West Yorkshire Police have formally charged two inmates, Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, with the murder of disgraced former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins. The charges were announced on Monday, October 13, two days after Watkins was fatally stabbed inside HMP Wakefield, the maximum-security prison where he was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offenses.
In a statement released Monday morning, police confirmed the charges and the ongoing investigation.
The full statement from West Yorkshire Police reads:
“Detectives have charged two men with murder after the death of a prisoner at HMP Wakefield on Saturday. Ian Watkins, 48, was pronounced dead after being seriously assaulted at HMP Wakefield on Saturday morning (11 October). Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, both of HMP Wakefield have both been charged with murder. They are due to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court this morning.”
Both men appeared before Leeds Magistrates Court this morning and have been remanded in custody. They are scheduled to appear at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday.
Watkins, 48, was attacked on Saturday morning, October 11, shortly after inmates were unlocked from their cells. According to initial reports, his throat was slashed, and he died from blood loss at the scene.
“[Ian] was targeted by another inmate who sh**ked 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. It was a horrific scene, with blood everywhere and alarms and sirens going off. Police and ambulances were called and the whole prison was locked down with all cons confined to their cells,” a source told The Sun.
At the time of his death, Watkins was serving a 29-year sentence after being convicted in 2013 for multiple child s*x offenses. The crimes were discovered during a drug investigation. Following his arrest and conviction, his former bandmates in Lostprophets disbanded the group and went on to form a new band, No Devotion.
