Photo: South Wales Police
Ian Watkins, 48, former lead singer of the Welsh rock band Lostprophets, was killed on Saturday, October 11, following an assault inside HM Prison Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England.
Watkins had been serving a 29-year sentence for multiple child sex crimes, including attempted rape of a baby, sexual assault of minors, and the creation and possession of indecent images. He was incarcerated at the high-security facility known as “Monster Mansion,” which houses some of Britain’s most dangerous offenders. During sentencing, Judge John Royce described his crimes as “breaking new ground” in depravity and noted Watkins’ “complete lack of remorse.” Two mothers involved in his offenses received prison terms of 14 and 17 years.
According to reports from the BBC, emergency responders were called to the prison after Watkins was attacked by another inmate who allegedly slashed his neck. Authorities said he died from severe blood loss before medical help could save him.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed that two prisoners — Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43 — have been charged with murder in connection to the incident. Both men appeared in Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
This was not Watkins’ first violent encounter in custody. In 2023, he was hospitalized after being held hostage, beaten, and stabbed by fellow inmates.
Lostprophets, formed in 1997 in Pontypridd, Wales, gained international recognition in the early 2000s with hits such as “Last Train Home,” “Burn Burn,” and “Last Summer.” Their 2004 single “Last Train Home” topped Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart, and the band co-headlined the Download Festival in 2008.
The group released five studio albums before disbanding in 2013, following Watkins’ arrest. In a public statement, the remaining members announced they could “no longer continue making or performing music as Lostprophets.”
SOURCE: The New York Times