Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the neck in an reported prison attack, an inquest has heard.
Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year jail sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the completion of an related murder case.
Two individuals 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 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 proceeding, had been pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire jail by an attending doctor and was officially identified by a prison officer.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were called to the jail "after a report he had been stabbed in the throat".
The coroner said a autopsy report gave the cause of death as an wound to the neck.
'Extreme Wickedness'
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 offences, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving creating, producing or holding indecent images of children and one of possessing an shocking image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had described him as a man corrupted by celebrity, substances, and power who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "descended into new depths of wickedness".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. Following that attack, he was taken to hospital 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.
Background of 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 across the world.
They released 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 popular charts.
They separated immediately after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His former group members spoke openly about their surprise and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely finished 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 remaining bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
