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Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins passed away after being attacked in the neck in an alleged prison incident, an inquest has heard.

Watkins, forty-eight, succumbed 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 attempted rape of a baby.

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

Two men have been charged with murder in relation to Watkins' death while two other men, aged 23 and 39, arrested earlier this week on suspicion of plot to murder were sent back to prison as investigations proceeded.

Official Statement

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

Mr Longstaff said paramedics were summoned to the jail "following a report he had been attacked 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 admitted the attempted rape and abuse of a child under 13.

He admitted 13 crimes, including conspiring to rape a child, three counts of abuse involving children, seven involving creating, producing or possessing indecent images of children and one of having an shocking image involving a sex act on an animal.

Prosecutors had portrayed him as a man corrupted by fame, substances, and power who had perpetrated crimes "exceeding imagination."

Mr Justice Royce said the case had established "unprecedented territory" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".

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

Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, appeared in court last week accused 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 started in Pontypridd in 1997, and distributed millions of albums around the world.

They produced 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 attaining the top-40.

They separated promptly after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

His previous bandmates spoke openly about their shock and revulsion.

Bassist Stuart Richardson said in 2014: "Even though I was completely done with him, I hoped it was all a mistake, he was not guilty, he had to be.

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

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