An incarcerated UK drill rapper and one other male inmate have been charged with the murder of disgraced former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins , who was fatally stabbed inside the UK’s HMP Wakefield prison earlier this month.
25 year old Rashid (Rico) Gedel – who raps under the moniker ‘Broadday’ – and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, have been formally charged with the 48-year-old’s murder after a violent assault inside the high-security Yorkshire prison on Saturday, October 11. Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene before medical teams could respond.
“Detectives have charged two men”
In a statement, West Yorkshire Police confirmed:
“Detectives have charged two men with murder after the death of a prisoner at HMP Wakefield on Saturday. Ian Watkins, 48, was pronounced dead after being seriously assaulted at HMP Wakefield on Saturday morning [11 October].”
According to The Sun, the attack occurred shortly after prisoners were released from their cells. Watkins was reportedly stabbed in the neck, with one witness describing a “horrific scene, with blood everywhere and alarms and sirens going off”. The prison was placed in lockdown as emergency services arrived.
This isn’t the first time Watkins was attacked behind bars. In 2023, he was held hostage and stabbed by three inmates for six hours in a separate incident at the same prison, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.
Watkins had been serving a 29-year sentence – plus six years on licence – after pleading guilty in 2013 to a catalogue of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby. The crimes, described by the sentencing judge as “plunging into new depths of depravity,” brought an abrupt and permanent end to Lostprophets’ career.
At the height of their fame, the Welsh rock band sold millions of albums worldwide and were fixtures on global charts with hits like ‘Last Train Home’ and ‘Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)’.
In the years following Watkins’ conviction, an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report found that authorities had failed to act on multiple warnings about his behaviour. His ex-girlfriend Joanne Mjadzelics was among six people who reported him to police before his arrest, later revealing she’d contacted authorities five times over four years to expose his abuse.
Both Gedel and Dodsworth have now appeared before Leeds Magistrates’ Court and will face a plea hearing in November, ahead of a provisional trial date set for May 2026.
Further Reading
Convicted Paedophile & Ex-Lostprophets Singer Ian Watkins Stabbed To Death In Prison
Ian Watkins Sentenced To 29 Years Jail
Ian Watkins Set To Make £100,000 In Royalties Since Arrest
