Fiancé denies manslaughter as jury told his abuse led to young hairdresser's suicide

Kiena Dawes was found by aa railway near Garstang in July 2022. Credit: MEN Media

A woman who took her own life after two years of alleged domestic abuse called 999 and said 'I don't want to die', two weeks before her death, a trial heard.

Kiena Dawes, 23, was found by a railway near Garstang, Lancashire, after leaving a note on her phone claiming she had been 'murdered slowly' through abuse at the hands of her partner Ryan Wellings.

Wellings, 30, denies manslaughter, ABH and coercive control.A jury at Preston Crown Court will determine whether he abused Kiena during their two-year relationship and whether that abuse caused her death on 22 July 2022.In a harrowing 999 call played in court, Kiena reported she had been involved in a road accident on 4 July 2022.

She told the operator she had been thinking about mental health and "didn't even see the car in front".

She said: "I've got a really bad mental health condition that has been getting a lot worse each day."Kiena continued: "I always write notes all the time in case I just do it one day but I have got a baby and I don't want to die. I want to be with my baby. I can't get my head to work. I just want to sleep all the time."Kiena told the operator she had been mentally unwell for a long time and took medication for her condition.

When asked about suicide, she said: "I don't want to die. My head's just gone. I need some help. I'm trying really hard not to feel like this."The jury was told Kiena had a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) which put her at increased risk of suicide compared to the general population.Dr Nicholas Kennedy told the jury that in February 2021, Kiena told health professionals she had a long standing fear of abandonment, which would have made it more difficult to walk away from a 'toxic' relationship.

The doctor said Kiena had made previous attempts to take her life which represented her emotional state.He said on 22 July 2022, Kiena's 'baseline' EUPD was aggravated by a number of factors, including, ongoing domestic abuse, an incident on 11 July which resulted in her sustaining injuries, another incident on 17 July in which she claimed Wellings breached his bail and contacted her by phone, the anniversary of her father's death and being told to remove a Facebook post in which she spoke about domestic abuse on 18 July.

The trial continues.