left note saying 'I was murdered', court told

A vulnerable mother left a note saying "I was murdered" after suffering years of alleged abuse by her partner, a manslaughter trial has heard.

Kiena Dawes, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, was found by British Transport Police on a railway line in Barnacre, near Garstang, on 22 July 2022.

Preston Crown Court was told Ms Dawes took her own life after being physically assaulted and subjected to controlling and coercive behaviour by Ryan Wellings - which he denies along with the manslaughter charge.

The jury also heard Ms Dawes, 23, left a note which she said she had "fought hard", but "slowly, they tortured me, till there was nothing left".

Opening the case for the prosecution, Paul Greaney KC told jurors that the hairdresser left her nine-month-old daughter with a close friend on the morning of 22 July.

She then travelled to a country lane near the West Coast main line a half an hour drive away and took her own life, the jury heard.

Mr Greaney asked the jury: "What caused a bright and popular young mother to take such clear and deliberate steps to end her own life?"

Mr Greaney said that over a prolonged period from the beginning of their relationship Mr Wellings subjected Ms Dawes to controlling and coercive behaviour, treating her in a thoroughly abusive way and physically assaulting her on a number of occasions.

Ms Dawes met Mr Wellings on 26 January 2020, but less than six months into their relationship Mr Greaney said he attempted to strangle her with an iPhone charger cable.

In another incident, he threw a stool at her and caused her to slash her foot on broken glass, the court was told.

The prosecution also claimed that at Christmas 2020 she was pulled and dragged across the floor in front of his former partner and her children.

The court heard Ms Dawes had a history of mental health problems and had emotionally unstable personality disorder, a form of personality disorder that can result in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships with others.

Mr Greaney said: "The defendant thoroughly and dreadfully exploited that vulnerability."

He said Mr Wellings’ abuse of Ms Dawes, and an assault just 11 days before her death, were significant factors in her decision to kill herself.

The court was told police were called a number of times and 999 calls made including on 11 July 2022 when Mr Wellings was arrested on suspicion of assault.

The jury heard no prosecution followed and that Ms Dawes alleged her partner was breaching his conditions of bail in the days that followed by attempting to contact her.

The court was told that for reasons that are not entirely clear, Lancashire Police told her that there had been no breach of bail by Mr Wellings.

The court heard that, in a note found on her phone, she described Mr Wellings as a "monster" and wrote: "The end. I fought hard, I fought long. I went through pain no one could imagine.

"No one will know what I went through. I was murdered. Slowly. They tortured me, till there was nothing left.

"I lost my fight but I didn’t give up my battle. I fought till the end."

The jury heard she also wrote: "Ryan Wellings killed me. He ruined every bit of strength I had left."

"The world turned their back on me. I was strong. I had dreams. I had a future at one point. That was taken away from me."

The prosecution said the death of the hairdresser was caused by the unlawful acts of Mr Wellings and that he should therefore be found guilty of her manslaughter.

The jury was told he used violence, threatened to damage the hairdresser's property, insulted and belittled her, encouraged her to harm herself, isolated her from her friends and family, took money and property from her and threatened to have her child removed from her.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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