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Convicted pedophile and former bandmate lost Prophets frontman Ian Watkins has responded to news of his murder Inside a Category A prison HMP Wakefield,
The 48-year-old man was serving 29 years imprisonment for child sex crime When he was stabbed to death on Saturday morning.
Guitarist Lee Gage took to X to thank a fan for their “kind words” and share a prayer emoji when he responded to one of her previous posts addressing Watkins.
He started this thread in July when he posted: “It’s been 13 years since my band ended under the most unimaginable circumstances and it’s still painful to think about.
“Things could have been very different.”
Watkins was arrested in September 2012 After police executed a drugs warrant at his property in Pontypridd, officers seized a number of computers, phones and electronic devices.
It was the analysis of these devices that led to the discovery of his offending.
After his guilty plea in December 2013, Mr Gage said: “There were two sets of [shock] Because there were allegations – which was one thing.
“And then the real, ‘Yeah I did it’ was a year later. They dragged it out for a year, so we were affected by it twice.”
He added: “How would you know? How would you know?
“Who would tell such a thing to five people, who have eight children between them? You wouldn’t just because they would be killed on the spot.”
Disturbing videos shown at his trial included an attempted rape of a child and a webcam chat in which he instructed a crazed fan to abuse his child.
Emergency services were dispatched to the prison in West Yorkshire on Saturday, 11 October, but Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said two men, aged 25 and 43, have been arrested and are in custody.
The jail was locked down immediately after the incident.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “Detectives have launched a murder investigation following the death of a man at HMP Wakefield.
“Officers were called by prison staff at 9.39am this morning to reports of a serious assault on an inmate.
“A man aged 48 was found with serious injuries. Despite medical attention he was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Two men, aged 25 and 43, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in police custody.
“Detectives from the Homicide and Major Investigation Team are investigating and inquiries are ongoing.”