Ian Watkins’ Lostprophets bandmate has spoken out after the paedophile frontman was killed in prison.
The rock singer, 48, reportedly had his throat cut by a fellow inmate at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire as they came out of their cells on Saturday morning.
The Welsh musician had been serving 29 years for a string of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby daughter.
Emergency services rushed to the prison but he could not be saved. He is said to have died from blood loss.
Two men, aged 25 and 43, were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of his murder.
And now his bandmate Lee Gaze has spoken out about the attack on social media platform X, the Sun reports.
The guitarist, 50, who co-founded Lostprophets with Watkins, replied to a fan wishing them well late last night with a post that read: ‘Thanks for the kind words.’
It came just months after the rocker finally broke his silence on his bandmate’s charging in 2012 and conviction a year later, which saw the group disband.
The rock singer (pictured), 48, reportedly had his throat cut by a fellow inmate at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire as they came out of their cells on Saturday morning
And now his bandmate Lee Gaze (pictured performing with Lostprophets in 2009) has spoken out about the attack on social media platform X
He wrote on X in July: ‘It’s been 13 years since my band ended in the most unimaginable circumstances and it’s still painful to think about.
‘Things could’ve been so different.’
The band, which formed in Pontypridd, Wales, in 1997, released five studio albums, four of which were in the UK top ten, and sold millions of records across the world.
A prison van was seen on Saturday night leaving the category A facility in Wakefield that Watkins was incarcerated in.
The prison has previously been nicknamed Monster Mansion due to the many high-profile inmates locked up there.
This includes White House Farm killer Jeremy Bamber and mass murderer Mick Philpott who killed six of his children by arson.
In 2013, Watkins was given 14- and 15-year consecutive prison terms for engaging in sexual activity with a child and the attempted rape of an 11-month-old baby.
He was also convicted of 11 other offences at Cardiff Crown Court – with those sentences running alongside his 29-year term.
Two of his co-defendants known as Mother A and Mother B – the parents of children he assaulted – were also incarcerated for 14 and 17 years respectively.
His former bandmates, who reformed without him as new band No Devotion after he was jailed, thought it was a ‘mistake’ at first when he was first arrested.
They told the BBC in 2014, after founding the new group, they had drifted apart from Watkins in the months before allegations about him began.
Questioned at the time about whether they knew of the frontman’s depravity, Mr Gaze said: ‘How could you know? How would you know?
‘Who would disclose such a thing to five people, who between them have eight children? You just wouldn’t because they would be killed on the spot.
‘It wasn’t like, “That’s happened, let’s run away.” It was like, “We are sticking together,” which I think is such a bold statement.”
Lostprophets announced it would be parting ways a month before Watkins’s sentencing.
After his heinous crimes emerged, the band’s music was withdrawn from HMV shelves and Rhondda Cynon Taf council removed paving stones engraved with the band’s lyrics.
The guitarist (pictured, far right, with Watkins, centre, and the other members of Lostprophets), 50, who co-founded Lostprophets with Watkins, replied to a fan wishing them well late last night with a post that read: ‘Thanks for the kind words’
Watkins (pictured) had been serving 29 years for a string of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby daughter
Watkins’ ex-girlfriend, Joanne Mjadzelics, who helped expose the sick paedophile, now suffers from PTSD and self-harm after being exposed to Watkins’ vile behaviour.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail on Saturday, she said: ‘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.
‘This is the second time someone has slashed his throat. I expected it to have happened earlier. He’s been in there for almost 13 years.’
Miss Mjadzelics, who only just found out the news, added: ‘The families of those poor victims will be rejoicing today.
‘He’s gone and they will be just as relieved as I am. Maybe now a new part of my life will begin.
‘The man I fell in love with never existed. He manipulated me and that man who died today in prison was a stranger to me. I never loved him, he just put on a character.’
The depraved singer attempted to rape a fan’s baby girl, while he also encouraged another to abuse her own child in a webcam chat.
During the trial, it was heard how a woman had proposed to him the offer of a ‘summer of child porn’, to which he replied: ‘Hell yes, baby.’
Representing Woman B, Christine Laing QC also told the court that Watkins told her client: ‘You and your daughter now belong to me.’
It is also understood the jailed sex offender was so ‘tech savvy’ his collection of child abuse footage and photos amounted to 27 terabytes of data.
The scale of the collection dwarfed South Wales Police’s own data storage – and was five times bigger than the force’s which had 2,862 officers and 1,631 support staff at the time.
One terabyte could hold as much as 472 hours of broadcast quality footage or around 150 hours of HD video.
Eventually, experts from the UK government’s intelligence headquarters, the GCHQ were brought in to crack the password on the encrypted files on his computer.
The depraved singer (pictured holding a baby doll in 2010) attempted to rape a fan’s baby girl, while he also encouraged another to abuse her own child in a webcam chat
Watkins’ ex-girlfriend, Joanne Mjadzelics (pictured), who helped expose the sick paedophile, now suffers from PTSD and self-harm after being exposed to Watkins’ vile behaviour
The paedophile vehemently denied the claims lodged against him before switching his plea to guilty at the last second.
In mitigation, his defence argued his use of crack cocaine and crystal meth meant he could not remember his ‘prolific abuse’.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle said: ‘Clearly he was man who used encryption tools. He was a man who went to some lengths to conceal what he was storing.
‘He went to some considerable lengths to try and hide his wrongdoing.
‘That takes some time to unravel and unfold but unravel it, we did. Which is why we are where we are today.’
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said of the attack on Saturday: ‘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 this morning 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.
‘Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team are investigating and enquiries remain ongoing.’
A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of an incident at HMP Wakefield which took place this morning.
‘We are unable to comment further while the police investigate.’
