Officers plan to charge more men with manslaughter

The plan to charge more domestic abusers with manslaughter after their partners take their own lives comes after the death of Kiena Dawes, whose partner Ryan Wellings was cleared of manslaughter but convicted of domestic abuse.

- Ben Quinn

Wellings had subjected Dawes to repeated assaults and verbal abuse before being jailed in January for six and a half years.

Dawes, 23, killed herself and left a suicide note on her phone in which she described Wellings as a monster, stating: "Slowly... Ryan Wellings killed me."

The case was referred to at the launch of the annual national police report on domestic homicides.

It was only the second time a man has stood trial for causing his partner's suicide, with the first in 2006 also resulting in an acquittal. The charge has been successfully brought only once: in 2017, when Nicholas Allen pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Justene Reece.