Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the neck in an reported prison incident, an investigation has heard.
Watkins, 48, succumbed on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year prison sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the completion of an related murder trial.
Two individuals have been charged with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on allegation of plot to murder were sent back to prison as inquiries continued.
Official Statement
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was identified by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short hearing, had been pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire prison by an attending doctor and was officially recognized by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been stabbed in the throat".
The coroner said a autopsy report gave the reason of death as an incision to the throat.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault 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 holding indecent images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had described him as a man corrupted by celebrity, drugs, and power who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "new ground" and "plunged into new levels of depravity".
Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to hospital with injuries which were not life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared 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 famous artists - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started 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 success in the US, with their second and third albums reaching the popular charts.
They disbanded promptly after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His former bandmates spoke openly about their shock and revulsion.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely done with him, I wished it was all a mistake, 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 other members and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
