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Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being stabbed in the neck in an reported prison incident, an investigation has learned.

Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been completing a 29-year jail sentence for child sex offences including the sexual assault of a infant.

The inquest, opened earlier at Wakefield Coroner's Court, was postponed pending the conclusion of an associated murder case.

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

Official Findings

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

Mr Longstaff said emergency services were summoned to the jail "after a report he had been stabbed in the neck".

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 admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.

He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including plotting to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving creating, making or holding inappropriate images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an creature.

Legal authorities had portrayed him as a man influenced by celebrity, substances, and influence who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."

Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".

Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. Following that attack, he was taken to medical facility with wounds which were not life-threatening.

Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week charged with his murder, but were not asked to enter responses.

Who Was Ian Watkins?

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

The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold millions of albums across the world.

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

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

They disbanded promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His previous group members spoke openly about their shock and disgust.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely done 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 remaining bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, soon after.