Two More Men Arrested in Connection With Killing

Police have arrested two more men allegedly connected to the stabbing death of convicted sex criminal and former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins.

Watkins, 48, died earlier this month after being attacked at the HMP Wakefield prison in West Yorkshire, where he was serving a 29-year jail sentence. Watkins was found guilty of a string of heinous sexual offenses in 2013, including crimes against young children and babies.

Just one day after Watkins’ death, two men were arrested and charged with murder: Rashid (Rico) Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43. The West Yorkshire police announced that two more men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder on Tuesday, Oct. 21. 

The two men were not identified by name, though their ages were given as 23 and 39. Police said both will be interviewed today, after which they’ll be bailed out and returned to prison while the investigation continues. 

James Entwistle, a senior investigating officer of the West Yorkshire Police, said in a statement, “Extensive enquiries remain ongoing in relation to the murder of Ian Watkins and these arrests form part of that. Ian Watkins’ family are being updated as the investigation progresses. However, we do not anticipate any immediate developments at this stage.”

Watkins was previously attacked at HMP Wakefield in August 2023 by three other prisoners. They reportedly stabbed Watkins and took him hostage for six hours before he was eventually freed by corrections officers. 

Prior to his arrest and conviction, Watkins and Lostprophets were a successful band that had sold over 3.4 million albums and had hits like “Last Train Home” and “Rooftops.” The band ended not long after Watkins was arrested in September 2012 after police executed a drugs search warrant at his home and seized a large number of computers, mobile phones, and storage devices. He later pleaded guilty the sex offense charges against him, with a judge said “plumbed new depths of depravity.”