Judge forced to discharge jury in trial over murder of paedophile Ian Watkins

The jury for the trial of two prisoners who are accused of murdering paedophile Ian Watkins has been discharged for legal reasons.

The disgraced singer was stabbed to death by Rico Gedel, 25, in his cell at high-security HMP Wakefield last October, where he was serving a 29-year sentence for child sexual offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard that after walking out of the cell, Gedel handed the makeshift knife to fellow inmate Samuel Dodsworth, 44, who threw it in a bin.

Both defendants denied murdering Watkins and possessing a knife in prison.

On Friday the judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, discharged the jury, telling them: ‘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.’

Gedel told the trial 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.

Gedel said ‘part of him’ wanted to kill Watkins, but another part did not, adding: ‘Sometimes what your heart wants is not what your brain wants.’

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.

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.

Watkins was jailed for 29 years in December 2013, with a further six years on licence, after admitting a string of sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.

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