Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison incident, an investigation has heard.
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 offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the completion of an associated murder case.
Two individuals have been charged with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on suspicion of conspiracy to murder were returned to prison as inquiries continued.
Coroner Statement
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short proceeding, had been pronounced dead 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 "after a report he had been attacked in the throat".
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 denied rape but confessed to the attempted rape and sexual assault 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 holding inappropriate 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 corrupted by celebrity, substances, and power who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "unprecedented territory" and "plunged into new depths of wickedness".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. Following that incident, 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 pleas.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was formerly one of Wales' most famous artists - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed 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 popular charts.
They disbanded promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
His previous bandmates spoke openly about their surprise and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely done with him, I wished 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 return from that."
The other bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
