Ian Watkins, the disgraced former frontman of the Welsh rock band Lostprophets, has died at the age of 48 after being attacked in prison. The incident occurred this morning, Saturday, October 11, at HMP Wakefield, the maximum-security prison where he was serving a 29-year sentence for multiple child s*x offenses.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed they were called to the prison this morning and have launched a homicide investigation.
The full statement from the police reads:
“At 9.39am this morning, police were called by staff at HMP Wakefield reporting an assault on a prisoner. Emergency services attended and the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team are investigating and inquiries remain ongoing at the scene.”
A spokesperson for the Prison Service also confirmed an incident had taken place.
“We are aware of an incident at HMP Wakefield which took place this morning. We are unable to comment further while the police investigate,” the spokesperson said.
According to a source who spoke to The Sun, Watkins‘s attacker slashed his jugular vein, and he died from blood loss at the scene. “[Ian] was targeted by another inmate who sh*nked him in the neck. Guards were nearby and raced to the scene pretty quickly — but there was nothing they could do, and they could not save him,” the source said.
This was not the first time Watkins had been targeted in prison. In 2023, he was stabbed and reportedly taken hostage by three other inmates at the same facility before being freed by prison officers.
The attack is the final, violent chapter in the disgraced singer’s story. In 2013, Watkins was convicted of 13 child s*x offenses after an investigation that began with a dr*g-related arrest led police to discover what was described as “overwhelming evidence that he was a ped**hile” on his computer. He initially claimed he was the victim of a “malicious campaign” by a “crazed fan.”
Following his arrest in 2012, Watkins‘s former bandmates in Lostprophets immediately and publicly distanced themselves, disbanding the group in 2013 before he pleaded guilty. They later formed the new band No Devotion.
