A young mother killed herself and left a note saying “I was murdered” after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, a court has heard. Kiena Dawes, 23, a hairdresser, said in her note that “Ryan Wellings killed me”, a jury heard. She continued: “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.” Wellings, 30, is standing trial for the manslaughter of Dawes. He is also accused of assault and controlling and coercive behaviour towards Dawes during their two-year relationship. He denies the charges. Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, told Preston crown court that Dawes was a “bright and popular” young woman who had a nine-month-old daughter. He said Dawes, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, had driven to a friend’s home but when she got there, her friend was in the shower. She let herself in and left the baby in her friend’s home before driving to a nearby railway line and killing herself. Greaney said Dawes had left her mobile phone alongside her daughter and had written a suicide note on it. A phone note written by Dawes was shown and read out to the jury. It said: “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.” Addressing her daughter, she wrote: “I’m sorry I let you go … I’m so sorry I had to go. 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.” She added in the note she hoped her daughter was “kept away from the monster who is called her dad”. Greaney told jurors that Dawes’s own words represented the prosecution case, that her death was caused by Wellings’s actions, and he was guilty of her manslaughter. He said almost from the beginning of their relationship, Wellings had repeatedly subjected Dawes to controlling and coercive behaviour, abuse and violence, over a prolonged period. Dawes had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, resulting in increased impulsivity, poor self-esteem and difficulty in relationships, the court heard. Wellings exploited her mental health condition, jurors were told, and while her condition played a part in her decision to take her own life, so too did his abuse, including a final assault which left her in hospital 11 days before she killed herself, the prosecution said. The defendant claims Dawes’s accusations against him are either untrue or exaggerated, and any injuries she suffered before her death were a result of his attempts to restrain her or accidental. The court heard that Dawes, a hairdresser, and Wellings first met each other through Dawes’s brother, a friend of the defendant, in January 2020. An “intense” relationship began and within weeks Wellings had Dawes’s name and face tattooed on his body, the court heard. After the first Covid lockdown began Dawes moved to Dorset and Wellings followed shortly after. But in May 2020 a friend of Dawes visited the flat to find it smashed up, and Dawes told her friend that Wellings had tried to strangle her with an iPhone charger cable, the jury heard. On another occasion, Wellings accused Dawes of sleeping with a friend of theirs, screamed at her that she was a “slag”, threw a stool at her, and told her to kill herself, it is alleged. Greaney said for more than two years Dawes was in a relationship with a man who “assaulted her, bullied and demeaned her”. He added: “It is clear, suggests the prosecution, that despite a desire to see her daughter grow up, Kiena could not take any more.” The case continues.