Prosecutor claims Ian Watkins’ crimes “did not justify his killing”
In the murder trial of Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, a prosecutor told the court that the paedophile’s crimes “did not justify his killing”.
43-year-old Samuel Dodsworth and 25-year-old Rashid Gedel are currently facing trial at Leeds Crown Court after being charged with murder in relation to the death of Watkins, as well as possession of a makeshift weapon. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Watkins, who was serving a 35-year sentence after pleading guilty to 13 child sex offences in 2013, was stabbed to death in his cell at HMP Wakefield on October 11th, 2025.
The trial began on May 7th, with the court hearing on the opening day of proceedings that Gedel stabbed Watkins three times with a makeshift weapon, before he passed it to Dodsworth to dispose of it.
On May 18th, prosecutor Tom Storey KC made his closing remarks to jurors, telling the court that Watkins did “nothing whatsoever to provoke this attack in the time leading up to it”, per Sky News.
Storey also claimed that despite Watkins’ paedophilic crimes, he should not have been murdered, telling the court, “However heinous his crimes were, that did not justify his killing in any way.”
The KC then alleged that Gedel “made clear to you his hatred of sex offenders”, before claiming that he told Watkins that “this is what paedophiles deserve” ahead of the alleged attack, which he said was “as clear an indication of his underlying motive as you could hope for”.
Storey told the court that he believed Watkins had “in all likelihood been taken completely by surprise by this attack”, which was due to his lack of defensive injuries.
Peter Moulson KC, who is defending Gedel, highlighted that Watkins left the cell following the attack, telling the court, “If you were dead set on wanting to kill, wouldn’t you make sure you had done?,” per the BBC.
Previously, during the trial, prosecutors alleged that Gedel walked into Watkins’ cell shortly after it was unlocked by guards for the morning and stabbed the disgraced rocker three times in the head and neck with a homemade knife.
The attack on Watkins lasted only 20 seconds, prosecutors told the court.
The trial continues.
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