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

Watkins, forty-eight, died on 11 October after being assaulted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving a 29-year jail sentence for child sex crimes including the attempted rape of a infant.

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

Two men have been accused with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, detained earlier this week on allegation of conspiracy to murder were returned to prison as inquiries continued.

Official Statement

Coroner 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 formally recognized by a prison officer.

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

The coroner said a post-mortem report gave the cause of death as an wound to the neck.

'Depths of Depravity'

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

He pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving creating, producing or holding inappropriate images of children and one of having an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.

Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man corrupted by celebrity, drugs, and influence who had perpetrated crimes "beyond imagination."

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

Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that incident, he was taken to medical facility with wounds which were not fatal.

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

Who Was Ian Watkins?

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

The band started 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 reaching the top-40.

They separated promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His former group members spoke publicly about their surprise and revulsion.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely finished with him, I wished 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 other bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.