Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the throat in an alleged prison incident, an inquest has heard.
Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year jail sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the conclusion of an associated murder case.
Two men have been accused with murder in relation 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 investigations continued.
Official Statement
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the brief hearing, had been pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire prison by an attending doctor and was formally recognized by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were called to the jail "after a report he had been attacked in the neck".
The examiner said a autopsy report gave the cause of death as an incision to the throat.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the sexual assault and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving creating, making or possessing inappropriate images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man corrupted by celebrity, substances, and influence who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "unprecedented territory" and "descended into new depths of depravity".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to hospital with injuries which were not fatal.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared in court last week accused with his murder, but were not required to enter responses.
Background of Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable 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 achieved number one in the UK.
The group also had some success in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the top-40.
They disbanded immediately after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
His former bandmates spoke publicly about their shock and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though 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 bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
