Harlow man found guilty of Holly Willoughby kidnap plot

A security guard from Harlow has been found guilty of plotting to Kidnap, rape and Murder TV Presenter Holly Willoughby.

He cried as he was found guilty on all counts relating to the kidnap plot.

Gavin Plumb developed an "obsession" with the star over a number of years and assembled an "abduction kit" - complete with handcuffs and metal cable ties - to help carry out his attack.

A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court dismissed the 37-year-old's defence that his plans were a "mere fantasy", agreeing with the prosecution that he was a "prolific liar who sought to minimise the extent of his criminality".

The jury took 12 hours and 19 minutes to unanimously convict him of soliciting murder and inciting rape and kidnap.

He then began to weep as he was sent down to the cells, sniffling as he tried to hold back tears.

The defendant, who adopted the user name Big Bear to chat to others about his plot online, appeared to formulate his fantasy as early as 2011 - googling the phrase "how to meet people who plan to kidnap celebs".

During the trial, jurors were taken through a lengthy "sequence of events" document, which displayed Plumb's "appalling messages" to others about what he would do to the Dancing On Ice presenter.

His plans were foiled when one of his potential accomplices, who went by the name of David Nelson, turned out to be an undercover officer from the Owatonna Police Department in the US state of Minnesota.

Plumb told Mr Nelson he was "definitely serious" about his plot to kidnap Ms Willoughby, leaving the officer with the impression that there was an "imminent threat" to her.

His kidnap plans involved attempting to "ambush" Ms Willoughby at her family home - even discussing taking time off work in order to organise the attack.

Plumb told others he would then take the presenter to another location, which he suggested would be a "dungeon" type room.

The jury was told he checked out an abandoned stud farm with cells to "keep" Ms Willoughby.

The defendant's messages showed how he planned to rape her at the location before killing her and then putting her "into a lake at night".

Prosecutors described Plumb's plot as "carefully planned" - pointing to the items he had purchased and the lengths to which he had gone to find out when Ms Willoughby did not have security.

In her opening to the jury, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court of his previous convictions for false imprisonment and attempted kidnap, saying that they showed he "knew what it would take to terrify and overpower a woman".

At the end of the trial, Ms Morgan highlighted the obvious flaws in Plumb's defence - saying the "boring details" of his plans were not "sexy or gratifying".

The 37 year old was arrested at his flat in Harlow, on October 4th last year.

And on Tuesday a judge told jurors not to let emotion cloud their judgment.

Addressing the jury of eight women and four men, Mr Justice Edward Murray said: "You may find yourself feeling sympathy to one side or the other, but you must not let (it) cloud your judgment."

Sasha Wass KC, giving her defence closing speech, said Gavin Plumb's defence to all three charges is "exactly the same" and that the 37-year-old "was living out a fantasy".

"He had neither the means or the opportunity to carry out any of the things he mentioned in his chats."

"A dark and twisted fantasy, but a fantasy nonetheless," Ms Wass told jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court.

She described Gavin Plumb as an "isolated and lonely individual who lived out his fantasy life online".

Ms Wass said there was "no doubt that the content of the messages (sent by Plumb online) are vile and misogynistic, and Mr Plumb himself accepts they're dark".

He said that "what matters is what the defendant's intention was" and "not whether any plan to kill Holly Willoughby was realistic or would or could have succeeded".

And appealed to the jury saying: "I would urge you to stick to the evidence in this indictment and the central question - is this a serious plan or is it a fantasy?"

Plumb will be sentenced back at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday 12th July.

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