Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the neck in an reported prison attack, an inquest has learned.
Watkins, 48, died on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year jail sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a infant.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an associated murder case.
Two individuals have been charged with murder in connection 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 continued.
Coroner Findings
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was identified by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the brief hearing, had been pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire jail by an on-call doctor and was officially recognized by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been attacked in the neck".
The examiner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an incision to the throat.
'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 admitted 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of having an extreme image involving a sex act on an animal.
Prosecutors had described him as a man corrupted by fame, substances, and power who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "unprecedented territory" and "plunged 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, 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 once one of Wales' most recognisable artists - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold 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 attaining the top-40.
They separated immediately after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His former bandmates spoke openly about their surprise 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 finished. You can't return from that."
The other bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
