Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison incident, an inquest has heard.
Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year jail sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a infant.
The inquest, 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 relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on allegation of plot to murder were sent back to prison as investigations proceeded.
Official Statement
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to 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 guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "after a report he had been stabbed in the neck".
The coroner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an incision to the neck.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the sexual assault and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving creating, producing or possessing inappropriate images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an animal.
Legal authorities had described him as a man influenced by fame, substances, and influence who had committed crimes "beyond 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 attack, he was taken to hospital with injuries which were not fatal.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week charged with his murder, but were not asked to enter responses.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable artists - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed 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 achievement in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the top-40.
They disbanded immediately after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
His previous group members spoke openly about their surprise and revulsion.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely done with him, I wished 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 formed a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
