Police Department
Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an reported 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 prison sentence for child sex crimes including the attempted rape of a infant.
The hearing, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was adjourned pending the completion of an associated murder case.
Two individuals have been charged with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on allegation of plot to murder were returned to prison as inquiries proceeded.
Coroner Findings
Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was referred to by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the brief hearing, had been declared deceased at the West Yorkshire prison by an on-call doctor and was formally identified by a prison officer.
Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been attacked in the neck".
The examiner said a autopsy report gave the cause of death as an incision to the neck.
'Depths of Depravity'
In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the sexual assault 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 taking, producing or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an animal.
Legal authorities had portrayed him as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and power who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."
Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "unprecedented territory" and "plunged into new levels of depravity".
Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to hospital with wounds which were not life-threatening.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared 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 lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.
The band formed 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 separated promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
His previous group members spoke openly about their shock and disgust.
Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely finished with him, I hoped it was all a error, he was not guilty, he had to be.
"The first time, we knew the band was finished. You can't return from that."
The other members and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.
