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Reports: Ian Watkins Killed in Wakefield Prison Attack as Police Arrest Two Suspects

Police report a 48-year-old inmate died at the scene after staff raised the alarm.

Overview

  • West Yorkshire Police said they were alerted to an attack at HMP Wakefield at 9:39 a.m. Saturday, after which an inmate was pronounced dead and an investigation began.
  • Multiple British outlets identified the deceased as Ian Watkins, 48, the former Lostprophets frontman.
  • Two men, aged 25 and 43, were detained in connection with the incident, according to reporting cited from The Guardian.
  • Media accounts state he was attacked by fellow prisoners with a sharp, improvised weapon and died at the scene, details authorities have not formally confirmed.
  • Watkins was serving a multi-decade sentence following 2013 guilty pleas to 13 child sexual offenses, and he was previously injured in a 2023 hostage attack inside the same high-security prison.