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Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being attacked in the throat in an reported prison attack, an investigation has learned.

Watkins, forty-eight, died 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 adjourned pending the conclusion of an related murder case.

Two individuals have been accused with murder in connection to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on suspicion of plot to murder were returned to prison as investigations proceeded.

Coroner Statement

Medical Examiner Oliver Longstaff said Watkins, who was identified by his full name of Ian David Karslake Watkins during the short proceeding, had been pronounced dead at the West Yorkshire prison by an attending doctor and was officially recognized by a prison guard.

Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "after 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 neck.

'Depths of Depravity'

In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13.

He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, producing or holding inappropriate images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an animal.

Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man influenced by fame, substances, and power who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."

Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "unprecedented territory" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".

Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that attack, he was taken to hospital with wounds which were not life-threatening.

Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared in court last week accused with his murder, but were not required to enter pleas.

Background of Ian Watkins?

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Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable artists - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.

The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums around the world.

They released five studio albums, one of which reached number one in the UK.

The group also had some achievement in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the popular charts.

They disbanded promptly after Watkins was found guilty in 2013.

His previous bandmates spoke publicly 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 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 remaining members and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.