Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the neck in an alleged prison incident, an investigation has learned.
Watkins, 48, succumbed on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year jail sentence for child sex crimes including the attempted rape of a baby.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the conclusion of an related murder case.
Two individuals have been charged with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on allegation of plot to murder were returned to prison as inquiries continued.
Coroner Findings
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was identified by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the brief hearing, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire prison by an attending doctor and was officially identified by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were called to the jail "after a report he had been stabbed in the neck".
The examiner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an incision to the neck.
'Extreme Wickedness'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the sexual assault and sexual assault of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, producing or possessing inappropriate images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an animal.
Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and influence who had committed crimes "beyond imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "descended into new depths of depravity".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to medical facility with injuries which were not fatal.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week accused with his murder, but were not asked to enter pleas.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold millions of albums around the world.
They produced 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 reaching the top-40.
They separated promptly after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His former bandmates spoke publicly about their shock and revulsion.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely done with him, I wished it was all a mistake, he was innocent, he had to be.
"The first time, we knew the band was done. You can't return from that."
The other members and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
