Even if the victim is someone who committed horrific acts against children, murder is a crime, and as such, two suspects, ages 25 and 43, have been arrested for the murder of Ian Watkins, disgraced ex-frontman of Lostprophets. The attack happened on Saturday (Oct. 11) at Wakefield Prison, where emergency personnel were called in for a "serious assault on an inmate," as reported by the BBC.
The suspects were identified in a statement from West Yorkshire Police as 25-year-old Rashid Gedel and 43-year-old Samuel Dodsworth. The two appeared in court this morning, speaking only to confirm their identities to the judge, as reported by the BBC.
As the incident is under investigation at this time, further comments were not made by the West Yorkshire Police. According to the aforementioned report by the BBC, the chief inspector of prisons commented that "many prisoners told us they felt unsafe, particularly older men convicted of sexual offences who increasingly shared the prison with a growing cohort of younger prisoners."
Reports also suggested that there had been an uptick in violent crimes between offenders within the two weeks or so leading up to Watkins' murder. This is also the second time that Watkins was attacked during his sentence, the first having taken place in August 2023 and hospitalizing the convicted pedophile Watkins.
Watkins was serving a 29-year prison sentence for a slew of sex crimes against children. His co-conspirators, who were the mothers of two of the children involved in said crimes, are serving sentences of 14 and 17 years, respectively.
