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An “obsessed” security guard who purchased a ‘kidnap kit’ with shackles and chloroform has been found guilty of plotting to abduct, rape and cut the throat of TV personality Holly Willoughby.
Jurors took 12 hours and 19 minutes to unanimously convict Gavin Plumb, 37, for masterminding a depraved scheme to target the former This Morning presenter - who was his “ultimate fantasy” – in a home invasion.
Plumb, who had attacked women twice before, was caught after he unwittingly revealed details of his attack to an undercover US officer in a chatroom called ‘Abduct Lovers’.
The shopping centre security guard, whose weight once ballooned to 35 stone, lowered his head and sobbed in the dock as he was found guilty of soliciting murder, incitement to rape and incitement on Thursday.
On hearing that Plumb had been found guilty, Ms Willoughby said in a statement: “As women we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes. I will forever be grateful to the undercover police officer who understood the imminent threat, and to the Metropolitan and Essex police forces for their swift response.”
She went on to thank prosecutors, the judge and jury and commended “the bravery of his previous victims for speaking up at the time. Without their bravery this conviction may not have been possible.”
Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court were told the father of two had “terrified, subdued, threatened and detained real women” before after he tried to kidnap two air stewards from a Stansted Express train in 2006 – once armed with an imitation firearm.
After receiving a suspended sentence, he struck again two years later, this time threatening two 16-year-old girls with Stanley knife in a warehouse stockroom.
The girls were “screaming and crying” as he tried to tie them up, before they managed to escape and raise the alarm.
He bragged about his previous attacks in messages with a potential accomplice he met online, later telling the undercover officer: “I got 16 months. Our justice system is s*** tbh.”
The court heard how Plumb revealed his sexual obsession with Ms Willoughby, who has waived her right to anonymity, in more than 1,000 messages shown to the jury with an online user called ‘Marc’ and later with an undercover officer using the alias David Nelson.
In a series of conversations between 2021 and 2023, he shared images of Ms Willoughby’s home, discussed ‘ambush points’ and shared deepfake pornographic images of the Dancing on Ice presenter.
In one message, Plumb said: “...getting her has been my ultimate fantasy for way too long. I’m now at the point that fantasy isn’t enough anymore. I want the real thing.”
The trial heard it was his “ultimate fantasy” to target Ms Willoughby, 43, and he had purchased metal cable ties, a knife and chloroform – a liquid drug used to stupefy victims – in preparation for an attack.
Using the online identity ‘BigBear’, Plumb revealed to the undercover officer his plans to invade Ms Willoughby’s home and tie up her husband before taking the star away to “enjoy her”.
At various points Plumb and Marc discussed taking the mother of three to an abandoned building, including a disused stud farm with “15 cells”, his flat in Harlow, Essex, or to a dungeon type room where “no one would hear her screams”.
Afterwards, Plumb said he would “slit her throat” and dispose of her body.
“The defendant had shared a video with the officer showing real items in his possession, which he described as his “kit” of materials, laid out on a bed; to include hand and ankle shackles, ball gag, rope, metal cable ties and handcuffs. These items would later be found at the defendant’s home address,” prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the jury.
Giving evidence via video link from the US, the undercover officer attached to the Owatonna Police Department in Minnesota, said he feared Ms Willoughby was in “immediate danger” from Plumb.
The officer, who monitored online forums where he investigated murder for hire, kidnap and human trafficking, said Plumb had shared personal information about the star and her security arrangements under the username“BigBear341987”.
The US officer contacted the UK authorities. When he was arrested in Essex on 4 October and charges read out, Plumb said: “I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine.”
Police later found more than million images of women on his devices – including 10,322 of Ms Willoughby.
Plumb, who denied all the charges, insisted he had attacked women in the past to escape his “toxic relationship” in a “cry for help” before his weight ballooned to 35st, as he gave evidence in his own defence.
He also claimed two bottles of chloroform found at his address had been purchased to clean a stain on his carpet, despite having carried out internet searches on its effects.
The bottles were later tested and found to be a mixture of ethanol and water after he purchased them from a homeopathic website,
He told the court his life was online and he engaged fantasy discussions in forums about celebrities, adding that Ms Willoughby was his “celebrity crush”.
Although he admitted his conversations with an online user called ‘Marc’ were “dark”, he insisted he never planned to follow through with the plot.
“It was talk – nothing more,” he said.
Sasha Wass KC, defending, described Plumb as an “isolated and lonely individual who lived out his fantasy life online”.
However, in her closing remarks, prosecutor Ms Morgan insisted Plumb was a “sly individual” and a “prolific liar” who gained sexual arousal from his “real” plans.
“He has terrified, subdued, threatened and detained real women against their will,” she told the jury. “He has carried weapons for that purpose. He has carried ropes for that purpose.
“Real people exist in the world now who were threatened and touched by this man and he was looking … to learn how to avoid those mistakes again.
“Looking to make sure that he didn’t fall into the errors that led to women being able to get away from him.”
Following the verdicts, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Greg Wood, of Essex Police, said: “Gavin Plumb is a dangerous, predatory individual who was intent on causing the most serious harm to his victim.
“He was not just simply obsessed with Holly Willoughby, he meticulously and carefully planned, over a number of years, to carry out a depraved and violent attack, in which he plotted to deprive her of her liberty and ultimately her life.
“His claims in court that he was a ‘fantasist’ are simply not true and were evidenced by the extent with which he plotted with others to carry out his wicked plan.”
He also noted Plumb’s online chats in the group ‘Abduct Lovers’ were not hidden, adding: “There’s a responsibility on all of us including social media companies to really regulate what goes on online.”
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Gavin Plumb is a dangerous man who plotted unspeakable violence against one of the nation’s most familiar faces.
“Despite his attempts to pass himself off as a harmless fantasist, the prosecution persuaded the jury that Plumb posed a very real threat.
“I hope his conviction brings some comfort to Holly Willoughby and her family and shows others that the Crown Prosecution Service will always seek the strongest possible charges against those who plot violence against women.”
Plumb is due to be sentenced on 12 July.
