How Essex Police caught the 'violent and determined' man who plotted to murder Holly Willoughby
Det Chief Inspector Greg Wood speaking after the verdict
Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.
An isolated, deluded fantasist or a violent danger to women? That was the question put to jurors about Gavin Plumb, a security guard from Essex who planned to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby.
For Essex Police and the jury, the answer was overwhelmingly clear. Plumb's plot was not just a "fantasy", as he insisted throughout his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Rather, Plumb had an "obsession" with the TV star, had bought an "abduction kit", researched how to break in to her family home and believed his plans were just weeks away from becoming a reality.
The dangerous scheme was only foiled via a transatlantic tip-off, as an undercover US officer he was messaging online became "so fearful of the threats of violence" that he contacted UK authorities on 4 October last year.
Within hours, Essex Police stormed Plumb's home in Harlow and arrested him as he stood half-naked in his underwear.
On Thursday 4 July he was found guilty of soliciting murder, incitement to rape and incitement to kidnap.
Watch the moment Gavin Plumb is arrested by Essex Police at his home in Harlow (Credit: Essex Police).
'Dungeon'
The court heard Gavin Plumb had developed an “obsession” with the former This Morning presenter over a number of years.
That obsession had led the 37-year-old to lay the groundwork for an elaborate plan to make his ultimate fantasy a reality.
Police found Plumb's internet search history showed a fascination with rape and murder and messages saying "fantasy isn’t enough any more. I want the real thing”.
He began conspiring online with a man he knew as David Nelson, sending him a photograph of an "abduction kit" - including handcuffs and metal cable ties - and telling him of plans to "ambush" the presenter at her family home, rape her at a "dungeon", murder her and "put her into a lake at night".
In disturbing voice notes, Plumb added that he would have made Ms Willoughby record a video saying she was coming with him under her own free will.
This message, he said, would "cover us".
Gavin Plumb sent voice messages to suspected accomplices in his plot to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby (Credit: Essex Police).
Plumb even told Nelson he was going to take time off work to get his plans into place.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it was not sure how imminent Plumb's attack was, but that Nelson had sent images of a plane ticket to the UK for mid-October - a date two weeks after Plumb's eventual arrest.
Responding to Nelson's message, Plumb, seemingly giddy, said: "It's really happening."
At that point, Plumb was unaware David Nelson was actually an undercover officer from the Owatonna Police Department in the US state of Minnesota who was to prove vital in his downfall.
The undercover officer believed Plumb was a "credible threat" and was so alarmed by the threats of violence that he got the FBI to contact UK authorities immediately.
Plumb was arrested, his plans foiled. Police then called Holly Willoughby to give her full assurances of her safety.
Ms Willoughby, who waived her legal right to anonymity, was described as "incredibly brave" by Essex Police.
'Determined and pre-meditated'
Throughout his two-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, Plumb's lawyers insisted his plans were a "dark and twisted fantasy, but fantasy nonetheless".
That defence was not believed by jurors, with Essex Police and the CPS putting together a compelling amount of evidence against him.
Plumb had a track record of violence against women.
In 2007, he was given a suspended sentence for the attempted kidnap of two air-stewardesses on board the Stansted Express. In both incidents he tried to force them off the train using an imitation gun and a threatening note.
Two years later he was jailed for 32 months for the false imprisonment of two 16 year old girls from the Woolworths stockroom in Harlow.
Adding those previous convictions to his disturbing search history, detailed research of how he would kidnap Ms Willoughby and his conversations with the US officer, Essex Police showed Plumb was a dangerous man whose plans were no "fantasy".
Det Ch Insp Greg Wood said: "Let’s be clear, Gavin Plumb is a violent, determined individual.
"There were clear opportunities for him if it was a fantasy as he says it was, and I’m clear that it wasn’t. He had opportunities to make that distinction and he didn’t.
"When you look at his previous offences, he’s committed some really significant crimes to real women that undoubtedly will have had a lifelong effect on them.
"I have got no doubt that Gavin Plumb was determined and pre-meditated to carry out his attack."
Those beliefs are shared by special prosecutor Nicola Rice, who said the CPS had to prove the Harlow man was "more than just a fantasist".
"[Plumb] had purchased chloroform and a knife - that was above and beyond fantasy," Ms Rice said.
"There was no need for him to research the victim’s home address and where they could access. It shows what a dangerous threat he was to women.
"The conversations were very graphic and very unpleasant. As a woman I feel unsettled by the hatred against women that was being spread in these groups.
"We’re delighted by the convictions that we’ve achieved. I hope the victim can feel very reassured that he will be in prison for some time to come."
Plumb will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday July 12.
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