A judge at Leeds Crown Court discharged the jury on Friday in the trial of two inmates charged with murdering convicted child sex offender Ian Watkins.
Rico Gedel, 25, and Samuel Dodsworth, 44, both pleaded not guilty to murder and possessing a knife in prison.
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A retrial is provisionally scheduled for February 8 next year.
Watkins, the 48-year-old former frontman of the rock band Lostprophets, died after being stabbed in the head and neck inside his cell at HMP Wakefield on October 11, 2025.
“Very reluctantly, I'm going to discharge you and the case will have to be re-tried,” said Mr Justice Hilliard, the presiding judge, addressing the jury.
He added, “That's disappointing for you and for everyone.”
Prosecutors said Gedel attacked Watkins with a makeshift blade attached to plastic cutlery, while Dodsworth helped dispose of the weapon in a trash bin after the incident.
Gedel, already serving a life sentence for murder, admitted he targeted Watkins after being moved to an adjacent cell, stating, “This is what paedophiles deserve.”
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Prison recordings captured Gedel laughing and asking guards, “Let me know when he dies.” He also said, “Have a good night's sleep Watkins lad.”
Gedel testified that his actions stemmed from a severe hatred for sex offenders in the facility.
He described his conflicted mental state: “Sometimes what your heart wants is not what your brain wants.”
Prosecutors maintained that both inmates shared responsibility because Dodsworth “knew the attack was going to happen.” Dodsworth was serving a sentence for rape at the time.
Watkins had been serving a 29-year sentence imposed in December 2013 for multiple child sex offenses.
The sentencing judge, Mr Justice Royce, described the crimes as “plunged into new depths of depravity.”
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Watkins had previously survived a prison hostage situation and stabbing incident at the same facility in 2023.
