Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse, which some readers may find distressing.
The final tweet posted by disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins has resurfaced online following his violent death in prison.
As previously reported, Watkins, 48, was killed behind bars on Saturday (October 11) after a brutal attack at HM Prison Wakefield in West Yorkshire, where he was serving a lengthy sentence for multiple child sex offenses.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene, but despite intervention, he was pronounced dead inside the facility.
Watkins Fatally Stabbed in the Neck
According to prison insiders, Watkins was attacked shortly after the morning cell unlock. “Watkins has been killed in the most brutal way possible, and the attack was shocking, even by prison standards,” a source told The Sun. “He was targeted by another inmate who shanked him in the neck.”
The blow reportedly severed his jugular, causing rapid blood loss. Guards “raced to the scene pretty quickly, but there was nothing they could do, and they could not save him.”
Police have confirmed two inmates - Rashid Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43 - have been charged with his murder and are due in court.
“Detectives have launched a murder investigation after the death of a man in HMP Wakefield,” West Yorkshire Police said, per The Guardian. “A man aged 48 was found with serious injuries. Despite medical attention, he was pronounced dead at the scene.”
The prison, which houses some of the UK’s most dangerous criminals, immediately went into lockdown.
Final Tweet Before Arrest
In the wake of his death, social media users resurfaced a chilling final message posted on Watkins’ X account one day before his arrest in 2012.
Dated December 16, 2012, it read: “Well......that escalated pretty quickly......I do apologize....”
The context of the tweet remains unclear; however, earlier posts suggested he had been commenting on a film, including: “Turns out the 'Home n Away esque movie with really s**t CGI and worse acting' that's on TV right now is actually one of those Twilight films."
Four years after his arrest, the account was briefly reactivated, posting SoundCloud links, despite officials insisting he had no phone access. In 2018, he was caught with a phone and had 10 months added to his sentence.
From Chart Success to “New Depths of Depravity”
Watkins rose to fame in the early 2000s with Lostprophets, the Welsh rock band that formed in Pontypridd in 1997 and even opened for Metallica and Slipknot.
But in 2013, his world collapsed when he was convicted of 13 sexual offenses, including the attempted rape of a baby, sexually assaulting a one-year-old, and possessing extreme pornography. The crimes were described in court as plunging "into new depths of depravity”.
Judge John Royce branded him a “highly manipulative and dangerous sexual predator” who had “abused his fame.”
The band immediately split, with members forming No Devotion with new vocalist Geoff Rickly.
Many prison sources now say his death was grimly predictable. “He was obviously high-profile and in for the most disgusting crimes,” one insider said. “So that meant he was walking around with a target on his back, and this has happened.”
Watkins had survived a previous attack in 2023, when he was held hostage and stabbed by fellow inmates.
Police inquiries remain ongoing.