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Police Department

Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an reported prison attack, an inquest has heard.

Watkins, 48, succumbed on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year prison sentence for child sex crimes 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 suspects, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on allegation of plot to murder were returned to prison as investigations continued.

Official Statement

Medical Examiner 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 jail by an on-call doctor and was formally identified by a prison officer.

Mr Longstaff said emergency services were summoned to the jail "following 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 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault 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 portrayed him as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and power who had committed crimes "beyond 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. Following that incident, he was taken to medical facility with injuries which were not fatal.

Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week accused with his murder, but were not asked to enter responses.

Who Was Ian Watkins?

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Watkins was once one of Wales' most famous musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.

The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums around the world.

They released 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 top-40.

They disbanded promptly after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.

His previous group members spoke openly about their shock and revulsion.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely done with him, I hoped it was all a error, he was not guilty, he had to be.

"The first time, we knew the band was done. You can't go back from that."

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