Killer ‘only feels guilt’ for victims of Lostprophets singer, trial told

A prisoner who stabbed disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins to death told jurors the only guilt he felt was towards the paedophile’s victims.

Convicted murderer Rico Gedel, 25, attacked Watkins in his call at high-security HMP Wakefield on October 11 last year, slashing him three times, Leeds Crown Court has heard.

He denies murder, saying he wanted to be moved from sharing a wing with sex offenders in prison so decided to attack another inmate, but did not intend to kill.

Gedel has claimed co-accused Samuel Dodsworth, 44, handed him a makeshift knife prior to the attack.

Richard Wright KC, defending Dodsworth, asked Gedel if he was “pleased” that Watkins was dead.

The defendant replied: “Somewhat.”

Mr Wright asked: “You’re certainly not losing sleep over it?”

Gedel said: “No, not really.

“What I wanted to say is, the only guilt I would feel about this is how his victims felt.

“I know from my own experiences, with friends and family being sexually assaulted, I don’t know if they would have wanted that (Watkins’s death).

“But that’s my only guilt.”

Mr Wright clarified if Gedel meant that Watkins’s victims might have wanted him to have a hard time in prison and would see his “death is an easy option”.

Gedel replied: “I felt a bit guilty for them because they didn’t get that opportunity.”

Jurors heard how Gedel was convicted of murder in his early 20s, which he continued to deny, and he was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 27 years.

Mr Wright pointed out Gedel has changed his defence statement three times, including one he completed only the day before, and questioned why he was now claiming Dodsworth – a convicted rapist – handed him the knife.

Mr Wright said Gedel was now saying that “because it’s convenient and, frankly, it’s good fun”.

Gedel replied: “I did get the knife from Dodsworth.”

Later, the defendant told Tom Storey KC, prosecuting: “I don’t like fighting, in every fight there is a possibility I could lose and I don’t want to end up injured.

“There are serial killers in Wakefield.

“I am around serious people like that, I know the possibility for me could also be death.”

Mr Storey played body-worn camera footage as guards held Gedel in a cell while other officers tried to save Watkins’s life, four minutes after the attack.

Gedel was shown smiling and saying: “Hopefully he goes to sleep.”

Gedel told the court: “There was part of me that wanted him to die, there was another part of me that didn’t want him to die.

“That was a bad concoction.”

He explained why he was grinning, saying he had also smiled during the court proceedings, saying: “Smiling is the only way I mask my emotions in front of other people.”

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

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.