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A prisoner accused of murdering pedophile and disgraced British ex-rock star Ian Watkins allegedly bragged about becoming “someone famous” after carrying out the fatal 20-second attack.
Watkins, 48, the former frontman of Lostprophets, was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex crimes, including the attempted rape of a baby, when he was attacked in his cell at HMP Wakefield on Oct. 11, 2025, prosecutors told jurors at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday.
“If I’ve killed him, you could be talking to someone famous,” inmate Rico Gedel, 25, allegedly told prison guards after the stabbing, according to the Guardian.
Gedel allegedly launched the attack using a homemade knife moments after prison officers unlocked cells on the wing shortly after 9 a.m.
As guards escorted Gedel away after the stabbing, he allegedly passed Watkins’ cell and remarked, “Have a good night’s sleep Watkins lad.”
“If I’m going to do life for murder, I’m going to make sure it’s worth it,” Gedel allegedly told one officer.
Prison officers later described Gedel as “perky” and “happy to chat” after he was detained, prosecutors said, adding he appeared to find “the situation amusing.”
Surveillance footage showed Gedel enter Watkins’ cell at 9:19 a.m. and leave roughly 20 seconds later before allegedly handing an item to inmate Samuel Dodsworth, 44.
Dodsworth is accused of acting as a lookout and disposing of the weapon after the stabbing. Both defendants deny murder and possession of a weapon in prison.
Watkins remained inside his cell after the doors were unlocked that morning, while Gedel allegedly waited for prison staff to move out of sight before launching the attack.
Maintenance workers on the prison wing later saw Watkins emerge from his cell, clutching his neck with blood visible on his shirt, prosecutors said. They immediately alerted officers, who rushed to help.
One prison officer pressed a towel against what prosecutors described as a “particularly large wound” on Watkins’ neck while emergency responders were called.
Watkins later collapsed onto his bed and lost consciousness. Paramedics were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead shortly before 10:15 a.m.
Jurors were told Watkins suffered three slash wounds to the head and neck. One wound, measuring more than four inches long, severed his jugular vein and voice box.
When asked who caused Watkins’ injuries, Gedel allegedly answered: “God.”
During police interviews, Gedel allegedly said he was jealous of “nonce (pedophile) prisoners” because they were treated “like royalty” inside the prison.
HMP Wakefield, one of Britain’s toughest maximum-security lockups, is nicknamed “Monster Mansion” because it has housed some of the country’s most notorious criminals, including serial killer Harold Shipman, child murderer Levi Bellfield and violent inmate Charles Bronson.
Prosecutor Tom Storey said Watkins was a “particularly notorious and high-profile” prisoner who had received threats from inmates before his death.
“Whatever view you may take of those who commit even the most heinous criminal offenses, that provides no legal justification whatsoever for taking another’s life in the way that occurred in this case,” Storey told jurors, according to the Daily Mail.
“Ultimately, what the prosecution say is that it is clear on the evidence that Rico Gedel carried out the attack upon Ian Watkins, inflicting those fatal injuries upon him using that home-made knife,” he added.
“And that it is equally clear Samuel Dodsworth encouraged and assisted him in that enterprise.”
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