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Holly Willoughby is a well-known TV personality in Britain. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
Morgan began the prosecution’s evidence by stating that Plumb first discussed his plan in 2021 with a man named Marc.
A 37-year-old man reportedly planned to kidnap, rape and then murder Holly Willoughby, a well-known TV personality in Britain, a court has been informed. Gavin Plumb, a security guard at a shopping centre, made an appearance at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday. He is charged with having a “detailed plan” that included putting together a “kidnap and restraint kit” and coordinating via the internet with another man to encourage him to travel from the US to the UK to execute the crime.
During his trial, the accused stated that “restraining and getting” the TV presenter was his “ultimate fantasy for way too long,” reports The Independent.
Plumb, a resident of Harlow, Essex, disputes all allegations, the report said.
According to the BBC, the prosecutor, Alison Morgan KC, claimed that the defendant meticulously planned his actions, thus it wasn’t just the “ramblings of a fantasist”.
Over the years, Plumb is said to have acquired an “obsession” with Willoughby.
According to Morgan, he had a “real intention” to abduct the presenter from her home, transport her to a site wherein she could be “raped repeatedly” and then murdered, the BBC report further said.
Additionally, she stated that Plumb was taken into custody after disclosing his scheme to a US undercover police officer with whom he had been corresponding online.
The accused reportedly informed her that he would be pursuing his “ultimate fantasy.”
He was quoted by the BBC as saying that fantasy is no longer sufficient at this stage. “I want the real thing.”
Plumb reportedly bought 400 “heavy duty” metal cable ties from an online retailer.
Plumb’s voicemail to Marc from March 2023, in which he outlined his intention to “hit it” at night to reduce traffic, was played for the jury, the report stated.
According to the quotations in the news outlet’s report, his plan was to administer chloroform to Willoughby and her husband so that they could be easily locked up.
The report continued by quoting the accused, who said that they intended to “force” Willoughby into admitting her consent to everything.
The jury was informed that Plumb had an online conversation with a man named David Nelson in October 2023.
Morgan said that during that conversation, the defendant revealed his “graphic and sexually motivated” plans for Willoughby.
An undercover investigator questioned Plumb whether he was “serious” about the plan, and Plumb responded with a video that was played in court.
It had a “kit of sexualised paraphernalia”—a rope, a ball gag and shackles for the hands and ankles—arranged on a bed, BBC reported.
The defendant was unaware that the person he was communicating with, was in fact, an undercover police officer who eventually interrupted before he could actually commit the crime.
Morgan went on to claim that 10,322 photos of Willoughby, many of which were “deep fake” pornographic photos, were contained in a folder named Holly on the accused’s phone.
The trial, scheduled for approximately two weeks, continues, the report said.