Black Chronicle

Killed Ian Watkins, lead singer of Lostprophets jailed for paedophilia: two arrests

The Welsh celebrity, famous in heavy metal music, was serving a 29-year sentence

11 October 2025

Un'immagine diffusa dalla polizia del Galles meridionale il 17 dicembre 2013 mostra un ritratto del cantante rock britannico Ian Watkins. (Foto di SOUTH WALES POLICE / AFP)

2' min read

Translated by AI

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Key points

Pedophilia conviction
A shocking story
The Success Years

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

CelebrityIan Watkins, former lead singer of the Lostprophets band, very famous among heavy metal fans, died after being assaulted in prison. The disgraced Welsh rock star was serving a 29-year maxi sentence in Wakefield prison for the crime of pedophilia. British police arrested two men for the murder.

Emergency services were called to the West Yorkshire prison after Watkins, 48, was attacked with a knife. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. A murder investigation is underway following the arrest of two men, aged 25 and 43, according to West Yorkshire police in a statement.

Pedophilia conviction

Watkins had been incarcerated in December 2013 for a series of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of an infant. He was attacked with a knife by another inmate. The police said that investigations into the incident were ongoing: Watkins' body had already been found dead when help arrived at the prison.

Wartkins had already survived another prison attack: he was attacked in prison in August 2023, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

Wakefield, a maximum-security institution, is the worst prison in the UK: nicknamed "Monster Mansion", it houses the country's most dangerous criminals.

A shocking affair

At the time, the affairtraumatised Britain: Watkins admitted attempted rape and sexual assault of a 13-year-old child, but pleaded not guilty to rape. There were accomplices: the mothers of the children he abused were sentenced to 14 and 17 years in prison. The singer also admitted plotting to rape a child: he was charged with three counts of child sexual assault, seven counts of taking, producing or possessing indecent images of minors, and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image depicting a sexual act on an animal.

In reading the sentencing, Judge Royce had stated that the case opened 'chasms of depravity' never seen before. The judges had later rejected an appeal filed by Watkins to reduce the length of his sentence.

The years of success

By the early 2000s, as a rock star in his early 20s, Watkins and Lostprophets had sold millions of albums worldwide, winning huge audiences in arenas. Formed in 1997, the Welsh rock band Lostprophets released a total of five studio albums, including a number one album in the UK and two Top 10 singles. They had also achieved some success in the US, where their second and third albums both reached the Top 40.