Two More Men Arrested In Connection With Stabbing Death of Ex-LOSTPROPHETS Singer IAN WATKINS

Two more men have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder in connection with the death of former LOSTPROPHETS frontman Ian Watkins. The disgraced singer was stabbed to death on October 11 at a prison in northern England, where he was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offenses.

The two men, who were not identified by name, though their ages were given as 23 and 39, have been arrested from HMP Wakefield on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. They are both in police custody and will be interviewed over the course of today. They will then be bailed and returned to prison while enquiries continue.

Last week two men — Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43 — were charged with murder in relation to the incident, they are on remand awaiting trial.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of the Homicide And Major Enquiry Team said: "Extensive enquiries remain ongoing in relation to the murder of Ian Watkins and these arrests form part of that. Ian Watkins's family are being updated as the investigation progresses. However, we do not anticipate any immediate developments at this stage."

The 48-year-old Watkins had his throat slashed at British maximum security prison HMP Wakefield after inmates were unlocked from their cells.

Watkins's attackers reportedly slashed his jugular, causing Ian to die from blood loss.

A source told The Sun: "[Ian] was targeted by another inmate who shanked him in the neck. Guards were nearby and raced to the scene pretty quickly — but there was nothing they could do, and they could not save him. It was a horrific scene, with blood everywhere and alarms and sirens going off. Police and ambulances were called and the whole prison was locked down with all cons confined to their cells."

Watkins was previously stabbed in an incident at the same prison in 2023. On that occasion, he suffered non life-threatening injuries after he was reportedly taken hostage by three other inmates before being freed by prison officers six hours later.

In 2013, Watkins was convicted of 13 child sex offenses. These crimes only came to light following a drug investigation.

After Watkins was arrested in 2012 for drug charges, which included possession of methamphetamines and cocaine, police searched his property and computer, where they found "overwhelming evidence that he was a pedophile," according to the Guardian. At least 90 photos were found in his possession displaying indecent photos of children ages ranging from 2 to 14 years old.

Six people came forward to make allegations against Watkins before he was finally arrested and jailed for 35 years, the report from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found.

Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape. He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.

Ian initially claimed he was the "victim of a malicious campaign" against him, telling police during interviews he was being stalked by "a crazed fan" and other people had access to his computers.

Watkins's disgusted LOSTPROPHETS bandmates called it quits in 2013, just before the frontman pleaded guilty to his crimes. They subsequently formed a new group, named NO DEVOTION.

LOSTPROPHETS formed in 1997 and sold 3.5 million albums in their 16-year career. They scored a No. 1 hit at Modern Rock radio in 2004 with the track "Last Train Home".

In August 2019, Watkins was found guilty of possessing a mobile phone while in prison. He was found with the phone in his cell at HMP Wakefield.

Watkins allegedly used the phone between March 4, 2018 and March 10, 2018 to contact a woman he previously had a relationship with and later hid the phone inside his anus while serving time at the prison.

Watkins was removed from his cell after officers received intelligence he was illegally storing a phone.

The singer told jurors that he hid the phone in prison because he was threatened by two fellow inmates, but he refused to name the men who allegedly ordered him to look after the device.

Watkins said his fellow inmates at HMP Wakefield were "murderers and handy," adding, "You would not want to mess with them."