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Disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died after being attacked in the neck in an alleged prison attack, an investigation has heard.

Watkins, 48, died on 11 October after being targeted at HMP Wakefield, where he had been serving 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 postponed pending the completion of an related murder case.

Two men have been charged with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other suspects, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on allegation of conspiracy to murder were returned to prison as inquiries proceeded.

Coroner Findings

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

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

The examiner said a autopsy report gave the cause of death as an incision to the neck.

'Depths of Depravity'

In 2013 at Cardiff Crown Court, Watkins refuted rape but confessed to the sexual assault and abuse 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 indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme image involving a sex act on an creature.

Prosecutors had described him as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and influence who had committed crimes "beyond imagination."

Mr Justice Royce said the case had broken "unprecedented territory" and "descended into new depths of wickedness".

Watkins was also stabbed in prison in 2023. After that attack, he was taken to medical facility with wounds which were not life-threatening.

Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared in court last week charged with his murder, but were not required to enter responses.

Who Was Ian Watkins?

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Watkins was once one of Wales' most recognisable musicians - the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets.

The band formed in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed 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 reaching the top-40.

They separated immediately after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His former bandmates spoke openly 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 remaining bandmates and American singer Geoff Rickly created a new band, No Devotion, shortly thereafter.