Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an inquest has learned.
Watkins, forty-eight, died on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year prison sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the completion of an related murder trial.
Two individuals have been accused with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on suspicion of plot to murder were returned to prison as inquiries continued.
Coroner Statement
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was identified by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short proceeding, had been pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire prison by an on-call doctor and was officially identified by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been stabbed in the neck".
The coroner said a post-mortem report gave the reason of death as an incision to the throat.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the sexual assault and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving creating, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man influenced by fame, substances, and influence who had perpetrated crimes "beyond imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that attack, he was taken to medical facility with wounds which were not fatal.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared in court last week charged with his murder, but were not asked to enter responses.
Background of Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums around the world.
They released five studio albums, one of which reached number one in the UK.
The group also had some success in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the top-40.
They separated immediately after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His previous bandmates spoke publicly about their surprise and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely done with him, I hoped it was all a error, he was not guilty, he had to be.
"The first time, we knew the band was finished. You can't go back from that."
The other bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
