Digital Phablet – British rock singer Ian Watkins, former lead of Lostprophets, passes away after being stabbed in Wakefield Prison.
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Ian Watkins, the former frontman of the band Lostprophets, was stabbed at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, and died at age 48. Authorities confirmed he was pronounced dead on Saturday morning at the scene.
Watkins had served 29 years in prison for child sex offenses. He gained fame in the early 2000s for hits like “Rooftops” and “Last Train Home.” His first arrest came in 2012 under a drug warrant, during which police confiscated numerous computers, phones, and storage devices.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Watkins pleaded guilty to over a dozen charges in 2013, including attempted child rape, sexually abusing a one-year-old, encouraging a fan to abuse her child, and possessing child pornography. During his sentencing, Judge John Royce described him as a dangerous and manipulative sexual deviant who exploited his fame to indulge his “insatiable lust.”
West Yorkshire Police have detained two men, aged 25 and 43, in connection with Watkins’ murder. Their identities remain confidential, but sources told The Guardian that Watkins was assaulted with a knife by another inmate.
Watkins had previously been assaulted with a knife in the same prison in 2023, though the injuries were not serious. The BBC reports that Wakefield Prison recently faced criticism following a spike in criminal activity within its walls just two weeks prior.
Many inmates expressed feelings of insecurity, especially older men convicted of sexual offenses sharing the facility with a growing number of younger prisoners, according to the prison’s chief inspector.
In 1997, Watkins helped establish Lostprophets, a Welsh alternative rock and nu-metal band that received the Best Metal Act award at the NME Awards in 2002. Their third album, Liberation Transmission, reached the top of the UK charts in 2006, and their track “Last Train Home” hit number one on the U.S. Alternative Songs chart.
The band disbanded in 2013. Following their split, Stu Richardson and Lee Gaze went on to form No Devotion with Thursday’s singer, Geoff Rickly, in 2014.
