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Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an inquest has heard.

Watkins, 48, died on 11 October after being assaulted 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 trial.

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

Official Statement

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

Mr Longstaff said paramedics were called to the jail "after a report he had been stabbed in the throat".

The coroner said a autopsy 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 sexual assault and abuse of a child under 13.

He admitted 13 offences, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making 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 corrupted by celebrity, substances, and influence who had committed crimes "exceeding imagination."

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

Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. Following that incident, he was taken to hospital with injuries which were not fatal.

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?

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

The band started in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed 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 success in the US, with their second and third albums attaining the top-40.

They separated immediately after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His previous bandmates spoke publicly about their surprise and revulsion.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely done with him, I wished 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 go back from that."

The other bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.