Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the neck in an reported prison incident, an investigation has learned.
Watkins, 48, 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 attempted rape of a baby.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an associated murder trial.
Two individuals have been accused with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on suspicion of plot to murder were sent back to prison as inquiries proceeded.
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 declared deceased at the West Yorkshire prison by an on-call doctor and was officially identified by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been attacked in the neck".
The coroner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an wound to the throat.
'Extreme Wickedness'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing inappropriate images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an animal.
Prosecutors had portrayed 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 depths of depravity".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. Following that incident, he was taken to medical facility with wounds which were not life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week accused with his murder, but were not asked to enter pleas.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable musicians - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold millions of albums around the world.
They released 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 attaining the top-40.
They separated immediately after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His previous bandmates spoke openly about their surprise and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely finished 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 go back from that."
The remaining bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
