Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being attacked 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 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 related murder trial.
Two individuals have been charged with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested 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 short hearing, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire jail by an on-call doctor and was officially recognized by a prison officer.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were summoned 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 incision to the throat.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.
He admitted 13 offences, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving creating, producing or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had described him as a man corrupted by fame, substances, and power who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "descended into new levels of wickedness".
Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to hospital with wounds which were not fatal.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared in court last week accused with his murder, but were not asked to enter responses.
Background of Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was formerly one of Wales' most recognisable musicians - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed 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 reaching the top-40.
They separated promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
His previous group members spoke publicly about their shock 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 done. You can't go back from that."
The remaining members and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
