Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the throat in an reported prison attack, an inquest has learned.
Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year prison sentence for child sex crimes including the attempted rape of a infant.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the conclusion of an associated murder case.
Two men have been accused with murder in connection 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 continued.
Official Findings
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to 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 recognized by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been stabbed in the neck".
The examiner said a autopsy report gave the reason of death as an incision to the throat.
'Extreme Wickedness'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but confessed to the sexual assault and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving creating, producing or holding indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man corrupted by fame, substances, and power who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "new ground" and "plunged into new levels of wickedness".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to medical facility with injuries which were not life-threatening.
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 formerly one of Wales' most famous artists - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold millions of albums around the world.
They released five studio albums, one of which achieved 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 group members spoke openly about their surprise and revulsion.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely finished 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 done. You can't return from that."
The remaining members and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
