Ian Watkins, the disgraced former frontman of the Welsh rock band Lostprophets, has reportedly been killed in HMP Wakefield. Police were called to the prison on Saturday, October 11, at 9:39 AM, following reports of a serious assault on a prisoner. Emergency services attended, but the 48-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team have launched a murder investigation into the incident. West Yorkshire Police announced that two men, aged 25 and 43, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in police custody. A Prison Service spokesperson confirmed awareness of an incident at HMP Wakefield but stated they were unable to comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.

Watkins was serving a significant prison sentence after pleading guilty at Cardiff Crown Court in 2013 to 13 child sex offences. These included the rape and sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven counts related to taking, making, or possessing indecent images of children, and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. Mr Justice Royce, the judge in the case, noted Watkins' 'fame and success' had given him power, which he used to 'induce young female fans to help satisfy [his] apparently insatiable lust and to take part in the sexual abuse of their young children,' highlighting the 'dark and sinister side' away from his public performances.

This was not the first time Watkins had faced violence while incarcerated. In 2023, he suffered severe but non-life-threatening injuries after being taken hostage. He was also handed an additional 10 months to his sentence after being discovered with a three-inch GSTAR mobile phone in his cell. During that hearing, Watkins claimed that 'known murderers' in his prison had told him to keep an eye on the phone after throwing it on his bed. He also expressed concerns about potential repercussions for informing on other inmates, saying, 'Chances are someone would sneak up behind me and cut my throat. It's not like one-on-one. Stuff like that, you don't see it coming.' He had previously described his wing as housing 'the worst of the worst,' including murderers, killers, rapists, and paedophiles.

Prior to his imprisonment, Watkins enjoyed a successful music career, with Lostprophets selling between five and ten million records worldwide between 1999 and 2012, headlining arenas during their global tours.