One of the men accused of murdering convicted sex offender Ian Watkins allegedly declared, 'This is what paedophiles deserve' as he cut his throat with an improvised blade, a court has heard.
Rico Gedel, 25, claims he was 'set up,' he told jurors while giving evidence on Wednesday (May 13) at Leeds Crown Court. Gedel is standing trial alongside Samuel Dodsworth, 43, whom he identified as having supplied him with a makeshift knife to use on Watkins.
During his testimony, Gedel described the moment he stabbed and slashed disgraced Lostprophets frontman Watkins in a 20-second attack at HMP Wakefield on October 11 last year.
Watkins, 48, was sentenced to 29 years in prison in December 2013 with a further six years on licence, after pleading guilty to a catalogue of sex offences – including the attempted rape of a fan's baby.
The singer was taken into custody following the execution of a drugs warrant at his Pontypridd home on September 21 2012, when a substantial number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were confiscated. Examination of the equipment revealed Watkins' depraved conduct, reports Yorkshire Live.
Gedel stated on Wednesday that he believed he needed to attack a sex offender in order to be removed from the wing and placed into segregation, with the aim of securing a transfer to another prison — something he claimed he had previously informed a probation worker he intended to do. He also expressed his strong disapproval of sex offenders, stating: 'It makes me feel disgusted. No human should inflict such pain on anyone, whether they are male or female...I'd like to say as well: The reason I feel so disgusted about sexual assaults, sexual assault is not something you can take away. It is not something that heals overnight, it is something people live with for the rest of their lives.'
The court was informed that Gedel was convicted of murder in 2023, with an appeal to overturn the conviction being rejected by the Court of Appeal. He has subsequently served time in HMP Belmarsh, HMP Full Sutton and HMP Wakefield.
He told the jury: 'When you get found guilty of a crime you haven't committed and have to spend the rest of your life in prison, you have no hope or future. The things you learned along the way, all your hopes and dreams, you have to throw them away.'
Gedel revealed he had been involved in violent incidents in prison, both as the aggressor and as a victim. He explained his need to possess weapons in prison, saying: 'Belmarsh is known for violence in prison, for me it was necessary.' He added: 'For someone who is not a murderer to be in a setting with prisoners, I had to match the energy and protect myself by all means. I was by myself.'
The convicted murderer also admitted to assaulting someone in order to 'get off the wing.' He said: 'The first time I met Watkins, obviously I'm in a prison I don't want to be in, surrounded by people I don't want to be 10 foot near. I don't want to be in touching distance with them - paedophiles and sex offenders. It was within my first month, he was on the same wing. I knew he was a paedophile. When I went to Wakefield, I had friends with already on the wing from other prisons that were not sex offenders, so I needed to know who was in proximity and one of my friends told me who was exactly in my proximity and who was on my landing and who I needed to be aware of. It was probably well-known [who Watkins] was.'
The court was told that Gedel and Watkins had previously crossed paths on another wing, where verbal altercations had taken place. Gedel revealed he had called Watkins a 'paedophile' and a 'scumbag,' with Watkins retaliating with racial abuse.
He explained that he was subsequently relocated to B wing, in the cell adjacent to Watkins, following assaults on three fellow prisoners, one of whom he claimed had been selling baby photographs. He became aware that Watkins was his neighbour when he overheard him requesting a prison officer to print off a photograph of a woman.
Gedel told the court: 'Initially, I didn't care, because I didn't want to stay on that wing and in my head, I thought from previous experience from whether it is me smoking cannabis or what not or what not, any minor offence would have me segregated so I didn't think I would stay there for long because I told them I needed to go to segregation and get transferred.'
Gedel explained that upon discovering Watkins was in the neighbouring cell, he 'just started giving him verbal and he started giving verbal back.' Drawing comparisons to their previous encounter, he stated: 'He was just calling me a s***stain. I remember that...It was a lot of racial slurs. Obviously I called him a scumbag and a paedophile. In my head, I thought he wasn't going to come out, because my previous experience with him, he never came out. I wouldn't waste energy on someone I'm not going to see.'
The following day, Gedel recounted visiting a fellow inmate to relay a message to his former wing regarding possessions he had left behind and money he was owed, which is when he encountered Dodsworth. He admitted that he had initially been reluctant to reveal who had provided him with the weapon, not wishing to be branded a 'snitch', but added: 'I don't want to defend the type of person he is. I was given the weapon by Dodsworth.' Gedel stated: 'Dodsworth came to Amjad [another inmate]. Initially I told him to 'go away.' I didn't want him around me at that moment, because I was very angry about my situation. He went away and he came back and I told him I needed a weapon. I didn't tell him the reason. I needed a weapon because in my head, there was no other option, but to cause violence to get off the wing. We all left the cell.'
Gedel informed the court he was provided with the weapon and returned to his cell to contemplate using it. He explained: 'I was there, I was talking to myself, saying 'There are other ways to get off the wing.' In the sense of, I can probably wait and hopefully speak to a governor, someone who is in charge. I was arguing with myself saying 'Wait, or just get on with it.' Normally, when I speak myself into situations, it's hard to speak myself out of them.'
Gedel described himself as someone who 'doesn't think much' and is impulsive. He remarked: 'Some of my friends say I've got a brain cell and a bag of skittles.' He continued: 'My heart was saying he deserves it, he's a paedophile, think of his victims. My brain was saying 'this isn't the thing to do, it's like water and oil, it doesn't mix.'
Describing the assault, Gedel said: 'The first person that popped into my mind was Watkins...There's no easy way to say it. I stabbed him in his neck, slashed him. It wasn't a poking motion, it was a slicing motion.' Gedel stated that neither he nor Watkins spoke when he entered his cell. He said: 'I slashed his throat. Blood didn't immediately come out, so I slashed his ear. I didn't think I got his ear, I thought I'd got his cheek, and I thought I'd got his neck, so I slashed him again and that's when he started bleeding. I said, 'This is what paedophiles deserve.''
Gedel stated that Watkins did not respond and added: 'I don't think he could speak. It was like a mumbled speak, saying 'Help.'' He informed the court that he believed he was 'set up.' He said: 'Every prison officer I interacted with, I told them my disgust of sex offenders and said 'I can't be in this prison, I don't know how long I'm going to last.' Every single time I assaulted someone, it was not minor. I was assaulting a lot of sex offenders...When you look at the situation, the response of the prison officers, they knew I was going to do it.' He added: 'They only knew I'd done it because they knew I was the only person to do it. The first officer, he knew before Watkins even told him. They knew how I felt about sex offenders. I'm not here to prove my innocence. I admit to what's happened. I take full responsibility for what happened, whether that was the intent or not. But the prison officers are just as much to blame as I am.'
