A man accused of planning to rape and kill Holly Willoughby has been convicted of attempted kidnapping

A security guard was charged Planned rape and murder of Holly Willoughby The court heard that the man had previously tried to tie up the two girls with rope and tape.

Gavin Plumb, 37, from Harlow, Essex, had previously tried to kidnap women from trains and was found guilty of falsely imprisoning two 16-year-old girls in a Woolworths store.

The court heard how Plumb unknowingly disclosed his sentence for the latter’s crimes to an undercover officer.

“I got 16 months. To be honest, our justice system is terrible,” he allegedly said.

He also told the suspect that he was on probation for attempting to kidnap two flight attendants on a train.

Plame is accused of masterminding Conspiracy to kidnap, rape and abet the murder of WilloughbyEx This morning host.

Opening the case at Chelmsford Crown Court today, prosecutor Alison Morgan said Plumb had “experienced real-life violence against women”.

Morgan detailed Plumb’s two attempted kidnappings of two female victims.

The first case occurred in August 2006, when the defendant approached a woman on a train and sat opposite her.

He then showed her a note that read: “I have a gun. You just have to be quiet. Do what I say. So just stand up and get off with me at the next stop. Don’t cry and don’t make any noise. Don’t stop me from touching you because I won’t hurt you. If you do, no one will get hurt, but if you don’t, I’m going to shoot you, myself and everyone else.”

Morgan said the victim began crying, prompting others to come over, while Plumb tore up the note and ran away at the next stop.

Two days later, Plumb pulled a similar action on another woman on a train – this time armed with a replica gun.

Morgan said two years later, Plumb attempted to abduct two 16-year-old girls in a Woolworths warehouse in 2008. Plumb was working at the retail store at the time.

The attorney said the incidents showed that Plumb “knew how to intimidate and subdue a woman.”

The court also heard that Plumb disclosed his previous criminal record to potential co-conspirators in the plot to kidnap and rape Willoughby.

Morgan, who spoke online about his conversation with an undercover police officer, said that when asked if it was his “first time”, the defendant said: “No, I didn’t have a plan last time. I just went for it and screwed up.”

The jury heard Plumb spent “hours” planning the attack on the presenter and discussed with others online how to break into her home, sexually assault her and then murder her.

In one case, prosecutors said, Plumb sent someone an image of a dungeon-like room that he described as “big enough for a bed,” prompting the recipient to observe that “screams” could not be heard “for miles.”

The jury heard his criminal plans were thwarted last October when he unknowingly recruited an undercover American police officer to help him carry out the attack.

The court heard Plumb was unaware the man he was talking to, who went by the online alias David Nelson, was a police officer and not a “like-minded kidnapper”.

After Plumb’s arrest, police found two sealed bottles of chloroform and a folder named “Holly” on his phone containing 10,322 photos of the presenter.

The court also heard Plumb ordered four packages of 400 “heavy duty” metal cable ties and sent a video showing what he described as a “tool kit” laid out on a bed, containing handcuffs, cable ties, a gag and rope.

‘The defendant’s plan was very vivid’

Morgan told the court: “The defendant’s plans for Holly Willoughby were extremely graphic and clearly sexually motivated.”

“The stories were authentic to him and were based on his years-long obsession with Ms Willoughby.”

She added: “The prosecution submits that the defendant’s online discussions revealed his true intention, which was to carry out a plan to abduct Holly Willoughby from her home; take her to a location where she would be repeatedly raped and then the defendant intended to kill her.”

The jury was told that Plumb began planning to attack the mother-of-three as early as 2021, but his plan was thwarted because others did not provide him with the proper undertaking to carry out the attack.

In December 2021, Plame allegedly discussed his plans with a man known only as Marc.

Morgan told the jury that by this time Plumb had determined where Willoughby lived and told Mark how he used Google Earth to find “potential entry routes” to her address.

The two continued to discuss how to get closer to Willoughby, with Plumb telling Mark in 2022: “I passed the SIA (Security Industry Administration) license exam, so I might try to use that as her security guard.”

Morgan also said Plumb had suggested trying to visit the ITV studios where Willoughby still worked at the time.

Deep fake pornographic images

The defendants also shared “deepfake pornographic images of Holly Willoughby”, which lawyers said were created by others online “using her face and placing it onto another woman’s body to provide an image of her in a pornographic scene”.

In an audio note played to the jury, Plumb described his plan to anesthetize Willoughby and her husband with chloroform so they could “pick out clothes for her that we like.”

“One voicemail said: ‘We are going to force her to take a video to prove she came with us voluntarily… so we can be protected’.”

However, the jury was told Mark never carried out the pair’s plan.

However, on October 3, a post Plumb shared in an online group called “Kidnapping Enthusiasts” was discovered by an undercover officer stationed at the Owatonna Police Department in Minnesota.

Using the pseudonym BigBear341987, Plumb posted a photo of Willoughby standing in front of the prize wheel and wrote that he had “tons of information” about her.

Concerned for the woman’s safety, the officer began speaking to Plumb, who told him he knew “what time” Willoughby was up in the morning and that she had no CCTV at her home.

Plumb allegedly detailed to police his plan to slit the TV host’s throat and dump her body in a lake.

He also insisted he was “absolutely serious” about his plan, responding “this is absolutely crazy” when the two discussed booking a flight for Nelson to come to the UK that month to participate in the kidnapping, rape and murder.

“She’s my fantasy”

After speaking with Plumb, the undercover officer contacted officers from the FBI and the London Metropolitan Police Department.

On October 4, police arrived at Plumb’s home in Harlow, Essex, and arrested him.

When told the charges he faced were related to the plot to kidnap Willoughby, Plumb told officers: “I’m not going to lie. She was just a fantasy of mine.”

Morgan said: “There is no doubt that this defendant had been obsessed with Holly Willoughby for some time before these allegations were made in October 2023.

“Indeed, that’s what he said when the police arrested him. This obsession goes beyond fantasy.

“He spent hours planning the attack on Holly Willoughby which included violence, rape and ultimately… murder.”

When interviewed by the police department, Plame had no comment and denied all allegations.

The trial continues.

Willoughby, 43, announced his resignation last October. This morning 14 years later.

She said on social media at the time, “I had to make this decision for me and my family.”

The host will then host Dancing on Ice 2024 and will feature a Netflix show, due out next year, in which adventurer Bear Grylls hunts down celebrities in the jungle.