Bodyguard found guilty of planning kidnapping, rape and murder of TV star

An Essex security guard who kept thousands of photos of Holly Willoughby has been convicted of planning her kidnap, rape and murder.

Gavin Plumb, 37, spent two-and-a-half years investigating the TV presenter’s personal life and assembling a “kidnapping kit” that included handcuffs, 400 metal cable ties, leg shackles, a penknife and bottles of chloroform. He also searched the internet for imitation firearms.

Plumb – who has a string of previous convictions for kidnapping and false imprisonment – ​​attempted to recruit other people he met online to carry out his brutal attack. He planned to drive to the victim’s home at night, break in and incapacitate the presenter with chloroform. Plumb’s dastardly plan then involved taking Holly Willoughby to another location where she would be imprisoned, raped and then murdered.

Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecution specialist at the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“Gavin Plumb is a dangerous man who planned unspeakable terrorist attacks on one of the most high-profile figures in the country.

“Despite trying to present himself as a harmless fantasist, the prosecution convinced the jury that Plumb posed a very real threat.

“The chilling details of his plans were uncovered with the help of an undercover U.S. agent who alerted the FBI to the threat. The gravity of Plumb’s scheme became clear when the prosecution filed a motion seeking permission to tell the grand jury about Plumb’s previous convictions.

“I hope his conviction will bring relief to Holly Willoughby and her family and show others that the Attorney General’s Office will always seek to bring the most severe charges possible against those who plan to commit violence against women.”

Plumb’s plans were exposed when he unwittingly shared his plan in a private conversation with a man who was supposed to join him – but who turned out to be an undercover US police officer. Plumb even told him about his previous convictions for attempted kidnapping and holding girls against their will to bolster his credibility. The officer, who gave evidence in court via video link under the pseudonym ‘David Nelson’, became concerned about the level of planning Plumb had put in and notified the FBI. Essex Police arrested Plumb at a house in Harlow on 4 October.

The officer was able to give evidence under a pseudonym after the CPS filed a motion to protect his anonymity. Only the judge and jury were able to see his face live on video from the US.

Plumb has remained in custody since his arrest and will be sentenced on Friday, July 12.

Fantasy or real threat?

Gavin Plumb repeatedly told the court that the messages detailing his plans and his brutal and degrading views towards the victim were “just chat” and nothing more.

Key to the CPS case was proving to the jury that he intended to encourage others to help him carry out the attack. The jury was asked to consider why, if it was just internet chatting, Plumb would have bought a “kidnap kit” and carried out a detailed search of the premises where he believed the victim lived. Asked by the prosecution why he had bought the chloroform, Plumb told the jury at Chelmsford Crown Court that he needed it to remove a stubborn stain from his carpet.

The prosecution also successfully asked the court before the trial to allow the jury to be told about his previous convictions. In 2006, there were two separate incidents in which he unsuccessfully tried to kidnap two women on a train, on one occasion using an imitation firearm, for which he received a suspended sentence.

In 2008, he held two 16-year-old girls he worked with against their will. He tied one girl’s hands behind her back with tape when his rope became tangled. The other girl escaped to raise the alarm and he was arrested by police and eventually sentenced to 32 months in prison. Those earlier convictions showed jurors that Plumb had committed crimes designed to control and intimidate women.