Paedophile Lostprophets' frontman Ian Watkins' 'heinous crimes' did not justify his killing by a fellow inmate at a high-security prison, a jury has been told.
Prosecutors at Leeds Crown Court said the singer's child sex offences - which include the attempted rape of an 11-month-old baby - could never 'justify or excuse' his killing at HMP Wakefield last October.
Watkins, 48, was serving a 29-year sentence for a series of sexual offences against children when he was stabbed three times in the neck by fellow inmate Rico Gedel using a makeshift knife.
Gedel, 25, then passed the weapon on to prisoner Samuel Dodsworth, 44, who threw it in the bin.
Gedel, who is serving a 27-year prison term for murder, admitted to attacking Watkins with a homemade Stanley knife weapon.
Dodsworth is accused of murder by acting as Gedel's accomplice and look-out.
In his final address to the jury, Tom Storey KC said Watkins had done 'nothing whatsoever' to provoke the 'vicious' attack in the time leading up to it.
He said: 'However heinous his crimes were, and you've heard some of the detail of them, that did not justify or excuse his killing in any way.'
The court heard that Watkins was among the most notorious inmates at the maximum-security prison, and perceived by fellow prisoners as a target because they thought jail was 'too good' for him.
He was jailed in 2013 after admitting a catalogue of child sex offences, including engaging in sexual activity with a child.
He was handed consecutive 14-year and 15-year jail terms, with further sentences for 11 other offences to run alongside the 29-year minimum term.
Watkins went into cardiac arrest after three knife wounds were inflicted to his face and neck on October 11, 2025, with one slash severing his left jugular vein.
Describing the 'persistence' of the attack, Mr Storey said: 'The intention was to cause Watkins at least really serious harm, because what else would someone carrying out such an attack with such a weapon have intended?'
During the attack, the jury heard that Gedel said to Watkins: 'This is what paedophiles deserve.'
Mr Storey said such words were 'as clear an indication of his underlying motive as you could hope for'.
In the moments following the incident, as prison staff attended to Watkins, Gedel was escorted past the open cell door and recorded saying: 'Have a good night's sleep, Watkins lad.'
To officers back in his own cell, he added: 'Hopefully he goes to sleep,' before later asking: 'Let me know when he dies.'
Speaking to jurors, Mr Storey said: 'It's obviously a matter for you what he meant by his use of the word 'sleep'.
'Was he just, as he said to you in evidence, being sarcastic here? Or was he in reality expressing the hope from the very outset that Ian Watkins would die?'
The court was shown CCTV footage of Watkins staggering from his cell following the knifing, with blood visible on his clothing.
He suffered catastrophic blood loss from one 10.5cm wound through his voice-box and jugular vein.
Gedel - who is serving a life-sentence - admitted to killing Watkins and spoke openly of his 'hatred' and 'disgust' for sex offenders. However, he said he did not mean to cause serious harm.
He told the court that he targeted Watkins to force a move to segregation because he no longer wanted to be on a wing with 'the people I hate the most'.
Giving evidence, Gedel said he was 'at peace' and 'content' that Watkins died, saying: 'The only guilt I would feel about that is how his victims felt.'
Mr Storey encouraged the jury not to be clouded by Watkins' crimes, adding that the murder trial was not regarding if 'Ian Watkins might in some way have deserved to be attacked'.
He said Gedel had intended to kill or seriously injure the paedophile singer by 'slashing his face and neck three times in quick succession'.
Prosecutors claim Dodsworth was aware the attack on Watkins was going to happen, and acted as a lookout before dumping the blade in a bin.
The court heard Gedel said in his evidence that, in addition to disposing of the weapon, Dodsworth had also given it to him - which Dodsworth denied.
Mr Storey said Gedel labelled Dodsworth as 'resourceful' and someone that 'could obtain things for you,' however, Dodsworth said this did not include providing him with a weapon.
Mr Storey added that Gedel 'has every reason to lie about Dodsworth', who falls into the 'category of prisoner Gedel despises' due to his conviction of raping a woman.
He added to the jurors that CCTV of Gedel handing Dodsworth the knife in the moments following the Watkins attack shows him striding toward Gedel as if he 'knew what he was doing' and 'was expecting it'.
This, he said, contradicted Dodsworth's claim that he was surprised by Gedel and attempted to give him the knife back.
Mr Justice Hilliard discouraged embarking 'on an inquiry' into Gedel's evidence about his time in jail - which included claims that he hated being housed with sex offenders and had threatened to assault 'any number of paedophiles' if he was not transferred.
He added that the court had only heard Gedel's version of events, saying: 'You have not heard from those who run various prisons to explain how and why they are run with the resources they have and the issues they have to deal with.'
The trial continues.
