Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the throat in an reported prison attack, an investigation has heard.
Watkins, forty-eight, died 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 sexual assault of a infant.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the conclusion of an associated murder trial.
Two men have been charged with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on allegation of conspiracy to murder were sent back to prison as inquiries proceeded.
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 jail by an attending doctor and was officially identified by a prison officer.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been attacked in the throat".
The examiner said a autopsy report gave the reason of death as an incision to the neck.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.
He admitted 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving taking, producing or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an shocking image involving a sex act on an animal.
Legal authorities had portrayed him as a man corrupted by celebrity, substances, and influence who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "unprecedented territory" and "plunged into new depths of wickedness".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. Following 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 accused with his murder, but were not required to enter pleas.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most famous musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums across the world.
They released 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 convicted 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 wished it was all a mistake, he was innocent, 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 formed a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
