Ian Watkins bullied for money and received threats days before death, court told

Paedophile rock singer Ian Watkins was bullied for money while in prison and received letters just days before his death demanding cash or he would get his “head cracked open”, a court heard.

The disgraced Lostprophets frontman was fatally stabbed on October 11 last year in his cell at high security HMP Wakefield, where he was serving a 29-year sentence for child sexual offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard statements from workmen who were at the prison and saw Watkins after the incident, with one saying he was “covered in blood from the neck down”.

Dramatic prison CCTV footage has shown the moment paedophile Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins stepped out of his cell covered in blood after being stabbed.

The disgraced singer was attacked in his cell at high security HMP Wakefield on October 11 last year.

The video, shown to a jury at Leeds Crown Court, appears to show alleged murderer Rico Gedel, who was initially referred to by police as Rashid Gedel, leave the vicinity of Watkins’ cell shortly after he was attacked.

Gedel then appears to engage in a brief conversation with co-defendant Samuel Dodsworth as the pair walk down the hall.

At 9.16am, seconds after Gedel leaves the area, Watkins emerges from his cell and looks both ways before retreating back into his cell.

The video also appears to capture a large amount of blood on his grey prison-issued T-shirt.

The jury was told that in the days leading up to his death, the singer received threatening letters describing him as a “snitch” and demanding £500 for a “Hi-Fi, lamp and fan”.

Rico Gedel, 25, who was initially referred to by police as Rashid Gedel, and Samuel Dodsworth, 44, both deny murder and possession of a makeshift knife in prison.

Prison officer Simon Rothwell, who said he was stationed on the same wing as Watkins for around 10 years before the paedophile was moved, labelled him as “vulnerable” because other prisoners “knew he had money”.

In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Chris Rose, the officer said: “He was quite a high-profile prisoner as he was quite well-known prior to him being sentenced.

“I worked on C wing at the time. Watkins had been on that particular wing for approximately 10 years.

“I built up a good rapport with Watkins – he seemed to have built up a trust in me and would disclose information that I could report back on.

“Watkins has always been vulnerable, being bullied for money, as people were aware of his history and knew he had money.”

Mr Rothwell said Watkins had told him on October 10 that he had recently received two “quite threatening” letters.

His statement continued: “I told him I would come down to the wing and see him and recover the letters.

“I took a distraction pack, which is basically a colouring-in book, so it would look to anyone that saw that I was dropping this off.”

After taking the letters, the officer said he contacted Watkins by the in-cell phone and “advised that he should self-isolate in his own cell for the weekend”.

Mr Rothwell’s statement continued: “I rang Watkins and told him my advice, but he replied and said ‘no I think I’ll be OK.’”

The officer said following the conversation, he told staff of his “concerns” and to do “extra patrols and extra checks”.

The prosecutor then read out the two letters Watkins received, with one saying: “Ian, you’ve got until Saturday to pay for my Hi-Fi, lamp and fan.

“If you don’t pay by then, I promise you, I will get your head cracked open, you snitch.

“Give a number so my boy can message your people to get my bank details to put in £500.

“If it’s not done by Saturday, you will see what will happen to you… This is your last chance.”

The court heard that the second note contained similar content, with the message beginning: “You snitch, you got me kicked off the wing.

“You think you got away with it. You got my Hi-Fi, fan and lamp took away from me, so you owe me a Hi-Fi, fan and lamp.”

A plumber at HMP Wakefield also gave a statement to the court, saying he saw Watkins holding his neck shortly after the incident.

He said: “After we walked past a few of the cells, I noticed droplets of what appeared to be blood on the floor to the communal landing.

“I then looked to my right and saw a male stood in the doorway of the cell.

“This male was in the doorway with what I believed was his left hand holding his neck area.

“I could see blood was on the right hand side of his face and I assumed he had a cut to his ear.

“The male stood in my view a matter of seconds before he turned and went back to his cell.

“The male’s expression could possibly have been perceived as shocked due to his facial expressions, but I only saw him for a very short time.”

A second workman, who was also on shift at the time of the incident, said he saw Watkins had a “huge open wound” to his collarbone and jaw.

His statement read: “When the male stepped out of his cell, he was roughly three metres in front of me.

“I immediately noticed he was covered in blood from the neck down.

“The male’s right hand was up by his shoulder, but I saw a huge open wound from his collarbone to his jaw.”

The workman said he “immediately signalled” to prison staff on the floor by waving his arms, and they assisted quickly.

Watkins was jailed for 29 years in December 2013, with a further six years on licence, after admitting a string of sex offences – including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.

The trial continues.