Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an inquest has learned.
Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year prison 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 related murder trial.
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 suspicion of conspiracy to murder were returned to prison as inquiries proceeded.
Coroner 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 jail by an attending doctor and was officially recognized by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were called to the jail "following a report he had been stabbed in the neck".
The coroner said a autopsy report gave the cause of death as an wound to the neck.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but admitted the sexual assault and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving creating, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.
Legal authorities had described him as a man corrupted by celebrity, drugs, and influence who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "unprecedented territory" and "descended into new levels of depravity".
Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that attack, he was taken to hospital 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 pleas.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was formerly one of Wales' most famous musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums across the world.
They produced 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 reaching the top-40.
They disbanded immediately after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His previous group members spoke openly about their shock and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely finished with him, I wished it was all a error, he was innocent, he had to be.
"The first time, we knew the band was done. You can't return from that."
The other bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
