Ian Watkins nurse ‘screeched’ as Lostprophets singer ‘gargled’ blood after jail stabbing

Samuel Dodsworth, 43, and Rico Gedel, 25, both deny murdering the former Lostprophets singer at HMP Wakefield as prison officers give evidence of the alleged murder

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A prison officer at HMP Wakefield described seeing “blood everywhere” after Ian Watkins being attacked with a makeshift blade. Rico Gedel, 25, also known as Rashid, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, are both charged with murdering disgraced Lostprophets frontman Watkins during an assault at the jail dubbed Monster Mansion on October 11 and are presently on trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Watkins, 48, was sentenced to 29 years in December 2013 with an additional six years on licence, after pleading guilty to a series of sexual offences – including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.

Watkins died while serving his term in Wakefield. Jurors hearing the case have been told how he sustained three wounds inflicted by a homemade blade during a 20-second assault. Video footage depicting a blood-covered Watkins coming out of his cell has been made public by West Yorkshire Police after jurors viewed it presented by prosecutor Tom Storey KC.

Both Gedel and Dodsworth deny murdering Watkins. Gedel is alleged to have executed the attack, while Dodsworth is accused of acting as lookout and discarding the weapon in a rubbish bin in the recess area, reports Yorkshire Live.

On Friday, two prison officers provided testimony from the witness stand, with one stating he initially noticed Watkins’ injuries while on the landing of B wing.

He said: “I don’t remember the time, but I remember seeing something…From what I remember, I remember stood looking down the landing. I kind of had a bit of a view down the landing but not much of one.

“From what I saw, I saw Mr Watkins come out of his cell, wearing a white T-shirt, and I remember seeing blood down the front of his shirt…He didn’t really do anything, he just kind of stood there and looked towards where me and two other officers were stood..

“He went back towards his cell, like he was trying to get back in for whatever reason. I alerted the two staff members I was stood with in case they didn’t see it and all three of us went to his cell.”

The officer stated a colleague went to assist Watkins, while he and another moved to detain Gedel, whom he witnessed strike another prisoner. Following his detention, Gedel was escorted to his cell, adjacent to Watkins’. Officers were then reported to have conducted a strip search before one maintained surveillance.

Peter Moulson KC, representing Gedel, questioned the officer whether he heard any phrases spoken by Watkins such as: “Get away from my cell you s*** stain.” Mr Moulson said: ” And then the ‘N’ word is used in this context, Watkins said: ‘This is an – N word – free zone.’

“Did you hear Watkins to the effect of: ‘If you don’t move from the cell now, I’m going to f****** stab you.’ And finally, from Watkins: ‘I’m going to count to three’ and then the words, ‘One, two.'” The officer confirmed he did not hear any of those remarks, but was positioned close enough that he would have heard them if they were spoken.

Another officer was subsequently summoned to the courtroom to provide testimony and explained how he had been responsible for opening the cells on the left side of the wing – where Gedel’s and Watkins’ were located – on October 11 last year. He stated he engaged with both prisoners.

Regarding Gedel, he said they conversed and added: “As I opened his door, I saw it was Mr Gedel and basically said to him, ‘What you done this time?’ And we laughed a bit and had a smirk and I went onto unlock the other cells.”

He explained the remark was due to his transfer to B wing. He noted “sometimes it is just a normal move, but other times prisoners will be moved if there’s been an incident or something similar to that.”

The following cell the officer opened was Watkins’. He stated: “As I opened his door, he was sat on his bed doing a drawing. I asked what he was drawing and he showed me. It was a picture of another prisoner’s partner and we had a chat and that was that.

“He did a lot of paintings and drawings.”

Following the cell unlocking, the officer explained he then commenced conducting cell inspections to ensure everything, including the locks and windows, were secure. The officer said he didn’t believe Gedel was in his cell during the search, but Watkins remained in his.

He continued: “He was still doing his drawing…” The officer said he then joined other officers on the landing. He told the court: “I made an observation to the left to look down the landing, and there were two workmen and as they got past Watkins’ cell, one made a gesture, to the left-hand side of his neck, as in a slicing motion.

“At that time, that’s when Mr Watkins’ put his head out of his cell. Mr Watkins’ was leaning out of his cell, so his head was present just outside of the cell structure, and at that moment in time, that’s when I noticed a lot of blood coming away from his neck.

“First instinct, I told the two other members of staff, and we made our way down to Mr Watkins’ cell, and [a colleague] held him and helped him into his cell and we made our way down the stairs to apprehend Mr Gedel.” The officer said it was “fair” to assume Gedel had been involved. He said: “Experience, from myself, I know of Mr Gedel from previous wings. He has carried out numerous assaults from other locations…”

Once Gedel was detained, the officer said he returned to Watkins’ cell to help treat him. He said: “I could see a cut to his right ear, a large laceration to his right cheek, and also a very large laceration from his left cheek to lower neck.”

The officer stated Watkins was “sat in his bed” and was “still conscious and spoke to me”. He said: “I asked if he was ok when I first went in and he said that yes he was fine. I was trying to keep him awake and keep him talking.

“As I showed the nurse the injury to his neck, the nurse was quite shocked and made a ‘screeching’ noise and at that point, I think that’s when Mr Watkins realised what had happened and he deteriorated even further. He fell back onto his bed and was gargling.”

The officer said the nurse then voiced the belief Watkins was going into cardiac arrest and CPR was administered, but Watkins died.