Holly Willoughby kidnap trial – live: ‘Obsessed’ Gavin Plumb made abduction kit with knife and handcuffs
An “obsessed” man accused of a plot to abduct, rape and murder Holly Willoughby purchased a ‘kidnap kit’ in preparation for the alleged attack, his trial has heard.
Gavin Plumb, 37, is due to again appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday after being charged in October with soliciting a man to commit murder, incitement to kidnap and incitement to rape.
Prosecutors told jurors on Monday, the first day of the trial, that the shopping centre security officer’s past convictions – including tying a 16-year-old girl’s hands behind her back with rope and tape, and the attempted kidnap of women on a train with the threat of a gun – showed he knew “what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman”.
The 37-year-old is accused of conspiring online with another man and creating a “detailed plan” to carry out his “ultimate fantasy” of targeting Ms Willoughby, 43, including assembling a “kidnap and restraint kit” of metal cable ties, a knife and chloroform – a liquid drug used to stupefy victims.
Plumb, of Harlow, Essex, denies all charges.
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Why can we identify Ms Willoughby?
Ms Willoughby has waived her right to anonymity in connection with an accusation against Plumb of assisting or encouraging rape.
Alleged victims of sex offences or targets of sex offence conspiracies have a right to automatic anonymity for life from the moment an allegation is made by them or anyone else.
Ms Willoughby, 43, announced in October last year that she was stepping down from This Morning after 14 years on the ITV show.
She said in a social media post at the time that she felt “I have to make this decision for me and my family”.
The presenter has since hosted Dancing On Ice 2024 and will present a Netflix show, to be released next year, in which adventurer Bear Grylls hunts down celebrities in the jungle.
Alex Ross25 June 2024 10:28
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What happened yesterday
After the jury was sworn in, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC opened the case against Gavin Plumb for the Crown Prosecution Service at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Plumb, a shopping centre security officer, was accused of hatching a plot to kidnap, rape and solicit the murder of the star. It’s was also alleged that he considered trying to get employment as her security guard to get close to her.
Ms Morgan said:
- Plumb has past convictions including the attempted kidnap of a women on a train with the threat of a gun
- Plumb hatched “graphic” plans to kidnap, rape and murder Ms Willoughby with an undercover police officer from the US
- The plans involved attempting to “ambush” the presenter at her family home
- Plumb had accumulated “many hundreds” of images of Ms Willoughby that he had accessed online
Plumb, of Harlow, Essex, denies all the charges.
Andre Langlois25 June 2024 10:16
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Day two of the trial
Good morning,
Live updates from court will resume in just over two hours when the court sits again.
Gavin Plumb is accused of plotting to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby.
The shopping centre security officer, of Potters Field, Harlow, will appear at Chelmsford Crown Court shortly.
Alex Ross25 June 2024 08:13
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We will resume live updates when court sits again at 10.30am tomorrow
We are pausing our blog and will be resuming live updates when court sits again at 10.30am tomorrow.
Please follow The Independent’s homepage for all the latest in the meantime.
Tara Cobham24 June 2024 17:02
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Full story: Holly Willoughby ‘obsessed’ man made kidnap kit with knife, handcuffs and chloroform, court told
An “obsessed” security guard who purchased a ‘kidnap kit’ and chloroform to abduct, rape and murder Holly Willoughby knew how to “terrify and overpower a woman”, a court heard.
Gavin Plumb, 37, had previously attacked women using both a knife and an imitation firearm before he formulated a detailed plan to kidnap and kill the television personality in a home invasion.
A 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 alleged attack.
Crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin has the full story from Chelmsford Crown Court:
Holly Willoughby ‘obsessed’ man made kidnap kit with knife and handcuffs, court told
Gavin Plumb had ‘real life experience of violence towards women’ and said he would slit the star’s throat, trial hears
Tara Cobham24 June 2024 16:50
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Court adjourns for day
Court has adjourned for the day at Chelmsford Crown Court.
The trial of Gavin Plumb will continue at 10.30am tomorrow.
Tara Cobham24 June 2024 16:33
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Kidnap plans – which involved ‘catastrophic violence’ - were interrupted by arrest, court told
Ms Morgan KC told Chelmsford Crown Court: “The defendant’s planning of these offences was interrupted by his arrest. He never got to the point of encountering Holly Willoughby.
“She did not meet him and the offences that the Prosecution alleges against this defendant, which if carried out would have involved catastrophic violence against her, were disrupted.”
Amy-Clare Martin at Chelmsford Crown Court24 June 2024 15:44
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When arrested, jurors told Plumb said: ‘I’m not gonna lie. She’s a fantasy of mine.’
The defendant was arrested on 4 October last year after the undercover US officer alerted the FBI and the Metropolitan Police.
He was shocked when police arrived at his home in Harlow, Essex, the court heard.
When the charges were explained to him, he responded: “I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine.”
Amy-Clare Martin at Chelmsford Crown Court24 June 2024 15:42
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Plumb had 10,322 images of Holly Willoughby on his phone, court hears
Police who analysed Gavin Plumb’s mobile phone found that he had 10,322 images of Holly Willoughby in a folder called “Holly”, a court heard.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told Chelmsford Crown Court: “There was a folder in fact on the defendant’s telephone which was called ‘Holly’ and it contained 10,322 images of Holly Willoughby.”
Tara Cobham24 June 2024 15:30
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Defendant shared video of ‘kit’ including shackles, ball gag and cable ties, court told
Plumb shared a video with an undercover police officer of his “kit” laid out on a bed.
Alison Morgan KC told the court the footage showed equipment including hand and ankle shackles, a ball gag, rope, metal cable ties and handcuffs.
These items would later be found at the defendant’s home address, the jury was told.
Amy-Clare Martin at Chelmsford Crown Court24 June 2024 15:22
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