Former Lostprophets paedo singer Ian Watkins has reportedly been killed behind bars after being stabbed by another inmate at Wakefield Prison, dubbed the ‘Monster Mansion’
The disgraced former singer of the Welsh rock band Lostprophets, Ian Watkins, has been stabbed to death in prison. It has been reported he was murdered in jail in a knife attack by another inmate.
He is said to have had his throat slashed after inmates at Wakefield Prison were released from their cells yesterday. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident at HMP Wakefield which took place this morning.
“We are unable to comment further while the police investigate.” A statement from West Yorkshire Police added: “At 9.39am this morning (Saturday), police were called by staff at HMP Wakefield reporting an assault on a prisoner.
“Emergency services attended and the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team are investigating and inquiries remain ongoing at the scene.”
Watkins suffered severe but non-life threatening injuries after being taken hostage in 2023. He was beaten and stabbed by three inmates at Wakefield, dubbed the “Monster Mansion”. In 2013, the Welsh native, 48, pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to 13 child sex offences. He also admitted to the rape and sexual assault of a child who was under the age of 13.
Watkins also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
Sentencing Mr Justice Royce said the case broke ‘new ground’ and ‘plunged into new depths of depravity’. He said Watkins had a ‘corrupting influence’ and had shown a ‘complete lack of remorse’. He added Watkins posed a significant risk to the public in particular to women with young children.
The musician was later handed an extra 10 months after he was discovered to have a mobile phone in his possession while behind bars. Initially, he denied having a three-inch GSTAR phone in his cell. As the verdict was read out, Watkins claimed that “known murderers” in his prison told him to keep an eye on the phone after chucking it on his bed.
During the hearing, Judge Rodney Jameson QC said: “I am very conscious of the fact you are serving a very long time and you will be well into middle age by the time you are released.
“The fact of the matter is if there is not an appreciable penalty for having had a mobile phone in these circumstances then of course you would draw from that the lesson you could have another one and that is not a position I would want to encourage.”
Speaking about possible repercussions, he said: “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 was said to be sharing his wing with murderers, killers, rapists and paedophiles, who he described as “the worst of the worst”. Asked to describe his music career during an earlier appearance, Watkins told the court his band had sold between five and ten million records across the world between 1999 and 2012.
Watkins said the Lostprophets had toured all over the world, headlining at Wembley Arena and the MEN Arena in Manchester.
Last year, it was reported Watkins was paying for protection in prison after being stabbed with a “sharpened toilet brush”. Jonathan Levi and Emma French explained in their book, Inside Wakefield Prison: Life Behind Bars in the Monster Mansion, that rough justice is “particularly likely” to be “meted out” to paedophiles in prison.
The convicted sex offender reportedly had “access to money” and “spent his time” buying both protection and friendships after the attack in 2023, which was reportedly over a £900 drugs debt.
A prisoner revealed to the authors: “He is hated by many, but as HMP W is mixed, i.e. VPs and high-level gangsters, drug importers and organised crime, they just take money off him (Watkins) for his safety.”
They continued: “He has spent thousands on protection. The recent stabbing was a reminder that he needs to pay. He took an amount of spice off a prisoner with a prison value of £150.
“Because it was Watkins, he was told he owed £900. He was high and refused to pay; therefore, he was stabbed in the side using a sharpened toilet brush.”
In July, Watkins former bandmate Lee Gaze broke his years of silence as he said it was “painful” to reflect on the past. The guitarist opened up about the band’s legacy on X, revealing the deep impact Watkins’ crimes had on him and the devastation of how the band’s journey ended.
He wrote: “It’s been 13 years since my band ended in the most unimaginable circumstances and it’s still painful to think about. Things could’ve been so different.
“I don’t talk about it much, but I put everything into that band, and it should’ve lasted a lifetime. I never really wronged anyone my whole life so it seemed like the ultimate punishment.”
Gaze has since joined forces with No Devotion, sharing the stage with American singer Geoff Rickly from Thursday and fellow ex-Lostprophets mate Stu Richardson. Former bandmates Mike Lewis, Luke Johnson and Jamie Oliver were once part of the band before their departure.
If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
Source: Mirror
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