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Gavin Plumb to give evidence in Holly Willoughby trial as he denies all charges

28 June 2024 , 10:50
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Holly Willoughby
Holly Willoughby 'kidnap' trial as accused Plumb's 'kidnap kit' shown in court

The trial of Gavin Plumb, 37, who is accused of soliciting murder, incitement to rape and incitement to kidnap in relation to TV presenter Holly Willoughby is to give evidence in his own defence at Chelmsford Crown Court today.

Plumb, who denies all the charges, is accused of attempting to live out his ‘ultimate fantasy’ and has been described by the prosecution as someone who had an ‘obsession’ with the former This Morning host. The jury has previously been told that security guard Plumb, from Harlow, Essex, first became involved in an online chat with an undercover police officer calling himself David Nelson on October 3 last year. Mr Nelson was questioned in court on Thursday.

Plumb has been remanded in custody since October last year over an alleged plot to kidnap, rape and murder the former This Morning anchor, with the court today shown images of his alleged 'kidnap kit' - complete with rope, cable ties and handcuffs

The shopping centre security officer is charged with soliciting murder, and incitement to commit a kidnapping between 2nd and 5th October. Willoughby was alerted to the alleged plot moments before going on air to present This Morning on 5th October. She later quit the ITV show after 14 years.

Gavin Plumb says he 'massively regrets' entering into 'dark' chat groups about Holly Willoughby

Plumb is asked about messages with another chat group user called ‘Marc’ about Ms Willoughby and plans for a home invasion he insists it was “nothing more than me and him chatting but it really started to get dark basically”.

Man who 'killed 4 students' was 'creepy' regular at brewery and 'harassed women' eiqduidqiqztprwMan who 'killed 4 students' was 'creepy' regular at brewery and 'harassed women'

He is then asked about deep fake pictures from Twitter which were shared on the group chat which he admits it was not difficult to get hold of. Ms Wass asks what effect did these interactions have on Plumb and he replies: “Looking back now it is something that is massively regrettable, it is not the kind of chat I would normally participate in.”

Defence barrister Sasha Wass KC asks Plumb if he found the content of this chat exciting. Plumb says: “At the time, during the chat, yes. Asked about whether he thought talk about abduction was real he said “No”. He said: “It was gratification, it was something I knew was never going to happen. I was just passing the time chatting.”

Plumb tells court of his 'dark' conversations about Holly Willoughby on 'Abduct Lovers' chat group

Talking about his chats on groups like ‘Abduct lovers’, Plumb tells the court his chats began to become more ‘dark’.

He describes how he met others on a Holly Willoughby group chat by 2021 and describes her as his “celebrity crush” and said he could speak about her on the chat group five to six times a day.

Gavin Plumb was told by doctors he had four years to live as he ballooned to 35st

Plumb tells the court how in 2018 his weight had ballooned to 35st and he was housebound with a doctor telling him he could be dead within four years.

He said he never left the house and suffered mentally. He said: “It was damaging my mental health, it was making me feel so low, I felt as though I did not want to talk to anyone because I was a burden.”

Asked how he spent his time he said: “My life was a lie” and he explained he would spend his time online having ‘wholesome’ chats about having sex with celebrities online. "I was having sex with people that were brought up in the chats, it could completely vary, people from different chat rooms, or again celebrities.

Asked if Ms Willoughby was on his radar at the time he said: “She would have been more on my radar as I was home all the time watching things like daytime TV."

Gavin Plumb quizzed on extreme bondage equipment - including anal hook

Asked about his bondage gear, including handcuffs, ankle ties and an anal hook Plumb insists it was all for BDSM with a consenting partner.

It also included a tickler, a blindfold, ring gag, ball gag collar lead and a whip, most of which were bought online. Asked about the collar he tells the court that it was for someone “submissive”.

Husband and wife enjoy Xmas dinner days before she's charged with his murderHusband and wife enjoy Xmas dinner days before she's charged with his murder

He explains: “In BDSM you have someone who is dominant and someone who is submissive.” Defence barrister Ms Wass asks plumb ‘Why did you buy an anal hook?’ To which he replies: “It was part of the set and is BDSM.”

Plumb tells court of his BDSM fetish and 'dark' fantasies about Holly Willoughby

After getting out of prison for the second time Plumb tells the court how he struggled to get a job and put on weight while spending a lot of time online.

He admits he fantasized about having sex with lots of people and discussed this with friends online. He said: “It would be a celeb or random people from various sites.”

Although he said he did not think much about Holly Willoughby at the time, although admitted his later online chats about Ms Willoughby were ‘dark’. He said: “It is dark, it is not the route I would normally go down for a chat.”

He also revealed his interest in bondage began with a woman in 2014 and he described their sex life as one of “BDSM and rough sex”.

Court hears of Plumb's 'stewardess fantasy' after failed kidnap attempt on woman

Plumb admitted he had a cabin crew fantasy at the time saying: “Yes I had a stewardess fantasy back then. I was on the train and it was empty and that person was the first person I approached.”

Asked if he thought about the victims feelings he said: “If I had thought about it in more detail then yes I would have but for me it was just about getting away from the relationship I was in.”

No police turned up after that incident and two days later he tried again and was caught with an imitation firearm which he tells the court he did not realise he had on him at the time.

Speaking about the incident in the shop in 2008 again Ms Wass asks what was on his mind during the incident in which the girls were described as ‘screaming and shouting’.

He said: “It was exactly the same as two years before, I needed a way out of the relationship and knowing full well it worked the first time so thought I would try something really big again to get out of it.”

Plumb tells court failed kidnap attempts were bid to escape from toxic relationship

The defence brings up Plumb’s previous failed kidnap attempts between 2006 and 2008.

In 2006 he attempted to force two different women off a train with him in the course of two days with a note and in one incident with the threat of a gun. And in 2008 he threatened two shop employees with a box cutter and tied one up with rope before they escaped.

Plumb told the court the incidents were a means to get him out of the toxic relationship he was in at the time. Asked by the defence what was going through his mind during the attempt in 2006 he said: “For me it was my only option in the toxic relationship I was in, I needed to find a way out. It was going to get me caught, incarcerated."

Plumb tells court about his one and only toxic past relationship

Asked if he had any girlfriends as a teenager, Plumb said: “I was regualrly in the friend zone, nothing more.”

Ms Wass asks “Did you want more?” And Plumb replied: “With a couple, course.” He revealed he got together with his first and only serious girlfriend at 18 but he said it was not a good relationship. He said: “It was extremely toxic there was constant arguments.”

Asked what effect that had on him he said: “It was a massive, I do not want to be in a relatinshp with other people, I was contantly put down and told I was not good enough.”

Plumb's weight has held him back in life and led to mental health issues, court hears

Gavin Plumb has taken the stand in his own defence at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Defence barrister Sasha Wass KC brings up his weight and Plumbs says “from the age of 13 onwards my weight began to fluctuate”. He said: “Being a 13-year- old you are supposed to be active, playing football and things like that that but I struggled with and it really badly affected my mental health.

“It was somethng that just constantly put me down personally, I was not able to go and do whta my friends and brothers were doing.

Gavin Plump to give evidence in his own defence at Chelmsford Crown Court

Security guard Gavin Plumb is set to give evidence in his own defence at Chelmsford Crown Court where he is on trial accused of plotting to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby.

It is claimed Plumb was attempting to live out his ‘ultimate fantasy’ and has been described by the prosecution as someone who had an ‘obsession’ with the former This Morning host.

Plumb denies all charges.

Court has finished for the day

Day two of the court case surrounding the alleged plot to kidnap, rape and murder Holly Willoughby has concluded for the day.

Check mirror.co.uk and mirror.co.uk/all-about/holly-willoughby for updates.

Undercover police officer Mr Nelson has concluded his evidence in court

Mr Nelson has now concluded his eveidence in court.

On the the final part of his questioning, Mr Nelson told the court that he was 'very alarmed' by Plumb's extensive kidnap plot after he revealed he had plans to steal Holly Willoughby's vehicle.

Mr Nelson also detailed how Plumb planned to murder the This Morning star. He said: "He had indicated in previous messages that he was planning to cut her throat. He indicated he was planning on using kitchen knives so as not to raise suspicions.”

Gavin Plumb told cop 'plan to cut Holly Willoughby’s throat and dispose of body', court hears

Alison Morgan KC asks Mr Nelson if Plumb showed any reluctance about the alleged plan to which Mr Nelson replies: “No, and in fact I asked several times for points of clarification if it was fantasy or reality.”

He then speaks about Plumb’s alleged plans for murder and outlines how Plumb told him he planned to cut Ms Willoughby’s throat before disposing of her body.

He said: “He had indicated in previous messages that he was planning to cut her throat. He indicated he was planning on using kitchen knives so as not to raise suspicions.”

Undercover police officer tells court Plumb 'didn't intend on carrying out kidnap plot alone'

Alison Morgan KC asks Mr Nelson about the kidnap kit shown to him by Plumb.

He says: “Looking at everything in totality of this video including the ankle shackles, the metal cable ties, which are difficult to cut off , this gear is intended to restrain somebody in the context of this conversation.

Ms Morgan asks if Mr Nelson knew that he had used ropes tie up and restrain a 16-year-old girl in the real world would that have caused him more or less concern to which he responds: “far more concern.” She then asks about the images of chloroform he was sent by Plumb and he reveals he has never seen this before in his entire career.

He said: “This is the first time I have come across a subject who had a chemical he could use to render a victim unconscious." He added: “This is not an act he intended on carrying out alone.”

Undercover police officer says he was 'very alarmed' by Plumb's clear kidnap plan, court hears

Mr Nelson is once again being asked questions by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC.

She asks him about Plumb’s comments on the chat group about his specific information about Ms Willoughby’s exact movements. She asks him what he categorises as fantasy in the group chat.

He explains people chat about liking the idea of kidnapping someone but often there is no “critical identifying information” about the party they would want to kidnap or murder. He said: “When I do engage specific individuals they typically leave the information vague, like someone they may have seen at a grocery store but make it clear it is fantasy and they have no desire to physically carry out this act.”

He revealed Plumb was not the first person to specifically name a person and tells the court he has acted on these instances before but he makes it clear it is mainly fantasy chat in his opinion from other users.

He says people in the group identify specific individuals rarely only once a year. Mr Nelson says Plumb’s posts made him “very alarmed.” He explains he asts based on the “threat posed” by having that information and sharing it with like minded individuals.

Plumb had plan to take Holly Willougbhy's vehicle in kidnap plot, court hears

Again defence barrister Ms Wass asks Mr Nelson about Plumb not having a car or a driving licence even though it was essential to the alleged plan.

Mr Nelson said: “In fact I asked him if it was going to be a problem and he said it was his plan to take her (Holly Willooughby’s) vehicle.” He added: “Mr Plumb had already indicated there was some kind of transit service like a bus or a train.”

Ms Wass asks: “There was no suggestion you were going to take Mrs Willoughby on public transport is there?” To which Mr Nelson responds: “No he suggested taking her car after she was taken from her residence.”

Ms Wass then asks: “Was this credible at all or complete nonsense?” Mr Nelson responds: “It is important to evaluate if this is fantasy or not and I asked him several times and he said it was not.”

Undercover cop tells defence he was 'worried about blowing cover', court hears

Defence barrister Sasha Wass resumes her cross examination of undercover cop David Nelson.

She asks him once again about the alleged plan outlined by Plumb and the geography of the area and asks if this is where Mr Nelson should have tested the credibility of the plan. He replies: “Would I have liked to know that information? Yes. At this point in the conversation it is hard to determine if this location was near to his house.

Ms Wass asks: “Why didn’t you just ask?” To which Mr Nelson explained he did not want to ask too many questions in case it blew his cover. He said: “That was not something that organically came up in the conversation. I would not say it made me re-evaluate the credibility of this type of plan, law enforcement needs to be very careful about geographical questions as a suspect could become suspicious.”:

Court hears undercover cop used codeword with Plumb in Holly kidnap plan

Defence barrister Sasha Wass asked Mr Nelson if the fact that Plumb did not drive caused him to question the plan.

He said: “No it did not because in the US it is not uncommon for someone without a driver’s licence to operate a motor vehicle. I did not think it posed a problem.” The pair also had a discussion about a code word for the plan.

Mr Nelson explained the purpose of that was to gain a sample of his voice for future investigations and Plumb decided the codeword would be ‘Holly’.

Asked if he thought Plumb was significantly overweight in the pictures Mr Nelson agreed he was overweight. Ms Wass then brought up the plan to jump the outer wall at Ms Willoughby’s house during the kidnap attempt.

She asked: “Knowing what he looked like and the state of his dimensions did that cause you to re-evaluate the credibility of this plan?” Mr Nelson said: “No it didn’t.”

Court hears undercover police officer 'believed there was credible threat to Holly Willoughby'

Asked if he thought the plan was credible Mr Nelson said: “Based on the totality of the conversation I believed there was a credible threat to Ms Willoughby.

He added: “This is not the first investigation I have conducted with kidnapping, sexual assaults and abductions and I would rather err on the side of caution.”

Undercover cop quizzed on handcuff strength, court hears

The jury heard how photos of Miss Willoughby’s home were shared and the officer asked how he would pull it off to which Plumb allegedly wrote: “Night home invasion by the time they are called I’ll be long gone.”

Defence barrister Sasha Wass KC asked Mr Nelson how he could tell if it was fantasy or reality and asked about a pair of handcuffs shown to Mr Nelson. Ms Wass said the handcuffs were “nothing like the strength of proper law enforcement handcuffs.”

Mr Nelson agreed but pointed out he had been involved on ther investigations where similar restraints were used saying: “I have seen handcuffs that were meant for sex toys, for want of a better term, however they can be used to restrain someone and not allow them to leave.”

Undercover police officer tells court 'alarm bells went off' over Plumb's 'obsession' with Holly

Defence barrister Sasha Wass KC cross examined Mr Nelson about his role in exposing Plumb’s alleged plot.
She asked him if there were fantasists who regularly operated online to which Mr Nelson agreed.

But he said: “I think it is fair to say that the bulk of conversation (in online groups) is fantasy but none were as specific as this,” in relation to the posts about Holly Willoughby by Plumb. I would say it is fair to say that the post on October 3 was enough to set alarm bells off with me.”

He described Plumb’s post in which he said he had ‘s**t loads of info’ on Ms Willoughby as “concerning”. Defence barrister Sasha Wass asked him if Nelson feared that Plumb had stalked Ms Willoughby to which he replied: “That was my understanding.”

Ms Wass asked Nelson why he offered Plumb help when Plumb had not requested any to which Mr Nelson replied it was an “open ended question to establish his intent” in order to work out Plumb’s true intentions.

He told Plumb he could travel if Plumb was “serious” about his plans. He explained: “I felt like it was important to establish if this was fantasy or reality at this point in the conversation. I was attempting to establish if this was fantasy for bigbear or something more for him.”

Gavin Plumb 'revealed details of his private life to undercover cop' who submitted info to FBI

The court heard today how the flurry of messaging between the accussed and Mr Nelson gradually led Plumb to revealing lots of detail about his life including information about his job and family life.

Mr Nelson took his information to a meeting with the FBI on October 4 who immediately contacted The Met police.

Gavin Plumb sent cop 'pictures of neighbour' who he said could be 'someone to practice on'

The court has heard today how Mr Melson slowly gained Gavin Plumb's trust.

He started by sharing a flight itinerary to London and a driver’s licence with Plumb in order to “gain trust” with him. He also asked for the same from Plumb in order to try and uncover his real identity.

The pair eventually exchanged live videos in order to achieve this while Plumb sent Nelson lots of pictures of Holly Willoughby plus other images of Plumb’s neighbour who Plumb said could be “someone to practice on.”

Mr Nelson asked him to “lay out his plan” explaining the he wanted Plumb to “lay out what he wanted to do and how he wanted to conduct his operation towards Ms Willoughby.”

Undercover police officer discovered Plumb's identity by 'slowing gaining his trust', court hears

Mr Nelson explained to the court how he tried to find out who ‘bigbear341987’ was by slowly gaining his trust.

He started by sharing a flight itinerary to London and a driver’s licence with Plumb in order to “gain trust” with him. He also asked for the same from Plumb in order to try and uncover his real identity.

The pair eventually exchanged live videos in order to achieve this while Plumb sent Nelson lots of pictures of Holly Willoughby plus other images of Plumb’s neighbour who Plumb said could be “someone to practice on.”

Mr Nelson asked him to “lay out his plan” explaining the he wanted Plumb to “lay out what he wanted to do and how he wanted to conduct his operation towards Ms Willoughby.” He explained to the court that the reason for this was to try and pinpoint where Plumb was which he then did by providing Mr Nelson with a google maps search of the distance between Holly Willoughby’s home and Plumb’s flat in Harlow.

The court heard how this flurry of messaging gradually led Plumb to reveal lots of detail about his life including information about his job and family life. Mr Nelson took his information to a meeting with the FBI on October 4 who immediately contacted The Met police.

Gavin Plumb sent undercover cop picture of the chloroform he had purchased online, court hears

Mr Nelson explained to the court that after contacting Plumb privately he had to google Ms Willoughby to find out who she was. He explained he asked open ended questions to Plumb in order to gather information from him and to see whether what he was describing was “fantasy or reality”.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC asked him about a video of the kidnapping and abduction kit that Plumb sent him which Mr Nelson described as “quite alarming”. The court heard Plumb later sent Mr Nelson a picture of the chloroform he had purchased online.

Mr Nelson told the court he had already alerted other law enforcement officials by this point

Undercover police officer felt there was an 'imminent threat' to Holly Willoughby, court hears

Mr Nelson felt that there was an immient threat to This Morning star after Plumb admitted to having a 's**t load' of information on her.

Plumb wrote on the group chat: "I have a s**t load of info on her I know when she does and doesn’t have security and she does not have CCTV, what time she gets up in the morning.” Nelson replied: “She is hot af dude.”

Asked by Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC why he chose to engage with Plumb at that point the undercover cop Nelson explained: “The fact that he identified he had a shit load of info on her and that he knew that she did not have security cameras at home. I felt that there was an imminent threat to the individual at that time.”

He explained that it was unusual for individuals to post such detailed information on the group of that nature which immediately alerted him.

Holly willoughby accuser used her photo as his profile image on 'abduction' chat group

Mr Nelson told the court that in October, 2023, he became aware of a user called ‘bigbear341987’ on the ‘Abduct Lovers’ group which turned out to be the defendant, Gavin Plumb.

His personal profile picture was a picture of Holly Willoughby. Mr Nelson told the court he did not know who she was at tha time.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC read out messages from the group. The first was from Plumb, using the pseudonym ‘bigbear341987’. He wrote: “The one in the public eye I want” to which undercover police officer Mr Nelson replied: “Nice”

Plumb then wrote: "I have a s**t load of info on her I know when she does and doesn’t have security and she does not have CCTV, what time she gets up in the morning.” To which Nelson replied: “She is hot af dude.”

Asked by Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC why he chose to engage with Plumb at that point the undercover cop Nelson explained: “The fact that he identified he had a s**t load of info on her and that he knew that she did not have security cameras at home. I felt that there was an imminent threat to the individual at that time.”

He explained that it was unusual for individuals to post such detailed information on the group of that nature which immediately alerted him.

Undercover police officer used fake ID's online to engage in Plumb investigation, court hears

Mr Nelson explained to the court he engages in online investigations and in order to do that assumes fake IDs online.

He told the court he looks out for human trafficking, kidnapping, murder for hire, narcotics and firearms sales. One of these groups he was in was called ‘Abduct Lovers’ which operated on a messenger app. He said: “What’s discuseed in that group is the kidapping, rape and abduction of other individuals”.

He revealed 50 individuals can be active in that group at any time.

Alleged kidnapper shared pics of Holly's home and said she had 'no security', jury told

Photos of Miss Willoughby’s home were shared and the officer asked: ‘How the hell would you pull this off without the cops finding out?’

Plumb allegedly wrote: ‘Night home invasion by the time they are called I’ll be long gone.

Undercover police officer set up fake profile to snare kidnapper, court hears

The jury has previously been told that security guard Plumb, from Harlow, Essex, first became involved in an online chat with an undercover police officer calling himself David Nelson on October 3 last year.

Nelson wrote: ‘Alright I’ll bite. Who’s the hottie with the lazy eye?’

Plumb explained it was Miss Willoughby and wrote: ‘She’s in the public eye but doesn’t have her own security.’

Nelson said: ‘Why did you post her up in the abduction group?’

Plumb replied: ‘Why do you think?’

Asked if he would be ‘up for it’, the officer told the defendant: ‘I’m in New York never heard of this gal… but I could travel if this was a serious thing.’

Tom Pettifor

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