Watkins was incarcerated at HMP Wakefield, a maximum-security facility in England often referred to as the “Monster Mansion.”
ENGLAND, UK — Two inmates face murder charges following the death of Ian Watkins, the former lead singer of Lostprophets, in a UK prison on Saturday, as confirmed by West Yorkshire Police.
The 48-year-old Watkins was serving a 29-year sentence at HMP Wakefield, imposed in 2013 after he admitted to 13 child sex offenses, according to Reuters.
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, have been charged in connection with the incident. They each made brief court appearances and are set to appear at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday, as reported by British news outlets.
Police were alerted to a “serious assault on a prisoner” at HMP Wakefield around 9:39 a.m. on Saturday, where authorities found Watkins deceased.
The investigation is ongoing, with no motive identified at this time. Further details have yet to emerge.
The high-security prison, which houses some of the UK’s most dangerous offenders, is nicknamed the “Monster Mansion,” according to the Wakefield Express. It holds roughly 600 men.
Two women were also sentenced to 14 and 17 years in connection with the charges that landed Watkins behind bars. The women were not identified to protect the identities of their abused children, according to the BBC.
Mr Justice John Royce said their actions “plunged into new depths of depravity” during sentencing.
Watkins was attacked by prisoners in 2023, as well. In that incident, he was “repeatedly stabbed and beaten” by inmates who held him hostage for six hours, according to The Rolling Stone.
He served as the leading man of Lostprophets, a rock band that formed in 1997 and disbanded after his 2012 arrest.
The band, best known for hits like ‘Last Train Home,’ sold over 3 million albums globally, according to The Rolling Stone.
Despite Watkins’s criminal charges, the band’s music has maintained a following. The band has 280,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Their last album “Weapons” released in 2012. The band disbanded immediately after Watkins was convicted in 2013.
