Jury discharged in Ian Watkins prison murder trial

Jury discharged in Ian Watkins prison murder trial 1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Alex Moss Yorkshire South Wales Police Watkins, from Pontypridd, was jailed for 29 years in December

Jury discharged in Ian Watkins prison murder trial

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Alex MossYorkshire
South Wales Police Ian Watkins mugshotSouth Wales Police
Watkins, from Pontypridd, was jailed for 29 years in December 2013

The jury in the trial of two inmates accused of killing paedophile Ian Watkins in prison has been discharged.

The former Lostprophets frontman was stabbed to death with a makeshift knife in his cell at high-security HMP Wakefield on 11 October last year.

Serving prisoners Rico Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 44, denied murdering Watkins and possessing a knife in prison. Both are due to be re-tried.

Watkins, who was 48 and from Pontypridd, was jailed for 29 years in December 2013 after admitting a string of sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan's baby.

Addressing the jury at Leeds Crown Court on Friday, Mr Justice Hilliard said: "Very reluctantly, I'm going to discharge you and the case will have to be re-tried.

"That's disappointing for you and for everyone."

The court was told the re-trial had been provisionally set for 8 February next year.

Derbyshire Police/Metropolitan Police Archive custody shots of Samuel Dodsworth (left) and Rico Gedel. Photos of two men, side by side. The one on the left is balding and has a light brown beard. The man on the right has short dreadlocks and is wearing a high-collared jacket.Derbyshire Police/Metropolitan Police
Samuel Dodsworth and Rico Gedel deny murdering Ian Watkins

During the trial the court heard Gedel had gone into Watkins' cell at about 09:20 BST, less than 20 minutes after it was unlocked for the morning.

Once inside he stabbed him in the head and neck with a knife fashioned from a blade stuck to a piece of plastic cutlery with large amounts of tape.

After leaving the cell Gedel was seen on CCTV passing the weapon to Dodsworth, who wrapped it in tissue and put it in a bin.

Prosecutors had said Gedel and Dodsworth were both guilty of murder because Dodsworth "knew the attack was going to happen" and assisted Gedel by disposing of the knife.

West Yorkshire Police A prison corridor with white railings and cells around the edge. There is a man walking down the corridor in a prison issue grey tracksuit. West Yorkshire Police
Gedel (left) was seen on prison CCTV leaving Watkins' cell shortly after the attack

The court heard Gedel, who was serving a life sentence for murder at the time of the attack, was seen grinning and laughing after the stabbing, asking prison officers to "let me know when he dies".

He was also recorded saying "have a good night's sleep Watkins lad" as he was taken past the cell where the former singer was receiving medical treatment.

During the trial Gedel told the court he hated being housed with sex offenders at Wakefield and had threatened to hurt "any number of paedophiles" if he was not transferred.

He said he chose Watkins largely due to "proximity", as he had been put in the cell next to him the night before, after being moved from another wing for assaulting three prisoners there.

Dodsworth, who is serving a sentence for raping a woman, said he played no part in the attack and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He said Gedel handed the knife to him after emerging from Watkins' cell, and he tried to give it back but ended up throwing it away after panicking at the sight of an injured Watkins.

When Watkins was sentenced in 2013 for 13 child sex offences, the judge, Mr Justice Royce said the case broke "new ground" and "plunged into new depths of depravity".

His two co-defendants, who are the mothers of children he abused, were jailed for 14 and 17 years.

Following Watkins' arrest, the band released a public statement confirming they could no longer continue performing under the Lostprophets name following the revelations.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

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