Two men arrested on suspicion of murder after Lostprophets singer and convicted paedophile Ian Watkins killed in prison

Aerial drone photo of the town centre of Wakefield in West Yorkshire in the UK showing the main building and walls of Her Majesty's Prison, also know as HMP Wakefield taken in the spring time. Inset photo of Ian Watkins. — (Image credit: Duncan Cuthbertson)

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of disgraced Lostprophets singer and convicted paedophile Ian Watkins.

It was confirmed yesterday that Watkins, 48, had died after an attack at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire.

Trigger warning: details of violence and child sex crimes below

The singer from Pontypridd in Wales was serving a 29-year jail sentence – with a further six years due to be served on licence – for a series of horrific child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.

West Yorkshire Police say in a statement that two men have been arrested. The statement reads: "Detectives have launched a murder investigation after the death of a man in HMP Wakefield.

"Officers were called by staff at the prison at 9.39am on October 11 to reports of a serious assault on a prisoner. A man aged 48 was found with serious injuries. Despite medical attention he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Two men aged 25 and 43 have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in police custody."

Meanwhile, Watkins' ex girlfriend, who was instrumental in bringing his horrendous crimes to light, has described his death as "a relief".

Joanne Mjadzelics tells the Daily Mail: "This is a big shock, but I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. I was always waiting for this phone call. He was walking around with a target on his back from the first day he entered the prison.

"I have always been scared of him getting out and tracking me down or something, so this is a relief.

"I wanted him dead for a long time after everything he did. I am relieved, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my head."

Watkins was the focal point of high-flying Welsh rock outfit Lostprophets, but his spectacular fall from grace came as a result of being caught and arrested for his brutal crimes in 2012.

He was charged with sexual offences that included the attempted rape of a one-year-old girl and grooming another person – a woman believed to be a Lostprophets fan – to sexually abuse her child, as well as the possession of child pornography and animal pornography.

After initially pleading not guilty, Watkins changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced in December 2013.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.

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