A prisoner has refuted allegations that he stabbed Watkins to death on October 11.
One of two men arrested for the murder of Ian Watkins has denied responsibility for the killing. Watkins, formerly the lead singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets, was stabbed to death with an improvised knife on October 11 while serving a 29 year sentence at Wakefield Prison for multiple sex crimes against children.
According to the BBC, Samuel Dodsworth, 43, pleaded not guilty to murder at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday. Dodsworth’s co-defendant, Rashid Gedel, 25, refused to leave his cell to appear in court by video link, and so did not enter a plea. Both are currently serving prison sentences for prior crimes.
Judge Guy Kearl KC announced a trial date for May 5, 2026. The trial is expected to last around four weeks.
In related news, The Mirror has some reflections on Watkins from DJ and producer Josh Friend, AKA Modestep. Friend was the support act for Lostprophets in 2011, and admits that he thought Watkins was odd, but chalked that up to rock star egotism.
“Even from the first soundcheck, things were just a bit off. Since then, I’ve done a lot more touring and you always try to treat people like family and make it fun for everyone, but it was clear that there was tension in the air amongst everyone,” Friend said, noting that there was “weird atmosphere from the get go”.
According to Friend, Watkins was rarely present at sound checks and that he only interacted with the singer once during the entire six week tour, as he was generally “chauffeured around by the tour manager” and “you could tell his mind was elsewhere”.
Two other men were arrested for conspiracy to commit murder in relation to Watkins’ death, but have yet to enter pleas.
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