Police Department
Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an investigation has heard.
Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year prison 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 men have been accused with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on suspicion of conspiracy to murder were sent back to prison as inquiries continued.
Coroner Statement
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the brief proceeding, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire prison by an on-call doctor and was officially recognized by a prison guard.
Mr Longstaff said emergency services were called to the jail "following a report he had been attacked in the throat".
The coroner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an incision to the throat.
'Extreme Wickedness'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.
He admitted 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving creating, making 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 corrupted by fame, substances, and influence who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "unprecedented territory" 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 life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared in court last week charged with his murder, but were not required to enter pleas.
Background of Ian Watkins?
Media Archives
Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable 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 success in the US, with their second and third albums reaching the popular charts.
They disbanded promptly after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.
His previous bandmates spoke openly about their shock and revulsion.
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 return from that."
The other members and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.
