UK Police Arrest Two Men in Stabbing Death of Lostprophets Singer Ian Watkins

British police have arrested two men on suspicion of murder following the fatal prison stabbing of disgraced former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins.

Watkins, 48, was killed on Saturday (Oct. 11) at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire, where he was serving a 29-year sentence for multiple child sex offenses.

According to West Yorkshire Police, two inmates — aged 25 and 43 — have been taken into custody in connection with the attack. A full murder investigation is underway, though authorities have not yet named the suspects.

Watkins had been behind bars since 2013, when he pleaded guilty to 13 charges involving child sexual abuse, including the attempted rape of a baby. The sentencing judge described his crimes as having “plumbed new depths of depravity.”

His death comes amid growing concerns over safety inside HMP Wakefield. A recent report from the chief inspector of prisons, cited by the BBC, revealed a surge in violence at the high-security facility, with many older inmates — particularly those convicted of sexual offenses — reporting that they felt unsafe among a younger and increasingly volatile prison population.

This was not the first time Watkins was attacked in custody. In August 2023, he was assaulted by three fellow prisoners, suffering neck injuries that required hospital treatment.

Lostprophets, the Welsh rock band Watkins co-founded in 1997, achieved major success in the early 2000s with several chart-topping hits. Their 2006 album Liberation Transmission reached No. 1 in the U.K., and their single “Last Train Home” topped Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart in 2004. The band broke up in 2013 following Watkins’ arrest and subsequent conviction.