ALBAWABA - British rock singer Ian Watkins, former Lostprophets frontman, dies after being stabbed in Wakefield Prison.
Ian Watkins, the lead singer of the band Lostprophets, was struck with a knife at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, and died at the age of 48. The police said he was dead at the spot on Saturday morning.
Watkins was in prison for 29 years for child sex crimes. He was best known as the voice of rock hits like "Rooftops" and "Last Train Home" in the 2000s. He was first caught in 2012 with a drugs warrant, and many computers, phones, and storage devices were taken away by the police.
As reported by the Associated Press, Watkins admitted to more than a dozen charges in 2013. These included trying to rape a baby, sexually touching a 1-year-old child, telling a fan to abuse her child, and making child pornography. As Watkins was being sentenced, Judge John Royce called him a dangerous and manipulative sexual pervert who had used his fame to feed his "insatiable lust."
West Yorkshire Police say they have arrested two men, ages 25 and 43, in connection with the murder. Their names have not been made public, but sources who spoke to The Guardian stated that another prisoner hit Watkins with a knife.
Watkins had been stabbed in the same northern English jail in 2023, but the wounds were not life-threatening. According to the BBC, Wakefield Prison was recently criticized because of a rise in crime that happened less than two weeks ago.
Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP)
"Many prisoners told us they felt unsafe," the chief inspector of prisons said. "This was especially true for older men convicted of sexual offenses who were sharing the prison with a growing group of younger prisoners."
Watkins helped start the Welsh alternative rock/nu-metal band Lostprophets in 1997. The band won Best Metal Act at the NME Awards in 2002. Their third album, "Liberation Transmission," topped the UK charts in 2006, and their song "Last Train Home" went to No. 1 on the U.S. Alternative Songs chart.
Lostprophets finally broke up in 2013. After leaving the band, Stu Richardson and Lee Gaze started a new one called No Devotion with Thursday singer Geoff Rickly in 2014.
