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Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck in an alleged prison incident, 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 offences including the attempted rape of a infant.

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

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

Official Statement

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

Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "after a report he had been attacked in the neck".

The examiner said a autopsy report gave the reason of death as an incision to the throat.

'Depths of Depravity'

In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.

He pleaded guilty to 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an creature.

Prosecutors had described him as a man influenced by fame, 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 wickedness".

Watkins was also attacked in prison in 2023. After that attack, he was taken to hospital with wounds which were not fatal.

Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were presented in court last week accused 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 famous musicians - 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 disbanded promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His previous group members spoke publicly about their shock and revulsion.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely finished with him, I hoped it was all a mistake, he was innocent, he had to be.

"The first time, we knew the band was finished. You can't return from that."

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