Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being attacked in the throat in an alleged prison incident, an inquest has heard.
Watkins, 48, succumbed on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year jail 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 case.
Two men have been charged with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on suspicion of plot to murder were sent back to prison as investigations proceeded.
Coroner Findings
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short hearing, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire jail by an attending doctor and was officially identified by a prison officer.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were summoned to the jail "after a report he had been attacked in the throat".
The coroner said a autopsy report gave the cause of death as an incision to the throat.
'Extreme Wickedness'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.
He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving creating, making or possessing inappropriate images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an animal.
Prosecutors had described him as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and power who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "new ground" and "plunged into new levels of wickedness".
Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to medical facility with injuries which were not life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week charged with his murder, but were not asked to enter pleas.
Background of Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable musicians - 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 promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
His former group members spoke openly about their surprise and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely done with him, I wished it was all a mistake, 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 other members and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
