Ian Watkins as soon as stated the possibilities have been “somebody may sneak up behind me and reduce my throat.” As RadarOnline.com reported, on Saturday, 11 October, his grim prediction got here true. The disgraced rock star, 48, who fronted the Welsh band Lostprophets earlier than his conviction for little one intercourse offenses, was killed in a frenzied assault inside Wakefield Jail – the infamous “Monster Mansion” that homes a few of Britain’s most violent criminals.
Watkins had lengthy warned of the hazard he confronted on the high-security facility.
In a 2019 dialog about life behind bars, he stated: “It is not like one-on-one, let’s have a struggle. The probabilities are, with out my information, somebody would sneak up behind me and reduce my throat… stuff like that. You do not see it coming.”
On Saturday morning, simply after 9 am, that concern turned actuality when he was ambushed and fatally slashed moments after leaving his cell. Jail officers later described the scene as “past something we have ever seen.”
The previous frontman had been serving a 29-year sentence for 13 little one intercourse offenses, together with the tried rape of a child. His 2013 conviction adopted a police raid at his Pontypridd dwelling that uncovered a listing of abuse and specific recordings.
The sentencing decide known as his crimes “plunging into new depths of depravity.” From the day he entered Wakefield, Watkins was a marked man – a intercourse offender, former celeb, and, within the eyes of different inmates, the bottom of the low.
“He did not stand an opportunity in there,” stated a former inmate who served time alongside him on the West Yorkshire jail. “Everyone knew what he’d finished, and that alone seals your destiny in a spot like this. He was despised – folks used to say it was solely a matter of time earlier than somebody obtained to him.
“He was a useless man strolling as prisoners banged up for ‘regular crimes’ see little one abusers as sub-human and beneath them. They earn respect by beating and killing them.”
Watkins’ fame, cash, and notoriety additionally made him each a goal and a useful resource for others. Former jail workers advised RadarOnline.com he had used his funds to purchase safety from violent inmates, however that association typically backfired.
“He tried to purchase his security, nevertheless it solely fueled extra resentment,” claimed a supply. “He did not have any actual associates – simply individuals who used him or needed him gone.”
His notoriety additionally continued to draw consideration from exterior. Regardless of the horror of his crimes, Watkins reportedly obtained a whole lot of letters from feminine admirers and common visits from “goth groupies” of their twenties. These relationships, one ex-guard stated, made him much more despised behind bars.
Circumstances inside Wakefield have lengthy been described as risky and decaying. A latest inspection by the Chief Inspector of Prisons discovered violence within the jail had risen by 75 %, with overcrowding, rampant drug use, and run-down amenities contributing to a local weather of concern.
“Wakefield is understaffed and falling aside,” stated one officer. “You have obtained older intercourse offenders blended in with younger, aggressive gang members – it is a catastrophe ready to occur.”
Among the many 630 inmates are a few of Britain’s most notorious criminals, together with little one killers Roy Whiting and Mark Bridger, and household assassin Jeremy Bamber. Harold Shipman and Robert Maudsley – dubbed “Hannibal the Cannibal” – additionally served time there.
“It is a spot full of very, very harmful males,” stated a former warden. “When you throw a convicted pedophile into that setting, what occurs subsequent is nearly assured.”
Police have arrested two males in reference to Watkins’ demise, and a proper inquiry is underway. Contained in the jail, phrase of the killing unfold inside minutes. “There was shouting and cheering coming from the cells,” stated the accomplice of 1 inmate.
“No person felt sorry for him. Everybody knew what he’d finished, they usually noticed it as justice lastly being served.”
For Watkins, who as soon as stated he feared a blade from behind greater than any courtroom, his prophecy proved horribly correct.