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Reason of Paedophile Singer's Jail Demise Revealed

prison image Police Department
The shamed rock star from Pontypridd was handed to 29 years in jail plus six years on extended supervision

Shamed Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the throat in an alleged prison attack, an inquest has learned.

Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year prison sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.

The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an related murder case.

Two individuals 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 plot to murder were returned to prison as inquiries continued.

Official Findings

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 on-call doctor and was officially identified by a prison guard.

Mr Longstaff said emergency services were called to the jail "after a report he had been attacked in the neck".

The coroner said a autopsy report gave the reason of death as an wound to the neck.

'Extreme Wickedness'

In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.

He admitted 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving creating, producing or holding inappropriate images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.

Legal authorities had portrayed him as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and influence who had perpetrated crimes "beyond imagination."

Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "unprecedented territory" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".

Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. After that attack, he was taken to medical facility 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 pleas.

Who Was Ian Watkins?

performance image Media Archives
Watkins performing in London in 2012

Watkins was formerly one of Wales' most recognisable musicians - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.

The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold 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 top-40.

They separated immediately after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His former group members spoke openly about their shock and disgust.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely done with him, I hoped 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 return from that."

The other members and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.

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Ian Allen

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