Ian Watkins, former lead singer of the band Lostprophets, has died after being stabbed in prison where he was serving a prison sentence after being convicted of sexual abuse of minors.
According to the British press, the 48-year-old musician was attacked during the morning of Saturday, October 11, and could not resist the seriousness of his injuries. Death was declared at the scene.
The prison services indicated, without providing further details, that investigations were underway.
Watkins had already been stabbed in the same prison, located in the county of West Yorkshire, in 2023. At the time, he was attacked by three other inmates who kidnapped him inside the prison and released six hours later, when prison guards were aware of the situation, but he did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.
The former vocalist was sentenced to 29 years in prison in 2013, after admitting 13 of the 24 charges against him in court, including attempted rape of an 11-month-old baby.
The artist, aged 36 at the time, was accused of trying to rape the child in the presence of his mother, a fan of the band, and of encouraging one of his victims to abuse his own son. Two other fans were sentenced to 14 and 17 years in prison for allowing their children to be victims of sexual abuse by the singer.
Watkins’ defense, who when he was arrested also had child pornography content and videos of his own, argued that drug consumption and the pressures of fame had led him to the acts, a thesis that was deconstructed by an expert in court: “we have never known anyone who became a child abuser because of consuming drugs”.