Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins has died at the age of 48 after being attacked in prison.
Per Rolling Stone, Watkins was attacked by fellow inmates at HMP Wakefield on Saturday morning. The Welsh singer was serving a 29-year sentence for a series of sexual offences involving children.
West Yorkshire Police announced Watkins’ death and confirmed that detectives from the homicide and major inquiry team have launched an investigation.
Prison staff discovered Watkins dead at the scene after responding to reports of an assault on Saturday morning.
Details surrounding the attack remain limited, though reports suggest Watkins was attacked with a knife after inmates were released from their cells.
In August 2023, three inmates attacked Watkins, leaving him with neck injuries that required hospital treatment. HMP Wakefield, often referred to as “Monster Mansion,” houses some of Britain’s most dangerous criminals, including serial killers and sex offenders.
Watkins was initially arrested in September 2012 when police executed a drugs search warrant at his Pontypridd home, seizing computers, mobile phones and storage devices. He was subsequently charged with multiple sexual offences and admitted guilt in December 2013. The trial judge described his crimes as having “plumbed new depths of depravity.”
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The singer faced additional legal troubles whilst in prison. In 2019, authorities sentenced him to an extra 10 months after discovering a mobile phone in his possession. Watkins claimed other prisoners forced him to hold the device, expressing fear about naming them due to the violent nature of his fellow inmates, whom he described as “murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers – the worst of the worst.”
Watkins founded Lostprophets in 2000, with the band achieving considerable commercial success throughout the 2000s. The Welsh rock group sold over 3.4 million albums worldwide, producing hits including “Last Train Home” and “Rooftops.” Their final album, Weapons, was released in September 2012, just two months before Watkins’ arrest effectively ended the band’s career.
