Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an investigation has heard.
Watkins, 48, succumbed on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year prison sentence for child sex crimes including the attempted rape of a infant.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the completion of an associated murder case.
Two men have been charged with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on suspicion of conspiracy to murder were sent back to prison as inquiries continued.
Official Statement
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short hearing, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire prison by an on-call doctor and was officially recognized by a prison officer.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were called to the jail "after a report he had been attacked in the throat".
The coroner said a autopsy report gave the cause of death as an wound to the neck.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 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 creature.
Legal authorities had described him as a man corrupted by fame, substances, and power who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. Following that attack, he was taken to hospital with wounds which were not life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week accused with his murder, but were not asked to enter pleas.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was formerly one of Wales' most famous artists - the frontman 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 achievement in the US, with their second and third albums reaching the popular charts.
They separated immediately after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His former bandmates spoke openly about their shock and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely finished with him, I wished it was all a mistake, he was innocent, he had to be.
"The first time, we knew the band was done. You can't return from that."
The remaining members and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
