Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the neck in an reported prison attack, an inquest has heard.
Watkins, forty-eight, died on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year jail sentence for child sex crimes including the sexual assault of a baby.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an associated murder case.
Two men 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 plot to murder were sent back to prison as investigations continued.
Official Findings
Coroner 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 jail by an on-call doctor and was formally identified by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were called to the jail "after a report he had been attacked in the neck".
The coroner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an wound to the neck.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but confessed to the sexual assault and sexual assault of a child under 13.
He admitted 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving creating, making or possessing inappropriate images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an animal.
Legal authorities had described him as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and influence who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "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 injuries which were not life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week accused with his murder, but were not required to enter responses.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was formerly one of Wales' most recognisable artists - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started 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 achievement in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the popular charts.
They disbanded promptly after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His previous bandmates spoke publicly about their surprise and revulsion.
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 members and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
