ONE of Ian Watkins alleged killers has refused to appear in court after he was charged with murdering the paedo Lostprophets star.
Watkins, 48, was stabbed in the neck at HMP Wakefield where he was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences.
Watkins was killed in a jail attack[/caption]
Rashid Gedel has been charged with murder[/caption]
He appeared in court alongside Samuel Dodsworth[/caption]
Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were due to both appear at Leeds Crown Court today charged with murder.
But Gedel refused to leave his cell for the hearing as “it appears he wanted to attend in person”, the court heard.
Dodsworth appeared via video link from HMP Wakefield and spoke only to confirm his name.
A provisional trial estimated to last between two and three weeks was set for May 5 next year by Recorder of Leeds, Judge Guy Kearl KC.
A plea and trial preparation hearing will take place at Leeds Crown Court on November 12.
Watkins was declared dead at the scene after being attacked on Saturday morning.
He died from blood loss after having his jugular slashed.
He is understood to have been ambushed and stabbed as inmates were allowed out of their cells.
It was the second time he was targeted in HMP Wakefield – nicknamed Monster Mansion – after a previous attack in 2023.
At the time, the depraved singer was rushed to hospital after he was taken hostage by three other prisoners.
Watkins was locked up in December 2013 after admitting a string of twisted child sex offences.
He 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 – with those sentences running alongside his 29-year term.
The disgraced frontman was arrested following the execution of a drugs warrant at his Pontypridd home on September 21, 2012.
His vile crimes came to light when officers seized a large number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices.
In 2019, he was jailed for 10 months on top of the sentence he was serving for child sex offences after he was found guilty of possessing a mobile phone in prison.
Watkins’ former bandmates were convinced it was a “mistake” when he was first arrested.
Speaking to BBC Newsbeat in 2014, after reforming as No Devotion, they said they had drifted apart from the paedo in the months prior.
They said in the aftermath, people questioned how much they knew.
Guitarist Lee Gaze said at the time: “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.”
He added: “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.”
Watkins was jailed in 2013 after admitting a string of child sex offences[/caption]
The disgraced singer’s crimes were exposed when cops seized computers from his home[/caption]
