Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an reported prison incident, an investigation has heard.
Watkins, 48, died 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 infant.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an associated murder trial.
Two individuals have been accused with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on allegation of conspiracy to murder were sent back to prison as inquiries continued.
Coroner Findings
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short proceeding, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire jail by an attending doctor and was formally identified by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been stabbed in the neck".
The examiner said a post-mortem report gave the cause 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 abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving taking, producing or possessing inappropriate images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an creature.
Prosecutors had described him as a man influenced by celebrity, substances, and power who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of wickedness".
Watkins was also stabbed 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 asked to enter pleas.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable artists - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started 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 success in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the top-40.
They disbanded promptly after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His previous bandmates spoke publicly about their shock and revulsion.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely finished with him, I hoped it was all a mistake, he was innocent, he had to be.
"The first time, we knew the band was finished. You can't go back from that."
The remaining bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
