INSIDE HOLLY MURDER PLOT
How US officer entered sick online chatroom Abduct Lovers & uncovered plot to kidnap, rape & murder Holly Willoughby
A new documentary reveals the seemingly ‘normal’ Gavin Plumb get sniffed out by undercover police officer scouring the internet thousands of miles away in Minnesota in the United States
WEARING barely a stitch, the whimpering Gavin Plumb appeared to be a pathetic figure when the police read him his rights.
The overweight security guard whined ‘what the hell’s going on?’ after officers knocked down his front door in a late night arrest.
Holly Willoughby ended her 14-year stint on This Morning after the offences came to light in October 2023Credit: Rex
The star waived her right to anonymity so that the public would know the full extent of Plumb’s crimesCredit: Rex
Gavin Plumb has been jailed for life after plotting to abduct, rape, and murder HollyCredit: PA
The chilling kidnap kit Plumb compiled as he plotted to snatch HollyCredit: PA
What the police were doing was preventing 38-year-old Plumb carrying out a plan to kidnap, rape and murder television presenter Holly Willoughby two years ago.
Even today the twisted sexual predator cannot accept the seriousness of his crimes.
Only last month the convicted criminal tried to appeal against the life sentence he was handed for his detailed plan to tie up and attack the former This Morning host at her home.
But an episode of a new documentary series called Inside The Arrest should leave viewers in no doubt that Plumb is a danger to society.
Officers found a kidnap kit including handcuffs, 400 heavy duty cable ties and chloroform plus over 10,000 photos of the TV star.
This real life threat to Holly, 44, sent shockwaves through television and was followed by her quitting This Morning.
Loose Women panelist Jane Moore was outraged by the terror inflicted by Plumb on Holly, who like her worked in day-time television at ITV.
Jane says: “You could look at Gavin Plumb and think this man isn’t even going to leave his house.
“How could he do any harm to anybody? And anybody who thinks that has never been the victim of a stalker.
“Their actions get inside your head. Trust me it’s very serious.”
Plumb could be at large today if it wasn’t for the diligence of an undercover police officer scouring the internet thousands of miles away in Minnesota in the United States.
The detective, given the pseudonym David Nelson, had entered a chatroom called Abduct Lovers on October 3 2023 to see if there was any criminal activity.
He became concerned about a user named Big Bear who put the caption ‘the one that I want’ over images of Holly.
Sniffing out a criminal
Plumb sent selfies to his ‘accomplice’Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Inside Plumb’s ‘kidnap kit’ was handcuffs, 400 metal cable ties, leg shackles and a pocketknifeCredit: PA
He also bought two bottles of chloroform to ‘stupefy’ the starCredit: PA
The American officer did not know who Holly was, but pretended to be another kidnap enthusiast in order to engage this dangerous individual in conversation.
Big Bear typed: “We’ll jump the outer wall, break in, chloroform both her and her husband.
“Tie both up with zip ties and gag both. Take her out of the house and take her out in her car.”
He also described how he would kill Holly and put her “into a lake at night”.
Nelson told Big Bear, who later revealed he was Plumb, that he wanted to help him capture Holly, but this was just a ruse to get more information out of him.
The American realised that what he was reading was more than bravado.
Loose Women panelist Jane Moore was outraged by the terror inflicted by Plumb on HollyCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Jane explains: “This absolutely had to be taken seriously. He was having a conversation with an undercover police officer saying exactly what he was going to do, that ‘we are going to go there in the night, we need two forms of chloroform.’
“He knew she had no CCTV on her home. He had a level of detail that was astounding.”
Nelson printed a fake plane ticket to the UK and showed it to Plumb to convince him he was coming over.
The American detective never got on the plane, but he did get the kidnap plotter’s address.
The officer handed the details to the FBI, who passed them on to Scotland Yard in London, who in turn asked Essex Police to carry out the arrest.
I’m not gonna lie she’s a fantasy of mine, she’s a fantasy of a lot of guys
Big Bear
Normally, a raid would be carried out early in the morning, but with officers fearing for Holly’s safety they went to Plumb’s flat that evening.
The latest episode of the Discovery+ and Really TV show Inside the Arrest has got hold of the footage from the Body Worn Videos used by the officers who raided Plumb’s home in Harlow, Essex on October 4 2023.
They used a red battering ram to knock down the door because they needed the element of surprise.
Plumb could have been armed or tried to destroy vital evidence.
Big Bear’s sick plan
Plumb concocted the plot from his messy bedroomCredit: PA
Essex Police released footage of the arrest of the twisted security guardCredit: PA
After entering the property the police read the suspect his rights, but didn’t tell him much about the case.
They informed him he’s been arrested for plotting the kidnap of Holly and little more.
Sickeningly he tells them: “I’m not gonna lie she’s a fantasy of mine, she’s a fantasy of a lot of guys.”
Plumb’s sick fantasies included forcing himself upon the TV presenter in a dungeon type room.
Normally, any victims of an attempted sexual offence have a right to anonymity, but Holly bravely waived this so that the public would know the full extent of Plumb’s crimes.
Holly left This Morning a week after learning of his plans.
‘Psychological terror’
Plumb’s defence was that he was just expressing fantasies onlineCredit: PA
He had talked about vaulting a wall in order to get into Holly’s homeCredit: PA
Explaining her reasons in a social media post, the shaken presenter told fans: “I have to make this decision for me and my family.”
Plumb had also plotted to tie up her husband Dan Baldwin.
Understandably, Holly didn’t want another maniac to target them just because she is on telly.
Jane says: “Everybody I know messaged Holly to say how sorry they were that she was going through this.
It’s terrifying, she’s got young children, all she does is appear on television, go home, do the school run to be subjected to this sort of psychological terror, no one deserves that
Jane Moore
“It’s terrifying, she’s got young children, all she does is appear on television, go home, do the school run and to be subjected to this sort of psychological terror – no one deserves that.”
Plumb’s defence was that he was just expressing fantasies online during his conversation with Nelson.
He was a 30 stone man who had talked about vaulting a wall in order to get into Holly’s home. That didn’t seem realistic.
But with the accomplice he thought he was conspiring with online, he could have carried out the attack.
And in truth, he was a dangerous predator who had struck before.
Twisted attacks
Laura Roberts shares two children with ex-boyfriend PlumbCredit: Jason Bye
Holly is said to be returning to TV after a long breakCredit: Goff
Plumb had a previous suspended sentence for trying to abduct two women when he met them on a train.
The first one he told he’d shoot unless she followed him and two days later he pretended to be a police officer in order to lure another female target away.
He’d also received a 16 month jail sentence for falsely imprisoning two 16-year-old girls in a Woolworths storeroom. They’d been saved when one of them managed to get away.
During the trial at Chelmsford Crown Court it was revealed that Plumb had told others about his cruel intentions towards Holly.
He messaged a man called Marc to say: “Fantasy isn’t enough any more. I want the real thing.”
Just a ‘normal’ guy…
In July 2024 a jury found Plumb guilty of soliciting murder, encouraging or assisting the commission of kidnap, and encouraging or assisting the commission of rape
The judge said he must spend a minimum of 16 years in jail.
On October 21 this year judges at the Court of Appeal agreed with the length of the sentence.
They stated that Plumb intended harm “of the gravest and highest possible kind” towards Holly.
The bumbling, obese Plumb might not have appeared to be that scary in the arrest video – but he was.
And he had a devastating effect on Holly, even though he was caught before he could do anything.
Jane concludes: “What struck me about Gavin Plumb when I saw the arrest photograph was just how mundane and ordinary he seems.
“And to think somebody like that had such a terrible impact on the life of somebody much loved by the nation was difficult to believe.”
Inside the Arrest: Protecting Holly is on Discovery+ and Really on November 7
