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Shamed Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an inquest has heard.

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

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

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

Official Statement

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

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

The coroner said a autopsy report gave the reason of death as an incision to the neck.

'Extreme Wickedness'

In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins denied rape but admitted the sexual assault and sexual assault of a child under 13.

He pleaded guilty to 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 having an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.

Legal authorities had described him as a man corrupted by fame, substances, and influence who had committed crimes "beyond imagination."

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

Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. Following that incident, 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 accused 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 famous musicians - the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.

The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and sold millions of albums around 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 attaining the popular charts.

They disbanded promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His previous bandmates spoke publicly about their shock and disgust.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Although I was completely finished 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 done. You can't return from that."

The other members and American singer Geoff Rickly formed a new band, No Devotion, soon after.