Kiena Dawes, 23, tragically took her own life after enduring years of abuse from Ryan Wellings, 30, who has been convicted of assault and coercive control. Friends are outraged that beautician Emma Croft, 28, began dating Wellings while he was on bail for Kiena’s death and expressed ambiguous sentiments about Kiena’s tragic passing, even sending a “happy heavenly birthday” message posthumously. Despite being cleared of manslaughter, Wellings’ violent history, including threats and physical abuse, led to Kiena’s suicide note stating, “Ryan Wellings killed me.” Croft has since lost her job due to the backlash surrounding her relationship with him.
Friends say a beautician who is going out with Kiena Dawes’ ‘monster’ abuser is ‘besotted’ with him – as it emerged that she knew his victim and wished her a ‘happy heavenly birthday’ after her death.
After years of sickening abuse from Ryan Wellings, 30, Kiena Dawes, 23, wrote a suicide note saying, ‘Ryan Wellings killed me’, before leaving their nine-month-old daughter with a friend and taking her own life on a railway line on July 22, 2022.
Although Wellings, 30, was cleared of manslaughter this week, he was convicted of assault and coercive control for two years of violence and abuse, and sentenced today to X years in prison.
Friends of Kiena are angry at nail technician Emma Croft, 28, for starting a relationship with Wellings over the summer before he was put on remand.
Today, one person who used to be close with Croft said she was ‘in denial’ about his true nature.
‘They started going out last summer – he’d already been charged over Kiena’s death, but at that time he was on bail. Later he was remanded in custody, but she still kept on visiting him,’ they said.
‘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.
‘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.’
Ryan Wellings’ (left) with his new partner, nail technician Emma Croft (right)
Screenshots from Croft’s now deleted Facebook profile showed her posting about Ms Dawes’ disappearance and the subsequent discovery of her body
Kiena Dawes (pictured), 23, went missing from her home in Fleetwood, Lancashire, on July 22, 2022 before taking her own life
The source said Croft’s decision to stand by her violent boyfriend had come at a cost.
‘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.’
More upset has been caused by newly resurfaced screenshots from Croft’s deleted Facebook profile which reveal a series of glowing tributes she paid to Kiena after her death.
In July 2022, she shared the news that Kiena’s body had been found alongside the caption: ‘Heartbreaking the most beautiful girl inside & out thinking of all your family and little girl xxxx’.
A month later, Croft sent a message to Kiena’s former profile reading: ‘Happy heavenly birthday.’
Friends of the late mother of one reacted angrily after the screenshots were shared on Facebook yesterday, with comments branding Mr Croft ‘sickening’ and her behaviour ‘beyond words’.
Croft has agreed to ‘step down’ from her job as at a Beauty Salon in Blackpool after the owner found the controversy surrounding her alleged involvement in the case was harming business, MailOnline revealed yesterday.
But over Christmas – before Wellings had been cleared of manslaughter charges against him – he gifted Croft, a lookalike of Kiena, a spa day treat.
On December 25, Croft proudly posted on Instagram an image of the Virgin Experience Day card for the spa day at Bibby Hall in Lancashire, the gift from Wellings.
Kiena following an assault. She wrote in a suicide note: ‘Ryan Wellings killed me’
Croft, 28, pictured alongside Wellings, has agreed to ‘step down’ from her job as at a Beauty Salon in Blackpool
Over Christmas – before Wellings had been cleared of manslaughter charges against him – he gifted Croft, a lookalike of Kiena, a spa day treat
The two-hour long ‘weekday evening Aqua Thermal Experience’ for two is only valid until December 31, 2025.
Croft, and his mother Lisa Green face a police investigation for allegedly ‘coaching’ him to give evidence in court.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Croft’s former employer The Powder Room announced: ‘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.’
Jurors heard how Wellings repeatedly lashed out at his hairdresser partner Kiena, beating her while she was pregnant with his child, as well as threatening to drown her in a bath, drill her teeth and ‘make her look like Katie Piper’ by dousing her with acid.
He also urged Ms Dawes to kill herself, boasted that ‘hitting you is like hitting a man’ and, on one occasion, forced her head underwater in a bath and said: ‘Say goodbye to your baby’.
He was the first defendant to be tried before a jury accused of the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence, but was found not guilty. He turned and blew a kiss to Croft as the verdict was read out, while Ms Dawes’ sister burst into tears.
Ryan Wellings (pictured) is set to be sentenced on Thursday after being cleared of manslaughter
Despite being cleared of manslaughter, Wellings was convicted of assault and coercive control for two years of violence and abuse.
In one incident just 11 days before Ms Dawes’ death, on July 11, 2022 he ‘launched’ her into a radiator with such force it broke the appliance off the wall, then slammed a door in her face – knocking her out and leaving her with blood pouring from her head.
She called police at least five times reporting domestic problems with Wellings. While she frequently downplayed her abuse to officers – due to threats from her partner – she did make a statement about the assault on July 11.
He was arrested for assault but bailed on condition he did not contact her, which he did.
Ms Dawes wrote in a suicide note: ‘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.’
In the note, she also shared her hopes that police would act ‘faster’ in cases like hers – and three police officers are now facing disciplinary proceedings.
The prosecution claimed that Wellings took advantage of Ms Dawes’s vulnerability – on account of issues with her mental health – and was repeatedly violent and abusive towards her.
He also sponged off her, unable to hold down work, securing and leaving 22 jobs and draining her of money while she worked two jobs. Wellings claimed £15,000 in Covid loans during lockdown which he spent on hotels, £1,800 worth of golf clubs and drugs.
This abuse was a ‘significant factor’ in Ms Dawes’ decision to take her own life, prosecutors said. She was later found dead on railway tracks, near Garstang, Lancashire, after being hit by a train.
Jurors heard how Wellings repeatedly lashed out at his hairdresser partner Kiena, beating her while she was pregnant with his child, as well as threatening to drown her in a bath
The ‘bright and popular’ hairdresser was ‘ground down’ by two-and-a-half years of domestic violence, a jury was told
Just 11 days before her suicide, Ms Dawes suffered an horrific head wound after being attacked by her partner (Ms Dawes is seen with blood over her face in an image released today by police)
Wellings’ defence team insisted the injuries Ms Dawes had suffered before her death had been as a result of Wellings’ attempts to restrain her or had been inflicted accidentally.
They suggested that descriptions of the landscape gardener’s behaviours by her had been either inaccurate, untrue or exaggerated.
And they claimed that despite the young mother’s relationship with her partner being a ‘recipe for disaster’ – Wellings was not guilty of driving her to suicide through domestic violence.
Defence counsel John Jones KC told Preston Crown Court Ms Dawes’ suicide was not caused ‘in any significant degree’ by his client.
He added the couple’s ‘party lifestyle’ had been a ‘recipe for disaster’ and their ‘fairytale’ relationship was to end in turmoil because of Wellings’ temper, Ms Dawes’ mental health difficulties, and their joint abuse of cocaine.
Kiena had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder resulting in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships, a condition that the court heard was exploited by Wellings.
Ms Dawes was left with a one inch gash on her forehead after Wellings slammed a door in her face during a row just 11 days before she took her life
Ms Dawes, pictured, wrote that she hoped her daughter is ‘kept away from the monster who is called her dad’, jurors heard
Speaking outside Preston Crown Court after the verdicts, Ms Dawes’s mother Angela (pictured) apologised for not getting ‘justice’
After the case, Harriet Wistrich, Director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: ‘Coercive control is a bespoke form of abuse, which targets a victim’s vulnerabilities.
‘In this case there seems to have been evidence of ‘gaslighting’ whereby Wellings used Kiena’s past mental health to push her to the edge. Jurors need help in understanding how a victim can become so entrapped in an abusive relationship that they can see no way out.
‘Many victims of domestic abuse who take their own lives will have pre-existing vulnerabilities, which are deliberately exploited by their abuser to exert control and inflict harm. The justice system must hold perpetrators accountable for the full scope of their actions.’
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