Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the neck in an alleged prison incident, an investigation has heard.
Watkins, forty-eight, 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 baby.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an related murder trial.
Two men have been charged with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on allegation of plot to murder were returned to prison as investigations proceeded.
Official Statement
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was identified by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the brief proceeding, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire jail by an on-call doctor and was formally recognized by a prison officer.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were called to the jail "following a report he had been attacked in the throat".
The examiner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an wound to the throat.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted 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 abuse involving children, seven involving creating, making or holding inappropriate images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an animal.
Legal authorities had described him as a man corrupted by fame, substances, and influence who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. Following that attack, he was taken to hospital with injuries 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 responses.
Who Was Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was formerly one of Wales' most recognisable artists - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold millions of albums across 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 immediately after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His former group members spoke openly about their shock and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although 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 other members and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
