Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died from a stab wound to the neck, a coroner has ruled.
The convicted child sex offender and former singer was killed in Wakefield Prison aged 48 on October 11. Watkins was supposed to serve a 29-year sentence with a further six years on licence.
He pleaded guilty to 13 sex offences in 2013, including the attempted rape of a baby, conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
Today (October 24) an inquest into Watkins’ death was opened and adjourned at Wakefield Coroner’s Court.
Coroner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins was pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire jail on October 11 by an attending doctor and was formally identified by a prison officer, reports Sky News.
Mr Longstaff went on to say paramedics were called to the prison, where Watkins was a serving prisoner, “following a report he had been stabbed in the neck”.
The coroner confirmed a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an incision to the neck.
He also said other prisoners had been charged with murder and the coroner’s investigation would be suspended “pending the outcome of the criminal justice process”.
Two men were arrested following Watkins’ death, and Rashid Gedel, 25, who was referred to as Rico Gedel in court, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43 were charged with his killing two days after.
A provisional trial date of May 5, 2026 has been set, with the trial expected to take place for two to three weeks. A plea and trial preparation hearing has also been set for November 12 at Leeds Crown Court.
Earlier this week, police also confirmed that “two more men from the prison had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder” and said the suspects, aged 23 and 39, would be interviewed before being bailed and returned to prison while inquiries continued.
DCI James Entwistle of the homicide and major inquiry team added: “Extensive inquiries remain ongoing in relation to the murder of Ian Watkins and these arrests form part of that. Ian Watkins’ family are being updated as the investigation progresses. However, we do not anticipate any immediate developments at this stage.”
Watkins was previously attacked in prison in 2023, where he was stabbed and taken hostage by three other inmates. He was later found and freed by officers and taken to hospital.
It was later reported that Watkins had been stabbed with a “sharpened toilet brush” over a drug debt.
In 2019, he was sentenced to an additional 10 months in prison for possessing a mobile phone on top of the sentence he was serving for child sex offences.
