Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being attacked in the neck 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 completing a 29-year jail sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a infant.
The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an associated murder case.
Two men have been charged with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on suspicion of plot to murder were returned to prison as inquiries continued.
Coroner Statement
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short proceeding, had been pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire jail by an attending 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 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 denied rape but admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man corrupted by celebrity, substances, and power who had perpetrated crimes "beyond imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "plunged into new levels of wickedness".
Watkins was also stabbed 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 accused with his murder, but were not asked 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 formed 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 achievement in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the top-40.
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: "Even though I was completely done with him, I hoped it was all a mistake, he was innocent, 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 created a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
