Ian Watkins, the disgraced former frontman of Welsh rock band Lostprophets, died Saturday morning after being stabbed by fellow inmates at HMP Wakefield prison in West Yorkshire, England. The 48-year-old convicted child sex offender was serving a 29-year sentence when the fatal attack occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. on October 11, 2025.
Emergency services were called to the high-security facility after prison staff reported the assault. Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering fatal knife wounds. West Yorkshire Police confirmed that two men were arrested on suspicion of murder.
The suspects, identified as Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared separately at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning, October 13. Both men spoke only to confirm their names and dates of birth during the brief hearings. They were remanded in custody.
This was not Watkins’ first encounter with prison violence. In August 2023, he was attacked by three inmates at the same facility, suffering non-life-threatening neck injuries after being held hostage for six hours before prison officers freed him. The prison went into immediate lockdown following Saturday’s fatal incident.
Watkins was sentenced in December 2013 to 35 years in prison, with 29 years to be served behind bars and an additional six years on license upon release. He had pleaded guilty to 13 horrific charges, including attempted rape of a baby, inappropriately touching a one-year-old child, encouraging fans to abuse their children, and making child pornography. He also admitted to conspiring to rape children, multiple counts of assault involving minors, and possessing extreme pornographic images.
During his sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge John Royce described the case as one that “broke new ground” and had plunged into new depths of depravity. The judge characterized Watkins as a manipulative and dangerous predator who had abused his fame to satisfy what he termed an insatiable lust. Two co-defendants, the mothers of the children Watkins abused, were sentenced to 14 and 17 years in prison.
Watkins’ criminal behavior came to light after police executed a drug search warrant at his Pontypridd home in September 2012. Officers seized numerous computers, mobile phones, and storage devices that contained damning evidence, including text messages and images that corroborated the charges against him. His ex-girlfriend had reportedly warned police about him multiple times beginning in 2008, but authorities did not intervene until the drug-related tip in late 2012.
The musician rose to fame as the lead singer of Lostprophets, which became one of the United Kingdom’s biggest rock bands after forming in Pontypridd in 1997. The group achieved significant commercial success between 2002 and 2010, securing 11 top 40 hits and a number one album. Their third album, “Liberation Transmission,” topped the UK charts in 2006, and they sold millions of albums worldwide at the height of their popularity.
Following Watkins’ conviction, the remaining band members immediately disbanded Lostprophets. In a statement released after his sentencing, they expressed that they were heartbroken, angry, and disgusted by his crimes, adding that their hearts went out to his victims. Several former members later formed a new band called No Devotion with Thursday’s Geoff Rickly as vocalist.
HMP Wakefield houses more than 600 inmates and is known for holding some of the UK’s most notorious offenders, including Roy Whiting, who murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000, and Reynhard Sinaga, convicted of 159 sexual offences in 2020. A recent report on prison conditions noted that violence had increased markedly since a 2022 inspection, with serious assaults rising by 72 percent.
The facility’s infrastructure was described as being in poor condition, with repeated breakdowns of essential equipment and significant issues with perimeter security systems. Former inmates at Wakefield have included Harold Shipman, Ian Huntley, and Piran Ditta Khan, with several high-profile prisoners reportedly facing attacks in recent years.
Des Mannion, NSPCC national head of service for Wales, previously stated that Watkins had used his status and global fame as a means to manipulate people and abuse children, emphasizing that the case was ultimately about the child victims rather than celebrity.
