Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the throat in an reported prison incident, an inquest has learned.
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 infant.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the conclusion of an related murder trial.
Two men have been charged with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on allegation of plot to murder were sent back 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 proceeding, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire prison by an on-call doctor and was formally identified by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were called to the jail "following a report he had been stabbed 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 refuted rape but admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13.
He admitted 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving taking, producing 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 celebrity, substances, and power who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to medical facility 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 musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums across 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 attaining the popular charts.
They disbanded promptly after Watkins was convicted 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 hoped it was all a mistake, he was innocent, 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 formed a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
