Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in Prison
Disgraced former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins has died after being stabbed in prison. Watkins, 48, was attacked by a fellow inmate at HMP Wakefield and later died from his injuries, according to The Guardian. Emergency services were called to the high-security facility earlier in the day, and a homicide investigation has now been launched. Several prisoners are reportedly being questioned in connection with the attack. The attack was reportedly very bloody, with Watkins being stabbed in the neck, causing him to bleed out.
Watkins had been incarcerated since 2013 after pleading guilty to multiple child sex offenses. Over the years, he remained a notorious figure within the UK prison system, both because of the evil nature of his crimes and the unusual attention he continued to receive from a small group of outside admirers.
Watkins’ Three ‘Girlfriends’ In Prison
In the years following his conviction, Watkins developed a controversial presence inside HMP Wakefield. Although he was one of Britain’s most hated inmates, a steady stream of women continued to contact and visit him behind bars — a phenomenon documented repeatedly by the British tabloid press.
In 2017, The Sun reported that Watkins had three women who described themselves as his girlfriends regularly visiting him in prison. One of the women told the tabloid she was “in love” with the disgraced musician, while another claimed she didn’t believe he was guilty. The report claimed Watkins was seen holding hands and kissing one of the visitors during supervised visits. Prison officials declined to comment, and the claims were never independently verified, but the story highlighted the strange attention Watkins continued to attract even in custody.
These reports fit into a broader pattern of high-profile offenders receiving creepy admiration from outsiders, especially in the age of TV shows and movies glorifying criminals. Tabloids have described Watkins receiving fan letters and romantic interest from women who were drawn to his former fame as the frontman of Lostprophets, and it appears that the rock groupie culture followed him from the stage to behind bars. Some reportedly visited him multiple times each month through the standard prison visitation system, despite his notoriety.
In 2019, Watkins was caught with a mobile phone that he had smuggled into his cell, which he used to communicate with fans and women outside prison. He was sentenced to an additional ten months for this offense. The incident was widely covered by outlets including BBC News, which reported that the phone had been found concealed inside his body during a search. Authorities said Watkins had been in contact with multiple women during this time, raising concerns about his continued external influence despite his high-risk status.
The phenomenon of infamous prisoners attracting devoted followers is not unique to Watkins, but his case stood out due to the severity of his crimes and his previous status as a rock frontman, with Watkins being the only rock singer in recent memory to go to jail for heinous crimes like pedophilia. Over the years, some of these women publicly defended him, sent him letters, and made repeated visits. While specific visitation records are not made public, these reports helped sustain Watkins’ notoriety throughout his incarceration.
With his death now under investigation following the fatal stabbing at HMP Wakefield, the bizarre mix of infamy and outside attention that surrounded Watkins during his prison years has become a key part of the narrative of his final decade behind bars, and ultimately his legacy, as Lostprophets’ music will ultimately be overshadowed by his dastardly acts.
