Ian Watkins murder trial opens at Leeds Crown Court

Leeds Crown Court heard opening arguments in the trial of two prisoners accused of murdering former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins, who was stabbed to death in his cell at HMP Wakefield on October 11, 2023.

Prosecutors allege that Rico Gedel, 25, entered Watkins's cell shortly after 9 a.m., stabbed him three times in the head and neck with a homemade knife, severing his jugular vein, and exited after 20 seconds. Fellow inmate Samuel Dodsworth, 44, faces charges as a joint participant, accused of acting as a lookout on the landing and later disposing of the bloodied weapon in a bin. Both men deny murder and possession of the makeshift knife. The trial, before Mr Justice Hilliard, is expected to last three weeks.

Tom Storey KC, prosecuting, told jurors that Gedel had been moved to a cell next to Watkins's the previous afternoon. The day before the attack, Watkins received two notes accusing him of causing another inmate to be removed from the wing, demanding money, and threatening violence. Prisons are environments where such grudges often lead to action, Storey noted, though it was unclear if the notes directly prompted the incident.

CCTV footage captured Gedel meeting...