Abusive ex who drove his partner to take her life faces longer behind bars after partner coached him to 'cry in court'

An abusive man who drove his girlfriend to take her own life has been given a longer sentence after he was 'coached' through the trial in a contempt of court. Ryan Wellings was jailed, but cleared of manslaughter, after allegedly being the reason Kiena Dawes, 23, took her own life. The mum-of-one died by suicide on railway tracks after two years of abuse from Wellings . She put in a note "I was murdered," adding that Wellings, 31, "killed me" after being subject to his coercive and controlling behaviour. In January 2025, Wellings was jailed for six-and-a-half years after being convicted of coercive and controlling behaviour and assault. Now, an additional seven months have been added to his sentence for contempt of court. The abuser did not listen to a judge who told him not to discuss his trial and spoke about it as it was ongoing with his then partner Emma Croft and mum Lisa Green. Green was a potential defence witness who knew she could not discuss the trial while it was ongoing and Croft was in court for the warnings, but they discussed the trial eight times over the phone. Mum-of-two Croft, 29, told Wellings in one call: “Some advice to listen, so take it in. Say how sorry you was and how you regret some of your action. “You can show emotion. If you do feel like you’re gonna cry then let it out.” In the following days, Wellings let out tears as he gave evidence about Kiena’s death. Croft also told Wellings that when questioned about “kick offs” between him and Kiena, he should suggest some of them were related to her mental health problems. Croft also said: “Don’t forget to keep mentioning self-defence. Get it in there.” Adam Birkby, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court : “The Crown’s case is that during the telephone calls the defendants engaged in witness coaching, and that their joint intention was to influence and thereby improve both the content of the evidence given by Ryan Wellings and the manner in which he gave it. “This was in flagrant breach of the clear order of the court.” Both Croft and Green were given a six month sentence, suspended for 20 months. Sentencing, Judge Robert Altham labelled their coaching a “serious interference with the fairness and integrity of the trial process in an important and serious case concerning the loss of life”. However, the judge was unable to conclude if this impacted the “ultimate outcome” of the trial. Separately to the contempt case, Wellings’ dad Michael and mum Green were sentenced for kidnapping their granddaughter weeks after her mum Kiena’s death. The baby was in her pram with her maternal grandmother when Michael Wellings grabbed her and ran towards a car where Green was shouting "get her". Both were handed nine months in prison, suspended for 20 months. During Wellings and Kiena's two year relationship, he violently abused her, once telling her: “Hitting you is like hitting a man”. Kiena had been diagnosed with an Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, which caused increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships. Wellings would exploit her condition, eventually driving her to suicide. He attacked her in front of their baby daughter just 11 days before she ended her own life. Wellings once dunked her head in the bath and told her: “Say goodbye to your baby”. He accused Kiena of sleeping with other people, labelling her a “s**g”, threw a stool at her and told her to kill herself. He threatened to use a drill to take her teeth out and said he would throw acid in her face to “make her look like Katie Piper”. On July 21, 2022, Kiena said she would leave Wellings after she ended up in hospital following an attack. After returning home from the hospital to pack her belongings, she text her mum saying: “I’m genuinely tortured. I don’t know how I’m going to get over this. “I know time is a healer but I am seriously haunted by what’s happened. It’s f***ing killing me.” The next morning the mum drove to her friend's house and let herself in as her friend was showering. The court heard that she left her nine-month-old daughter inside next to a heartbreaking note. It read: “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 didn’t deserve it. “I hope my life saves another by police services acting faster. Don’t let bullies live free.” Kiena then said sorry to her daughter for having to “let you go” and claimed the world had “turned their back on me”. The note also said she hoped that her baby would be “kept away from the monster who is called her dad”. Kiena, from Fleetwood in Lancashire, then travelled to a country lane and was struck by a high-speed train.