Two in court accused of killing jailed singer Watkins

Two men have appeared in court charged with the murder of paedophile singer Ian Watkins, who was killed in Wakefield Prison.

The former Lostprophets frontman, who was serving a 29-year jail sentence, was fatally injured in an incident at the prison just after 09:30 BST on Saturday.

Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, both appeared at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning.

Watkins, 48, was jailed in 2013 for a string of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.

Appearing separately during consecutive hearings at the court, both Mr Dodsworth and Mr Gedel spoke only to confirm their names and dates of birth.

Both defendants were told they would appear before Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday, with no pleas entered during the short hearings.

Watkins, who also faced a further six years on licence if he was ever released, 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.

During sentencing, Mr Justice Royce said the case broke “new ground” and “plunged into new depths of depravity”.

Watkins was previously attacked at Wakefield Prison in 2023, although his injuries were not life-threatening on that occasion.

Formed in Pontypridd in 1997, Lostprophets became one of the UK’s biggest bands, securing 11 top 40 hits and a number one album between 2002 and 2010.

In a statement released after his conviction, the band’s remaining members said they were “heartbroken, angry, and disgusted” at his crimes, adding that their “hearts go out” to his victims.

A high-security prison housing some of the UK’s most notorious offenders, Wakefield Prison currently holds more than 600 inmates.

A report on conditions within the facility, which was published last month, said violence had “increased markedly” since a previous inspection in 2022.

It also said the prison’s “infrastructure was in a poor state”, citing “repeated breakdowns of essential equipment” and “some significant elements of the prison’s perimeter security systems”.

Among those currently serving time at the prison are believed to be Roy Whiting, who murdered eight year-old Sarah Payne in 2000, and Reynhard Sinaga, who was convicted of 159 sexual offences against 48 men in 2020.

Both men have reportedly been attacked at the jail in recent years.

Harold Shipman, Ian Huntley and Piran Ditta Khan are also among the former inmates to have served time in Wakefield.

Watkins was once one of Wales’ most recognisable musicians – the frontman of the rock band Lostprophets.

At the height of their fame, the group sold millions of albums around the world.

But the group disbanded immediately after Watkins was convicted in 2013.

Prosecutors described Watkins as a man corrupted by fame, drugs, and power – one who committed crimes “beyond imagination.”

His trial heard Watkins had used his fame to manipulate and control others, often under the influence of hard drugs, including crystal meth.

After Watkins was sentenced, Des Mannion, NSPCC national head of service for Wales, said: “Watkins used his status and global fame as a means to manipulate people and sexually abuse children.

“But we must nevertheless remember that this case isn’t about celebrity, it’s about victims. And those victims are children.”