Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an inquest has learned.
Watkins, forty-eight, died on 11 October after being targeted 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 hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the conclusion of an related murder trial.
Two individuals have been accused with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on allegation of conspiracy to murder were sent back to prison as inquiries proceeded.
Coroner Findings
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was identified by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short hearing, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire prison by an attending doctor and was formally recognized by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been stabbed in the throat".
The examiner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an wound to the throat.
'Extreme Wickedness'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but confessed to the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of abuse 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 animal.
Legal authorities had portrayed him as a man influenced by fame, substances, and influence who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of wickedness".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. After that attack, he was taken to medical facility with injuries which were not life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week charged with his murder, but were not required to enter responses.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most famous musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums across the world.
They released five studio albums, one of which reached number one in the UK.
The group also had some achievement in the US, with their second and third albums reaching the top-40.
They disbanded promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
His former group members 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 mistake, 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 remaining bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
