Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins in HMP Wakefield. The 48-year-old, who was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences, was attacked on Saturday morning.
West Yorkshire Police said officers were called to the prison at 9:39am on 11 October after reports of a serious assault on a prisoner. Watkins was found with serious injuries and pronounced dead at the scene. A 25-year-old and a 43-year-old man have been taken into custody.
Sources confirmed that Watkins was attacked with a knife by another inmate. The Prison Service declined to comment while the police investigation is ongoing. Watkins had previously been stabbed in the same prison in 2023, suffering non-life-threatening injuries after being taken hostage.
Watkins was sentenced in 2013 for a string of sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby. The judge described his crimes as having 'plumbed new depths of depravity'. In 2019, he was caught with a mobile phone in prison, telling a court he was locked up with 'murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers – the worst of the worst'.
